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Old May 15th 18, 05:42 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Mike the Strike
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Default Komet trailer axle dillema

On Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 9:35:44 AM UTC-7, Echo wrote:
So I'm headed to Moariarty from TN with my 20 in tow in June. I have an older komet trailer, for which I had just gotten new tires, which I have yet to put on. I took the trailer to a shop locally to have the surge breaks adjusted, tires put on, and bearings repacked. After about an hour they called me to say they've never seen anything like it, and therefore are unwilling to work on it because they don't know what they're doing. He also suspects a bad bearing. However, they recommended, and offered to retrofit, a torflex axle and electric brakes. Quote for the whole thing redone, axle, tongue, wheels, and tires, is around 2K. While he's not wrong that a brake down with that system in kansas would cause quite an issue, I wonder what the odds of that actually happening are. Since a torflex would custom made for this west german antique, it now looks that it wouldn't even get here in time for the trip. So I'm now considering saying screw the axle...take it home and get under it to adjust the brakes, repack the bearings, and put on the new tires.

What have your komet axle upgrades looked like? I'd really prefer not to spend that much just to get the trailer worthy of a single long trip. Is there a stock torflex that works for a komet? Thoughts/suggestions welcome....

Jordan


I had an axle replaced on a Komet trailer after a car accident bent the original. The US replacement had hydraulic brakes using an over-run mechanism in the hitch. It worked great, except it had no parking brake feature! If your original axle isn't actually bent or damaged, I'd be tempted to do a bearing repack and adjustment as you suggest. There is plenty of expertise at Moriarty to help you sort out any remaining issues.

Mike