Earlier I was browsing for a new trailer. The one I have in mind is an Ifor William LT85 tipper or similar.
I used to work for a trailer company many moons ago and I know the mark up they put on these trailers.
So, just like vans etc, I was wondering whether anyone knows of a cash and carry type place for trailers, like there is for vans and cars etc.
Hugo
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Like the Land Rovers that tow them Ifor Williams tend to keep their value. We have one which we bought second hand in the 80s. Someone made us an unsolicited offe rthe other day of exactly what we paid..
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I know what you mean, the same can be said for all trailers.
First trailer we had I bought for £30 and sold on for £50 without doing any work to it whatsoever.
The trailer I've got now cost me £120 four years ago and will probably sell for the same or more. It's a twin axle 6 x 4 with 10 inch wheels.
That is why I am considering new. S/H unless significantly cheaper is no good as any saving will be spent on maintenance.
H
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There is a trailer manufacturer in our area that sells direct to the public via the web. I will try to find the url and post it here.
(If that is ok with the mods)
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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(If that is ok with the mods)
As a moderator - you have my permission ;)
Thanks for that - I'll look in later.
H
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Found it
www.rose-trailers.co.uk
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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E-bay.
item 4538435593 - finishes in nine hours.
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Thanks PU, The auction has ended early.
Never mind I think it went for more than its worth anyway.
H
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Just an update
I looked at I for Williams on line price list and then phoned up a couple of distributors in Cornwall.
They have knocked some 10% off their prices, making the TT85 electric tipper just over £2400 inlcuding VAT. That comes in at 2 tonnes payload and 2.7 tonnes gross weight, and is 8' x 5'.
For around £3240 odd I can get a 3.5 tonne gross weight, but and this is the big but - its net weight is 40k short of a tonne! Hence I get just over 0.5 tonne extra payload for £800! Not IMO good value for money for the extra 1/2 tonne, plus this is for the long term. I don't actually NEED more than 2 tonnes payload, I should imagine that the towing vehicle will change whilst I have it and I need to think about manovrability into my drive.
2nd hand seems to be like gold dust. Yes E bay has a few at the moment but they are all several hundred miles away. Someone did e mail me to say he had one but he's not been back to me with any further details. He may have sold it by now. Quite frankly the time looking for a good 2nd hand one that I know is not stolen could be put to better use.
In addition I have asked a friend of mine to come up with a ball park to make one for me, so I'll have a look at his figures as well.
So it looks like it's either a well manufactured built to order or an I for Williams.
We'll just have to wait.....
H
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Well....
I've ordered the Ifor Williams 2.7 tonne electric tipper. The dealer had one in stock but had sold it before I asked to have it. So mine is due the week beginning the 18th, which is a real pain as I need it now!
Why did I buy new? Well, lets just say my main reason was confirmed when someone replied to a wanted ad about a trailer thay had stolen and asked me to contact the police if I was offered it!
E bay is a great mechanism to buy and sell but you have to be carefull out there.
H
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Hugo,
When you get it (the day you get it) get it marked up with something permenant, buy yourself the biggest badest wheel clamp
for when you leave it somewhere. They are targetted around here by thieving types.
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get it marked up with something permenant,
one idea is to ask your local police station if they can stamp your postcode somewhere onto the trailer like you used to be able to get done to push bikes - difficult to remove without making it look suspicious.
Other option is go down to your local motorbike shop and buy a microdot kit.
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Thanks for the info PU and BH.
The trailer arrived a week early! I went to pick it up on Tuesday and it really is the biz!
If I was unsure about spending the money on the trailer to date, I am certainly not now. This thing is so solid! It looks like the rear end of a transit tipper but heavier! It tows brilliantly and the backup service from the retailer is good. They stock loads of spares for the Ifor Williams range.
I am going to look for a wheel clamp and a tow hitch cover. The tow hitch cover is basically a fabricated steel box that sits over the hitch.
As for marking it permanently, what is a microdot kit? I may buy a punch set and do it myself in loads of places, take plenty of photos and keep them on file.
The problem is it looks so damn new at the moment but after a year or so it should weather.
H
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There are various systems such as microdot, alpha.dot and mighty Dot. They're all pretty much the same and most good bike shops will be able to sell you a kit - think about twenty quid is usual.
www.mightydotdistribution.co.uk/mighty_dot_for_veh...m
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Good luck with holding onto your trailer Hugo. My new Ifor Williams twin axle lasted just three months before "the boys" cut all our fencing and towed it away over the farmland out back.
It had the type of hitch locking device you mention, but as the police said they are useless with a twin axle trailer. They are so well balanced the thieves just chain the trailer to their hitch to get it away. Then in the privacy of their own yard they can cut anything off.
Amusingly a dealer not that far from me (unknowingly) offered me my own trailer back about two weeks after it had been stolen... I declined!
It seems to go in cycles round here. Mate had his car transporter trailer stolen last week... and they came back two nights later and nicked next door's caravan!
Don't do what a chap down the road did, chained and locked his trailer hitched to his Discovery for security. Of course they took the whole outfit. Well they would, Ifor Williams being the best trailer bar none... as the Discovery is to 4WDs.
M.M
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PU and M.M. do not joke in respect of the theft of such trailers. It is endemic by a certain crowd.
Also in addition to security measures mentioned have a word with local Plod Crime Prevention Officer who should have a list of state of the arts security features.
DVD
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Right that's it!
I wish I'd never bought it now. The sleep I am about to lose has already aged me by 10 years :(
Seriously though, thanks for all the tales of woe. I will now get a huge high every time I wake up in the morning and see it's still there!
Tomorrow I am going to dig a huge hole in my driveway, buy the most massive piece of scrap metal you have ever seen, bury that in concrete in said hole and chain the trailer to it.
I think the answer is to make it as awkward as possible.
I shall certainly consider a wheel clamp. It sounds like a Bulldog hitchlock is of limited use if they can tow it balanced on the wheels. The trailer will be parked in the most inaccessable area of my property I can find, behind at least one other vehicle that has up to date state of the art alarm.
The only other device I could think of that I haven't seen is one that locks the jockeywheel down and the brake lever in place.
H
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Why not get a nice big doberman and let him sleep under the trailer!
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I am going to dig a huge hole in my driveway.................
Friend of mine did exactly that. And painted the whole locking/anchoring thing bright yellow so that it could be seen from afar.
I suppose it worked. Certainly nobody has ever stolen or attempted to steal it, despite it being in a fairly exposed situation.
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And painted the whole locking/anchoring thing bright yellow so that it could be seen from afar.
Why not paint the trailer bright yellow - would make it fairly unique so not easily saleable if it is stolen!
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Forget the doberman, do you want a nice Springer pup,2 months old sired from a psychotic father - better than any target hardening, if its anything like its dad will lick your kids but, how can I say ? ---"disuades" anyone he takes he views as an outsider... put it like this I don't need to lock the Landie anymore.....
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hugo ,one way is to weld a ball hitch to a metal post and concrete it in where you park the trailer and simply hitch it to the post and lock it on,remember to put a dab of weld on the bolts holding the hitch to the trailer,bursting the lock makes the hitch useless and very obvious,can always put a chain on for extra security if you feel the need but most of all just enjoy using it.
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Surely the easiest way to stop it being stolen is to remove the wheels. I had a box trailer many years that was nearly stolen, but the theives were disturbed. This had a ball locked into the tow hitch. After removing the wheels and locking them out of sight, I never had another problem.
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Merseyside Police mark (or used to) bicycles free of charge. Perhaps your local force will do it for you on your trailer.
Re prevention of theft. What about one of those posts that can be raised or lowered into the ground?
Won't be cheap although Autolok does one for £99.99:
www.autolok.co.uk
Others include:
www.bulldog-security-products.co.uk
www.klamp-it.co.uk (another Autolok company)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Hmmm
Been thinking
Insurance
Bulldog Hitch lock or similar
Wheel clamp on a rear wheel
Try to leave a vehicle parked in front of it when possible.
The problem with fixed ball posts is that you need to park the trailer in exactly the same place each time. At the moment that just is not practical.
My drive, if you can call it that, slopes downwards as you enter it. It is also on slippery ground, which can create difficulties for anything other than a 4 x 4, especially when towing it. I know that most professional trailer thieves will use one of these.
I am also quite keen on putting gates at the top of my drive, so this would provide an extra deterrent. Useless on their own I know but together with other deterrents, it may be a good idea.
H
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Well Hugo, up till you started this link I wouldn't know one trailer from another!
Now every time I see a working trailer I check out the name and every one so far has been an Ifor Williams thingy!!
Now I wonder how many points the kids will agree seeing one is worth - Just now its Eddie Stobarts on 10 points, Beetles and minis 5 each but doubled if cabriolets. Oh, and Ferraris are 100 each...
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BobbyG - Ifor Williams are specialists in livestock trailers. Go to any rural livestock mart & the sheep will all be being towed away in IW trailers on the back of 90 inch Landrover hard-tops.
Without IW, the world would have disintegrated by now!
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