Cobra Trailer Fenders

Hey all, I trailered a (new to me and a partner) glider from Ontario to Alberta last week and through the trip blew out both trailer tires on the late-80's aluminum Cobra trailer and destroyed the fenders on the trailer through the event.

The first blowout (1:15am east of Madison, Wisconsin) contorted the right fender, the second (10:15pm north of St. Paul, Minnesota) cleared the left fender clean off - not recovered.

We've found the Cobra fenders on W&W, but at $135 per side, shipping and CAD conversion it seems fairly ridiculous. We've found some options on Amazon for off-brand fenders, has anyone used these? Or, are there any used Cobra fenders around? Or other suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Patrick (LS6-b EH)

Never tried them, but they look OK.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Fen...n/F008564.html

Do yourself and the trailer a favor and get the good fenders. $135 ea sounds cheap to me considering what the trailer and glider in it are worth.

I would bite the bullet and get the cobra ones, and then replace your
tires with new ones every 4 to 5 years at most and this
will likely never happen again.

On Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 5:43:09 AM UTC-5, Patrick McMahon wrote:
Hey all, I trailered a (new to me and a partner) glider from Ontario to Alberta last week and through the trip blew out both trailer tires on the late-80's aluminum Cobra trailer and destroyed the fenders on the trailer through the event.

The first blowout (1:15am east of Madison, Wisconsin) contorted the right fender, the second (10:15pm north of St. Paul, Minnesota) cleared the left fender clean off - not recovered.

We've found the Cobra fenders on W&W, but at $135 per side, shipping and CAD conversion it seems fairly ridiculous. We've found some options on Amazon for off-brand fenders, has anyone used these? Or, are there any used Cobra fenders around? Or other suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Patrick (LS6-b EH)

You do get a mud flap and tire chock for that price :-)

Buy the right fenders and get more serious about pre-flight safety. It applies to trailers and tires (specifically) as well.

When you can recover from a mistake like that for less than $300, you've had pretty good fortune.

T8

Patrick,

I replaced my trailer fenders with the Cobra product. The Cobra fenders include the wheel chocks. They also use the existing mounting holes.

Also, use trailer tires; they are made for towing.

Raul Boerner
LS6-BWL

wrote on 11/23/2019 6:25 AM:
Patrick,

I replaced my trailer fenders with the Cobra product. The Cobra fenders include
the wheel chocks. They also use the existing mounting holes.

Also, use trailer tires; they are made for towing.

Be sure they are _radial_ trailer tires, and if you want to tow fast (70+, not
that I recommend it), use LT (Light Truck) tires, which have a much higher speed
rating than the 65 mph trailer tires.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

Aren't the Cobra fenders just cheap plastic?

On 11/23/2019 6:11 AM, wrote:
Do yourself and the trailer a favor and get the good fenders. $135 ea sounds cheap to me considering what the trailer and glider in it are worth.

--
Dan, 5J

On Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 8:12:43 AM UTC-8, Eric Greenwell wrote:
wrote on 11/23/2019 6:25 AM:
Patrick,

I replaced my trailer fenders with the Cobra product. The Cobra fenders include
the wheel chocks. They also use the existing mounting holes.

Also, use trailer tires; they are made for towing.

Be sure they are _radial_ trailer tires, and if you want to tow fast (70+, not
that I recommend it), use LT (Light Truck) tires, which have a much higher speed
rating than the 65 mph trailer tires.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

LT tires aren't available for that size - use trailer (ST) tires.