On 12/19/2010 10:02 AM, sisu1a wrote:

I have steel fenders on my Cobra trailer. A blowout took the back
half of the fender and folded it double inside itself. So I am not
sure steel is any more durable than plastic.

Really? Imagine what your fiberglass/aluminum trailer would have
looked like if that steel fender hadn't absorbed like 90% of the
energy of the blowout. In addition to a mangled trailer, your glider
would have probably been damaged inside as well like this recent
victim of plastic fenders:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...9415b95aad7d6#

Another good reason for metal fenders is that they provide a little
more protection from other cars/trailers as well...

I've known a lot of people (including me) that have lost a tire on a
COBRA trailer, with no damage to anything but the fender. The 1984 Komet
trailer might be a more fragile animal.

How much you use the trailer, and how much a problem rust is, may be the
way to choose. I fought chronic rust on my steel race car trailer
fenders (inside the fender and the front of the fender - mostly rock
chips), but rust is not an issue with my Cobra's plastic fenders.
Northern Tool also has aluminum fenders - a good compromise, perhaps. Or
find someone that will sell you stainless steel!

For the last few years, I've had a tire pressure monitoring system on
the tow vehicle that includes the trailer tires, hoping to avoid the
tire failure in the first place. Looking the tires every time I gas up
helps, too. If the tread is beginning to separate, this will likely find
it before the tire pressure is affected.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)