Sankey trailer brakes

[sako243]

Look at car A frames. you cant have a non servo assisted one as the over run does not create enough "pedal" force.

Um., none of the A frames I've seen have servo assistance. They operate in the same principle as a trailer brake - the overrun cylinder in the A frame pulls on the car's brake pedal which in turn activates the cars normal brakes. Without the towed cars engine running you get no servo assistance

Sorry got to call BS on this.

There is no way a 2021 trailer does not have autoreverse brakes seeing as its been a legal requirement for years.

Well it may have had them fitted but they were useless when she was trying to reverse the trailer up the yard with 4 cows in it. The trailer has been serviced regularly by a very reputable trailer builder. Shove a piece of metal into the place where the locking catch normally goes and voila all the wheels were unlocked.

 

[Justme]

Um., none of the A frames I've seen have servo assistance. They operate in the same principle as a trailer brake - the overrun cylinder in the A frame pulls on the car's brake pedal which in turn activates the cars normal brakes. Without the towed cars engine running you get no servo assistance

Well it may have had them fitted but they were useless when she was trying to reverse the trailer up the yard with 4 cows in it. The trailer has been serviced regularly by a very reputable trailer builder. Shove a piece of metal into the place where the locking catch normally goes and voila all the wheels were unlocked.

 

[Moose McAlpine]

Thread with some required parts:

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Sankey trailer brake overhall

Community site dedicated to Discovery 3, 4 LR3 and LR4 Owners and Enthusiasts. Totally free to join - message boards, galleries, wiki, off road events, social meetings.

www.disco3.co.uk

If you're set on keeping the trailer i'd look at binning the current axle completely and putting something like a Knott-Avonride axle in and converting to overrun drum brakes.

Seems like a lot of hassle. Free stuff quickly becomes expensive.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Thread with some required parts:

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Sankey trailer brake overhall

Community site dedicated to Discovery 3, 4 LR3 and LR4 Owners and Enthusiasts. Totally free to join - message boards, galleries, wiki, off road events, social meetings.

www.disco3.co.uk

If you're set on keeping the trailer i'd look at binning the current axle completely and putting something like a Knott-Avonride axle in and converting to overrun drum brakes.

Seems like a lot of hassle. Free stuff quickly becomes expensive.

the sankey has overrun brakes? It’s just mine have been taken off

 

[Moose McAlpine]

Thread with some required parts:

the sankey has overrun brakes? It’s just mine have been taken off

As in fully mechanical, not hydraulic.

 

[Moose McAlpine]

Well it may have had them fitted but they were useless when she was trying to reverse the trailer up the yard with 4 cows in it. The trailer has been serviced regularly by a very reputable trailer builder. Shove a piece of metal into the place where the locking catch normally goes and voila all the wheels were unlocked.

Maybe shoes are adjusted too tight. The auto-reverse mechanism is in the shoes, not the coupling, so they need a certain amount of slack to work.

 

[sako243]

Maybe shoes are adjusted too tight. The auto-reverse mechanism is in the shoes, not the coupling, so they need a certain amount of slack to work.

maybe - but the guys who service them know their stuff and build their own trailers relying on their reputation so they know what they're doing and always do a good job. Have yet to hear a single bad word about them*.

* other than they're too busy that their lead time on trailers is now in excess of 6 months

 

[Agrismith]

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That can't be compared to a. Trailer break setup.
The sankys where on hydraulics and they are used in aus and NZ.
You can literally achieve any force you like with hydraulics.
And the trailers I towed in NZ used a lever between the coupling and the master cylinder so could literally achieve anything they liked.
You can get 150t hand pump bottle jacks so I don't think trailer breaks are impossible

 

[James1979]

I’m sure I could make the brakes come on with an enerpack on the drawbar.

 

[bricol]

Seeing and hearing how many people never even think about the condition of the hydraulics in their car brakes, I can imagine the state most trailer brakes would be if they were too . . .

 

[indy4x]

@Justme hypothetical question, if I had an early wide track Sankey that was fitted with mechanical brakes and replaced this system with the complete hydraulic setup from a later wide track Sankey would this need an IVA?

In my head the answer would be that's fine, no need for an IVA however as we all know legislation may not see it this way

 

[Justme]

Maybe shoes are adjusted too tight. The auto-reverse mechanism is in the shoes, not the coupling, so they need a certain amount of slack to work.

This is normally the issue when a car mechanic starts to do trailers & does not understand the way they work.

 

[Justme]

That can't be compared to a. Trailer break setup.
The sankys where on hydraulics and they are used in aus and NZ.
You can literally achieve any force you like with hydraulics.
And the trailers I towed in NZ used a lever between the coupling and the master cylinder so could literally achieve anything they liked.
You can get 150t hand pump bottle jacks so I don't think trailer breaks are impossible

But you cant auto reverse & have no parking brake.
You need to design the brakes so they dont over apply in light braking situations.
Any Macgyvered set up would need testing / approval.
I dont know of any current class 01 or 02 trailer brake systems using hydraulics.
Perhaps there is a good reason for that?

 

[Justme]

@Justme hypothetical question, if I had an early wide track Sankey that was fitted with mechanical brakes and replaced this system with the complete hydraulic setup from a later wide track Sankey would this need an IVA?

In my head the answer would be that's fine, no need for an IVA however as we all know legislation may not see it this way

If you change the core design its a new designed trailer & needs IVA.
Changing the body type is ok, Changes to tyres, suspension, brakes chassis lights ect not like for like would need testing.
You would hope that improvements would be ok but things can be over improved & then become dangerous.
Like brakes that lock up every time they are used.
However the only time I can see anyone getting into trouble would be after a serious accident requiring investigation.

Personally I dont think that a sanky is a good starting point for a light weight camping pod.
As mentioned above free often becomes more costly that paying.

 

[Justme]

@Justme hypothetical question, if I had an early wide track Sankey that was fitted with mechanical brakes and replaced this system with the complete hydraulic setup from a later wide track Sankey would this need an IVA?

In my head the answer would be that's fine, no need for an IVA however as we all know legislation may not see it this way

If they were on the market now as new trailers they would need two approval certificates.
Trailer made from the same core base can share one. Even if they have different body types.

 

[mtt.tr]

Um., none of the A frames I've seen have servo assistance. They operate in the same principle as a trailer brake - the overrun cylinder in the A frame pulls on the car's brake pedal which in turn activates the cars normal brakes. Without the towed cars engine running you get no servo assistance

Well it may have had them fitted but they were useless when she was trying to reverse the trailer up the yard with 4 cows in it. The trailer has been serviced regularly by a very reputable trailer builder. Shove a piece of metal into the place where the locking catch normally goes and voila all the wheels were unlocked.

Yes I've had trailers when loaded on ****e terrain will not reverse without locking up.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Personally I dont think that a sanky is a good starting point for a light weight camping pod.
As mentioned above free often becomes more costly that paying.

Why not? Designed to be towed behind a landrover, off road and used for that exact purpose for years by overlanders?

Also, I never said lightweight. The engine up front weighs nearly as much as a laden sankey, and was originally used to haul a 10 tonne wagon around, it won’t even notice even a full sankey

 

[m_c]

maybe - but the guys who service them know their stuff and build their own trailers relying on their reputation so they know what they're doing and always do a good job. Have yet to hear a single bad word about them*.

* other than they're too busy that their lead time on trailers is now in excess of 6 months

Just because somebody is good at building something, doesn't mean the things leave the factory working how they should.
I get the joy of dealing with trailers, and some of the things I've seen makes me wonder how there aren't far more accidents involving trailers. And that includes brand new trailers, through to ones that have been routinely 'serviced'.

I know one 'reputable' engineering company who changed a trailer brake linkage design to save a few pound in the manufacturing process, but it resulted in a fatality, as what appeared to be a simple change, altered the linkage ratios sufficiently that the handbrake failed on auto-reverse, with the result being a man ended up crushed by 3 tonne of trailer and machinery.

 

[sako243]

That may be true of some scenarios but this particular company relies on their reputation and don't cut corners and would trust them with anything trailer related.

Example was a shooting acquaintance of mine had one of their first tipping quad trailers. Bent the hinge pin and went back and asked could he have another. He was happy to pay for it because he overloaded it by at least a factor of four. Owner of the company made him a new pin, gave it to him free and said anytime you bend it come back and I'll make a new one for you. Subsequent trailers had a massively beefed up hinge pin, yes the original was more than adequate for its intended design but that wasn't good enough for him.

 

[Agrismith]

But you cant auto reverse & have no parking brake.
You need to design the brakes so they dont over apply in light braking situations.
Any Macgyvered set up would need testing / approval.
I dont know of any current class 01 or 02 trailer brake systems using hydraulics.
Perhaps there is a good reason for that?

Auto reverse is in the hubs and has absolutely nothing to do with how the force is applied. And it obviously is possible to design as other countries manage it..
You said it wasn't possible which it clearly is. And I would put money on the reason it isn't used over here that it would be a more expensive system. Nothing to do with efficiency.