Broken Stiffening rod on drawbar Big problem ?

Hi Willie
Your other post explains why this happened. If you are going to keep carrying your bike around you will need to cut the bar off both sides and replace with heavier flat bar. Welding is definitely not an option

Hi Willie,
I have seen a number of BT's with that problem.
They replace it with a flat 10mm x 40mm (I think) CHECK with Absolute Trailer Solutions (a sponsor on the right hand side of the forum page).

I presume you were with Mark & the bad weather at Mt Browne? Hope you did ok!

Regards
Noel

G'Day Willie,
My bars snapped three times before I bit the bullet and replaced them with the flat bar. After one broke,I had it repaired and reinforced. When the second one went I did the same,but then when the first one went again reinforcing and all that was enough for me. Was told that it was caused by everything from overloading, travelling too fast over corrigations to having the airbags too ridged. The only one I believed it may have been was the airbags. ( Naturally I was the 1 in a 1000 ) Personally I believe that the flat bar should be standard on all BTs. Have been told that doesn't happen because of the extra weight. I can think of a couple of other areas where weight could be saved without affecting the units capability.

Willie,

Was the hand brake cable broken where it goes over the chain link welded to chassie?
If so I have found that the bouncing of the cable while travelling causes the cable to fray and also because the cable is stronger than the chain link the cable wears a grove in the chain link.

I fixed ours by putting a piece of plastic tubing through the loop and securing it with cable ties and then feeding the cable through the tube.
It just stops the cable bouncing and does not affect the use of the hand brake at all.

I have noticed that BTi fix on later model vans is to make the chain link a lot larger, but it will not stop the wear from bouncing.

Brian

Hi Willie, I have had to replace mine and when i was getting it replaced we found that the chassis was cracked, the main cros member was only 1.6mm rhs instead of 3 mm, so i had a new aframe and cross member fitted, cost a packet, also bought a postie for gold detecting and it is great. but i have to put mine of the ftruck rather than the van, due to weight restrictions.
Frank

Willie, so far i have been to Halls Creek in WA and the golden triangle in Vic, I have far better luck on the sapphire fields and am in the process of finding a claim, but i am not giving up at all. But i enjoy the hunt as it were, which is just as well :)

Willie,

when you have any welding done to the drawbar make sure that the welder knows that the wiring cables run internally down one side of the chassis (RHS on mine).

Ask him what he would do to prevent the heat damaging the cables.

I'm not a welder's bootlace but maybe filling the drawbar with water may be an idea.

cheers

Hi Willie
Ring Karl at G & L Caravans at 10 Cann st Guildford Sydney on 96321687.Iwork a couple of doors away & they have worked on several bt's.They do good work & i know they do good welding.Mention my name.
Regards Graham Smith

We have recently had another bar break and while talking with a local welder it has been suggested that instead of repairing or replacing the chine bar that we cut off the chine bars and replace them with some 50 by 50mm square tube so as to form a laminated A frame that would make it a lot stronger than the original with chine bar.

Has anyone had some experience with this or comments?

Brian