Brian James tipper trailer, good or bad?

[monkeybusiness]

2 hours ago, dig-dug-dan said:

Here is my video. Btw, I wasnt paid to do this in case anyone thinks I might be on commission!

That DiggerPlant trailer is the same as mine, and it keeps cracking across the bed.

The ‘prop stand’ skid feet don’t touch the ground (and can’t be adjusted) so are totally pointless, putting unnecessary strain through the trailer during loading/unloading. 
Probably ok if you only carry lightweight compact tractors etc, but totally useless if you carry heavier tracked plant and/or rollers (even though they are well within the trailer’s carrying capacity). 
It’s a shame that they haven’t bothered updating the design as the rest of the trailer isn’t bad. I’ll continue to buy elsewhere though, as they just don’t stand up to our type of use as well as the Ifors we run. 

[dig-dug-dan]

1 hour ago, monkeybusiness said:

That DiggerPlant trailer is the same as mine, and it keeps cracking across the bed.

The ‘prop stand’ skid feet don’t touch the ground (and can’t be adjusted) so are totally pointless, putting unnecessary strain through the trailer during loading/unloading. 
Probably ok if you only carry lightweight compact tractors etc, but totally useless if you carry heavier tracked plant and/or rollers (even though they are well within the trailer’s carrying capacity). 
It’s a shame that they haven’t bothered updating the design as the rest of the trailer isn’t bad. I’ll continue to buy elsewhere though, as they just don’t stand up to our type of use as well as the Ifors we run. 

If you are using it for a roller, you have to specify that as it need to built for point loading.

The propstands only touch the ground as required. If they touched before you loaded, you wouldnt be able to pull them back up again!

I put 2.7tonnes on this without issue so far.

I take it Brian James are aware of your issues?

[doobin]

I'll preface this by saying that I've never had a brand new trailer before, but I've just bought an Ifor Williams GH1054BT. Build quality remains to be seen but the residuals will be sky high so I plan to keep for three years and change when it needs brakes and tyres.

 

The design however is superb. Everything is simply perfect for moving plant- all I did was cut the eye bolts that hold the tailgate down a little as there was no need for them to be so long and unweildy. The tiedown rings are so easy to get to, the spring assisted ramp is bliss compared to a pair of drop down ramps and the beavertail makes a big difference to loading. You step straight from the cab onto a strong chequerplated step, and the trailer itself is just wide enough for my 2.7t but noticeably compact for a 3.5t plant trailer behind the pickup. There will eb isues no doubt, and despite a factory PDI I've already had to tighten up the brake studding and lock it off properly as it was about to part company.

 

Monkeybusiness is right- if the prop stands don't touch whilst loading to maximum payload then something is very wrong. Even if they did touch the ground, the leverage of the tailgate means it's easy to close it and pull them back up- I've done this on many a trailer, especially with pairs of ramps where a cross slope puts all the pressure on one ramp. The Ifor is spot on in this respect, the prop spacing is perfect.

 

I'd say this lack of prop support when loading would be a major contributory factor to any cracking- the other factor is that we have a perfect storm- digger manufacturers building as heavy as they dare, and trailer manufacturers building as light as they dare! Another reason I don't plan to keep my new Ifor many years.

[monkeybusiness]

2 hours ago, dig-dug-dan said:

If you are using it for a roller, you have to specify that as it need to built for point loading.

The propstands only touch the ground as required. If they touched before you loaded, you wouldnt be able to pull them back up again!

I put 2.7tonnes on this without issue so far.

I take it Brian James are aware of your issues?

It broke originally (and subsequently) carrying 1.8 tonne tracked chippers (the sole reason I bought it). It’s only carried rollers very occasionally. 
 

I’ve never seen the propstands come into contact with the ground - they are totally pointless.

 

The original jockey wheel (fancy fold-up jobby) couldn’t handle the nose weight of the trailer when laden - it’s replacement ‘traditional’ setup has the most ridiculously skinny clamp-bolt that shears off for fun.

 

It was delivered brand new with the brake cables attached/hanging underneath with long-looped cable ties. 
 

It went into the dealers for its ‘free’ service after 1000 miles and they presented me with a big bill for various made up issues (including a complete rear light unit - there was a tiny crack in the lens that was of no consequence). 
 

The wheels are bloody awkward to swap as they don’t self-centre on the hub and don’t have studs- you need 3 hands to hold the wheel and get the bolts started. 
 

They do have good ramp locking-bolts though to their credit - better than Ifor in that respect. 
 

I don’t know if BJ know of my issues or not - I fell out with the supplying dealer over that first-service bill and won’t bother with them again. 

[nepia]

44 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

I don’t know if BJ know of my issues or not - I fell out with the supplying dealer over that first-service bill and won’t bother with them again. 

I see your point entirely but my experience says you'd find a big difference between BJ and the dealer you used.  BJ used to deal direct with users but no more; when they did they were top notch.  If you approached them (too late now I guess) you'd be taken seriously.

[monkeybusiness]

11 minutes ago, nepia said:

I see your point entirely but my experience says you'd find a big difference between BJ and the dealer you used.  BJ used to deal direct with users but no more; when they did they were top notch.  If you approached them (too late now I guess) you'd be taken seriously.

The sad thing about it was that I bought the BJ as had not long previously bought a real dog of an Ifor GH94 directly from IWT Deeside. It was a real ‘Friday-built’ trailer - welds cracking and then the axle fell off and Ifor really didn’t want to know!.. They eventually sorted it and in reality it was the only bad experience I’ve had with Ifor over 10 or so trailers (all from new). 
However, whilst all that was dragging on I needed another trailer and bought the BJ (which was a bit more money but was 3.5 tonne as opposed to 2.7) and I really wanted to love it. Reality didn’t meet expectation sadly, and I’ve bought nothing but Ifor since (until a couple of months ago when I bought a tri-axle Bateson tiltbed which ticks the boxes I bought it for better than the Ifor equivalent and has thus far impressed me). 

[Alycidon]

On 04/10/2020 at 12:05, Dan Maynard said:

If you're going to drop rings in, isn't it worth lining with some half inch ply to give the sides some bounce anyway?

I've also been thinking about a topper and want to look at Nugent too.

I see see a Nugent general purpose trailer that drove past me over the weekend,  new,  looked smart but no opportunity for a close up look.

 

A

[Alycidon]

23 hours ago, doobin said:

I'll preface this by saying that I've never had a brand new trailer before, but I've just bought an Ifor Williams GH1054BT. Build quality remains to be seen but the residuals will be sky high so I plan to keep for three years and change when it needs brakes and tyres.

 

The design however is superb. Everything is simply perfect for moving plant- all I did was cut the eye bolts that hold the tailgate down a little as there was no need for them to be so long and unweildy. The tiedown rings are so easy to get to, the spring assisted ramp is bliss compared to a pair of drop down ramps and the beavertail makes a big difference to loading. You step straight from the cab onto a strong chequerplated step, and the trailer itself is just wide enough for my 2.7t but noticeably compact for a 3.5t plant trailer behind the pickup. There will eb isues no doubt, and despite a factory PDI I've already had to tighten up the brake studding and lock it off properly as it was about to part company.

 

Monkeybusiness is right- if the prop stands don't touch whilst loading to maximum payload then something is very wrong. Even if they did touch the ground, the leverage of the tailgate means it's easy to close it and pull them back up- I've done this on many a trailer, especially with pairs of ramps where a cross slope puts all the pressure on one ramp. The Ifor is spot on in this respect, the prop spacing is perfect.

 

I'd say this lack of prop support when loading would be a major contributory factor to any cracking- the other factor is that we have a perfect storm- digger manufacturers building as heavy as they dare, and trailer manufacturers building as light as they dare! Another reason I don't plan to keep my new Ifor many years.

Never needs tyres,   always needs brakes !!.    I reline brakes every 12- 18 months,  tyres punctures excepted last 10 years.

 

A