Combi Trailers

[FuzzyDuck]

I need a new Combi trailer.
Does anybody have any recommendations where I can get one at a good price, i.e. cheap and reliable.
Would be interested if anyone has a double stacker for sale if I go with plan B.
Simon
 

[Cookie (Guest)]

Welsh Harp all the way...

[Antony (Guest)]

Mike,
I think that you missed the point that Simon made about 'cheap' trailers!  I do not think that even Rob thinks that his trailers are cheap..  I do, however, agree with you that they are the best built in the world....
Simon,
I think that this is a tough question that nobody has a good answer to.  Combi trailers are expensive, £550-750 new(?) and very hard to find second-hand ones that are exactly the right size.  eBay occassionally have one for sale but be careful that the lengths are right and be prepared to make some sort of new cradle to go under the hull.  My view is that the best place to buy them is underneath a very cheap N12, but it seems a bit sad if you end up disposing of the hull that was on top of it!  The Crusader that was advertised for £175 and sold quickly seemed to have a combi trailer and a suit of sails, and so by my estimates the hull, fitting, spars and foils were selling for a negative £300 or so.
Antony

[Cookie (Guest)]

Sorry, I read the bit about new Combi Trailers and just assumed...

[Tim Gatti]

Simon - having regrettably sold a good, if heavy, combi with my Pipedream earlier this year, I have been down many routes on this quest and in the end concluded that buying one from my local supplier -Boat-Bits- in Huddersfield, was probably the best option - he also made me a second launching trolley to fit the roadbase for my old-er vintage boat, to save me time and effort and I got some discount as a result.  Not suggesting you buy from there though and suggest you try a supplier nearer home, you seem to have plenty to choose from.
I put together some drawings for a local 'under-the-arches' mechanic to work from in the hope that I could reduce the price a bit - and sourced all the wheels, suspension units etc online at Trailer Tek, but in the end - even with his small charge for fabrication, the overall costs of materials plus galvanising etc brought the final price out very similar to those of a professionally built product.
I also diligently searched e-bay and the boat sites for seven months but either was outbid at silly prices that were pretty close to buying new (with collection costs) or found that items would need resizing or replacing to do the job and therefore not worth the money/effort.  You might strike lucky however - and most of the combis that came up while I was looking tended to be down south so you wouldn't have the collection costs to think about.
If you can weld stuff up yourself - or can pre-cut the steel for a friend who'll build it for you for the price of a few beers or bottles of wine, and you fabricate your own cradle, then you'll certainly be able to knock a few quid off the retail price.  If not, with steel and labour costs at the moment, the off the shelf option may be a bullet you will have to bite if you want something that fits your boat and that's reliable and dependable - I certainly wouldn't want to risk an expensive 12 on some of the trailers I've seen out there!  It will certainly buy you peace of mind and convenience and you've always got some come-back with the supplier if something does go wrong in transit. Good luck. Tim PS The £175 Crusader sold very quickly!! Thankfully to someone who is going to sail her.