Well we finally bought the Erde 102 after our drama last week. Its a great trailer - a little small though but we didnt have much choice about buying it with the predicament we found ourselves in which is why we are going to buy the side extensions to double the height on it.
We paid £149.99 for it - and it was ready built up in store aswell and then an extra £24.99 for the cover.
Hi Andrew & Tracy,
Sorry to hear about your second hand trailer experiences, at least you have it sorted now, without any accidents.
Did you find out exactly what was causing the trailer to bounce around like that, sometimes incorrect loading can cause problems, or maybe if it is the wheel bearings you could replace them & sell the trailer on, it would soften the blow financially a little, maybe I was just lucky with my used trailer, but I did make sure to thoroughly inspect the bearings/chassis/electrics/tyres before purchasing.
Also, what make was the trailer, or was it a home-made trailer, personally I would not touch anything home-made, apart from the obvious, one of the main reasons being you cannot travel in europe without one of those ID Plates on your trailer stating weight limits, etc.
Cheers,
Graham.
------------- Never argue with an idiot ........
They will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience!
Quote: Originally posted by DrDomino on 09/06/2005
I have read a couple of reviews regarding problems with wheel bearings and suspension on new trailers (erde) so I think its got to be a new one for me. The site I saw the bad review for wheel bearings on Erde also had two reviews on the Caddy. One said the sides were flimsy but the other said it was great.
Hi:
Can you post up a link to that review site please ?
The second hand trailer was a wooden sided one and it had suspension - as far as I could tell it was a home - made one. It had suspension but nothing else which was the problem. There was nothing to stop the bouncing and swinging when it was moving. As it was our first trailer hubby wasnt really sure what to check for when buying it.
My hubby thought he was getting a bargain with it as he usually does. He'll do anything to save a few quid and it ALWAYS ends up costing him double in the long run. Thought he'd have learnt by now !!
In all honesty I wouldnt have sold it onto anyone after our experience with it. Wouldnt want to put anyone else through that. We disposed of the trailer and extremely quickly aswell.
One more important point on trailers and suspensions, the suspension only really kicks in if the trailer is loaded down. If the trailer is light is lickely to bounce around, especially if going over and rough road or higher speeds.
Therefore it is recommended that a trailer is equiped with shock absorbers, which will counteract the bounce (to some degree). Some trailers come with shock absorbers and suspension. It can be relatively cheep to fit shocks to a trailer, they cost about £44 a set, and will need some additional work to the trailer by a qualified mechanic.
Don't know if this is too late but we bought an erde 102 4'x3' from focus diy for £149.00 plus £20 for the canvas cover this coupled with our roofbox and avensis estate gives us bags of room, check your nearest focus as the next model up was cheap too.Not sure if it's the nearest but there is a focus at the end of the M55 blackpool take the south shore exit and then head for the pleasure beaCH AND IT'S ON THE ROUNDABOUT AS YOU COME INTO TOWN. Sorry bloody caps lock!!
Bought a erde 122 and cover to go with from Halfords and got 6 months inerest free!!! Or can pay 10% deposit and pay 10 or 12 months payments . Your deposit is the charge for this payment method ( i think ) .Focus do a 12 months interest free as long you pay before the end of the 12 months is up.So get buying a trailer.
Bought a Daxara 127 off E-Bay, came with spare wheel and the bars to extend the height + cover. Used it for the 1st time last week and had no problem with it. Towed well and as I only have a VW Polo was very pleasently surprised. Had trouble reversing it in the services though, took a very helpful trucker to sort me out!!!! So beware if you are not used to reversing with a trailer, it's a whole new ball game.
It's not easy (in fact it's nigh on impossible-for me, anyway) to reverse these trailers ' cos, I've been told, they're very light compared to the towing vehicle.
Thanks everyone, we finally bought the Erde 142 from Halfords as it was on sale at £299, really pleased with it. Thanks again, your comments were dead helpful.
I see that it is a done deal here but for future readers, my advice is to get the biggest trailer you can afford that is suitable for general camping gear.
We bought two trailers within the space of a month. The first one was bought in a hurry at great expense. I work away a lot and had not got around to buying a trailer. Packing on the Friday afternoon when we were due to go off that evening showed us that we just had to have a trailer.
A quick trip to Focus and other local DIY stores proved no good as they only had flat packs available and we did not have enough time to build from a pack.
Eventually, I found some ready made trailers at a Caravan and Camping store in Trench, Telford. I bought the smallest unit complete with cover and spare wheel for around £220 and drove off with it. It just about coped with our weekend break.
However, we decided to get a much bigger tent before our first summer holiday later the same month. One the tent was acquired, I went back to place I purchased the trailer with the intent of asking them to take the used (once only) trailer back in part-exchange for the largest trailer they had. As soon as I raised this, they sad bluntly and rudely "no" - no reasons, no sympathy, no suggestions. A strange way to do business - I would have taken say £100 worth of vouchers.
We were due to go the following weekend. We drove around and could not find anywhere selling large trailers. We wanted something in the 5 to 6 foot range.
Searched online but did not like prices, delivery arrangements, sizes, etc. Until we spotted the 640 Caddy Trailer available in single and double axle form.
We spoke to Trailers.co.uk by phone. Delivery was normally several weeks BUT they would see what could be done. They managed to deliver it within a couple of days. A minor part was broken and replacement parts came through the post very quickly. It took my wife a good few hours to build it but it was worth it. We were able to take everything we needed with the car boot not completely stuffed and nothing in the cabin of the car. One of the mudguards did come off but we think we put that on wrongly. The cover was brilliant. It fitted nicely over the uneven height load and kept everything completely dry during some heavy periods of rain on site.
We paid £491.50 inc VAT and delivery for the single axle version with cover and spare wheel. Here is a photo with our new Kyham tent behind.
Stuart
PS. If anyone can make use of a small trailer that has been used only once and they live near Telford, then give us a shout.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Advice on Buying a Trailer
