Some Sprinters commented on my wide-tyred trolley at the Nationals, and some of them asked for more info. Sorry about the delay – I've had some health problems, which also mean it'll be some time before I'm sailing again.....
Cons
1 my trolley has not been used for long enough to know whether the bearings prove vulnerable to corrosion and wear due to fresh water, sea water, sand, dust and grit. If you decide to copy it, you MAY find that the bearings have a shorter working life than you, and clearly I, had hoped.
2 I don't yet know whether my choice of nearly 9.5 inches of flat tyre is as good on soft sand as the rounded 12 inch section of a Eurotrax – of which only a limited proportion will actually touch sand. It performed well on the limited distances over sand at Brightlingsea (launching on Saturday, recovery on Monday!).
3 It's heavier than a standard trolley. You need a handle so that it can be rolled around. This means it is awkward to get past boats being moved in the other direction on a narrow slipway. Trolley dollies and gents may find the weight disconcerting, and prefer to move other trolleys to convenient points first. Could the weight be further disadvantage over soft sand? Don't underestimate this Con!
4 Possible doubt over continuing availability of wheels and tyres if replacements should be necessary, possible issues if the (tubeless) tyres puncture.
5 You have to have the tools and time to make it.
Pros
1 I chose flat 9.5 inch wide 18 inch diameter tyres, smaller width and diameter than Eurotrax. This means less air and less buoyancy, so that it's easier than a Eurotrax to slide under a boat due to its lower position.
2 It rolls easily due to the bearings and the flat wide profile tyres.
3 The wheels and tyres I chose (over the Web!) look and feel substantial enough to last my remaining sailing years (but I am 68 with a dodgy heart....).
4 It's a lot cheaper than a Eurotrax (even a second hand one?)
5 Making it was not difficult.
My trolley uses most of my original standard trolley, which had been modified about 15 years ago to double the wheels (this worked really well on the medium shingle beach where I used to sail, but we all know it can be worse than a standard single wheel trolley on soft sand!).
WHEELS, TYRES, “SUB-AXLES” AND BEARINGS
WARNING : Unless you want to redesign you need a wheel that can accept bearings with 25mm bore, and are available in the diameter and width to fit the recess in the wheel. Obviously, the wheel must be able to carry the tyre you choose, so all 4 must be compatible.
Wheels and Tyres
While you can find other Kite Buggy Wheel and Tyre suppliers, I chose Tyre-Rite Ltd - trading on the Web as http://www.allterraintyres.co.uk/ (ATT in what follows) - as they provided clear answers quickly to my emails requesting more info. They, and their choice of courier, were quick to deliver my order.
I chose 18x9.50-8 Smooth Slick Midi Bigfoot Kite Buggy Tyres and 8.00-8 Asymmetric Bigfoot Black Plastic Kite Buggy Wheels – cost assembled and delivered £167.68.
I decided on smooth tyres as Gordon said he preferred them to the knobby ones he now has on his Eurotrax. My choice was the widest available without going to 21 inch diameter 10 or12 inch width – see Con2 & Pro1. The wheels are asymetric, so that the bearing side could be almost as close to the Trolley cup as the standard wheels – mine are only about 1 cm further from the cup than were standard wheels. I guessed this wouldn't put too much stress on the aluminium I used for the sub-axles (see below)
Bearings
I got the 4 bearings needed from Bearing Options - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BEARING-6205- ... 2c5459ba53 - £21.22 inc p&p. (ATT don't sell bearings as well as wheels and tyres!). A search on Ebay or the web will show other suppliers - 6205 2RS STAINLESS STEEL when you search and order (I did wonder about metal sealed bearings, but decided arbitrarily to go for the RS ones – perhaps an engineering Sprinter can advise better). I tapped them into the recesses (tight fit) in the wheels with a wooden mallet – no spacer between the bearings as I figured there would never be sufficient sideways stress forces to require one. I once found a “special” 6205 bearing, 1inch(25.4mm)X52mmX15mm, but it wasn't stainless steel, nor was it R(ubber)S(ealed)...... so you need 25mm od sub-axles.
NEW 25mm Aluminium “sub-axles”
I suppose you MIGHT be able to reduce the 1inch(25.4mm) od of a standard axle to 25mm, but I don't have a lathe and I didn't fancy trying to reduce it with wet and dry paper – I wanted the tube to be 25mm so that the bore of my bearings would slip tightly and “square” over the tube – a squint bearing will neither run easily nor last well. I got my 2 from Aluminium 2 Buy http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALUMINIUM-ROU ... 5adb3ac9b8 - £11.05 inc p&p. A search will find few other suppliers - remember that aluminium and stainless steel is normally sold in imperial (inch and swg) sizes – you DO NOT want 1 inch tube – 25.4mm diameter.
If you find that the 25mm tube wobbles around too much in the short “packing” tube fitted in standard trolleys between the 1 inch sub-axle tube and the 1½ inch 10 swg long tube, you may want to get some 1¼ inch 10swg aluminium tube to replace the standard “packing tube” (either search the web or Ebay, or use your local non-ferrous metal stockist). BUT 10 swg isn't 1/8 inch ( 0.125 inch) it's 0.128 inch. You'll need a lot of wet and dry paper, and elbow grease to sand off those extra thousandths, and to clean up the inside of the 1½ inch 10swg tube. I did this to support the new 25mm tube for the c4.5 cm from the inside bearing to where my previously shortened 1½ inch tube ended and then extend c19 cm into that tube. There's less play between my new 25mm sub-axles through my new “packing tubes” to the outer 1½ inch tube than there was between the old 1 inch sub-axles through the original “packing tubes” to the outer 1½ inch tube.
Bolts and Nuts
I re-used the 6mm Stainless Steel bolts and galvanised “penny washers”, but with new locking nuts, that I had bought some years ago to replace the rivets holding the sub-axles to the trolley cups.
I bought some new marine grade 5mm stainless steel bolts (various lengths), washers and locking nuts to use through new holes drilled through the 1½ inch outer tube, new 1¼ inch 10swg packing tubes and new 25mm sub-axles, and through short lengths of 1½ 10 swg aluminium tube (as per new packing tube – I'd bought enough tube to meet both purposes) and the new 25mm sub-axles to hold the wheels in place by pressing against the inner rings of the bearings on each side of the wheel (you might be able to re-use the plastic tube used to keep original wheels clear of the trolley cups, but you will have to fix them to the 25mm sub-axle as the new wheels have to further away from the trolley cup than the originals).
VARIATIONS
Wheels If you are tempted to use the other much cheaper wheel available from ATT, it has recesses for 6204 bearings (47mm od, 14mm width) and a bore of c40mm so that a 25mm sub-axle is ok. BUT, I couldn't find a 6204 RS SS with a 25mm id... The nearest I could find in the time I was prepared to search the web was 6005 RS 25mmX47mmX12mm. The other point to consider is that this wheel is symmetrical, so that the tyre will balloon out each side. In order to clear the trolley cup the wheel would have to be mounted much further away from the trolley cup, putting more strain on the 25mm sub-axle. Perhaps stronger material (Stainless steel, but not so easy to drill etc) or thicker aluminium tube would be needed? Also, a “flat” crossection tyre would become rounded, and ATT warn of the need for inner tubes in some cases......
Tyres You've others to choose from at ATT, including the equivalent of Eurotrax.
TIPS
1 Before you do anything, put your fully assembled old trolley on the floor, top of the cups down, and mark round as a template for the modifications you are making. I did this on my garage floor, using chalk! THEN disassemble the trolley.
2 Always measure twice and cut once, especially when cutting the 1½ inch10 swg long outer aluminium tube......
3 To hold the wheels the bearings need to be unable to move on the 25mm sub-axle, and the place to restrict movement is the static inner part of the bearing. So the “packing tube” should extend a little way out from the 1½ 10 swg long outer aluminium tube – so that this wider tube doesn't chafe on the rotating outer bearing ring or the seal.
This post does not constitute a full description of “how to do it” - it's more of a list of sources of necessary purchases, with prices, and enough tips for a competent DIYer to make one for themselves. If you need help, ask for it via the Chat Thread this sets up, and I'll add advice the same way so it's then available to all.
