Aust. One Ton trailer info. required

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Ganmain Tony

A couple I will ask... if you look closely at the first photo you will notice a curved pattern of bolts which attach the guards to the trailer.

Now...my anecdotal information is that all the humbers we received out here came with a british built trailer. The one Richard Farrant described earlier in this thread. The FV 2401 A

To bring them in line with the ones we built out here, the Brit built ones had their round guards removed and replaced with the square ones.

AND were re-plated to indicate they were an Australian No 1 Mk 1 Trailer

Righto - over to the experts. Is the above info correct?

Hi Tony,
Interesting, since the first time I saw one, I thought it was a British one, as apart from the simple mudguards and different wheels, the rest is absolutely identical, down to the X pressings in the side and the drawbar components, not to forget the hubs.
regards, Richard

Edit:
Just looked at Mike Cecil's excellent book, Mud & Dust and see that Corio built the trailers to a British War Office design. Maybe they originally had the round mudguards and changed them later as they were close fitting around the tyre and could get damaged. This explains a lot.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

I tried Tony, but the plate does not come up at all well, it is a much lighter plate than the other with less and lighter stamping, apart from manufacturer it just has the date and serial no. (all I can see any way)
Taking it to Corowa?
Rich.

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

I tried Tony, but the plate does not come up at all well, it is a much lighter plate than the other with less and lighter stamping, apart from manufacturer it just has the date and serial no. (all I can see any way)
Taking it to Corowa?
Rich.

Hopefully Rich, it needs a bit of work done, but we are fired up to do it.

Look forward to a yarn at Corowa and hopefully with more knowledge about these trailers...will it be blasphemy to tow it behind a Cab 12 Blitz?

[Mike Cecil]

Perhaps not blasphemy .... after all, both the Cab 12's horribly cramped cab and the Corio trailers 'over engineered' design owe their origins to British War Office 'thinking', albeit at different times.

Richard's comments about the mudguard are interesting: the Land Rover mudguard (series 2A for Aust Army) was developed as a result of trials experience with mud building up between the wheel and rounded mudguard, and the small space being too tight to clear out easily. Perhaps this is another instance of that?

Mike C

[Mike Cecil]

Dianna

I think it's a bit more complicated than just using a Pan Brake: the square guards require cutting the blank, punch the mounting holes, press the ribs in the top (using a die in a press), notch the fold points, fold and flatten raw edges, fold edges at right angles, fold guards and weld, most of which are manual operations. For 1000 plus guards (for 500 trailers plus spares/replacement parts) that's a lot of time/labour. I don't doubt that the set-up costs of large blanking, forming and trimming dies for a double-acting press are something to consider, but I'm just not sure that it is the main driving force behind the square versus round design in this case. Same for the thousands of Aust jeep trailers: I think the main driving force in all these cases was access/mud clearance, rather than the economics of pressed versus folded guards. The Aust Army already had considerable experience with the Bantam trailer before the Aust No.3 & 4 were designed, and it is probably the reason why the No.4 trailer guard was mounted even higher on the body than the No.3: to provide maximum clearance.

Mike C

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Tony, heaven forbid Corowa Should have a "Year of Everything Must Be Perfectly Correct".

In the same era the Austin Champ had the round front mudgaurds replaced with the square ones after the proto-type (Mudlark) stage. Unfortunatley the round guards on the back remain, they leave very little room around the wheel/tyre and could become mud bound quite easily.


Rich.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

Tony, heaven forbid Corowa Should have a "Year of Everything Must Be Perfectly Correct".

Rich.

Great thread Rich. The above quote won't happen with me. I have a Corio trailer which I tow behind the White Scout Car. I modified the stud patten to 6 studs and fitted M3A1 wheels. That way I only have 1 spare wheel to worry about. The spare is mounted where the missing front box usually is. To balance the trailer more, I have fitted a jerry can holder on each side at the rear and across the tailgate is mounted the roller clamp which clamps to the roller at the front of the Ws/c and the ex-British 'A' frame. The 'A' frame mounts underneath at the back. We have had to be towed home about 3 times, so the clamp and 'A' frame are a necessary piece of equipment.

It is good to see that there are a few people planning to bring their trailer to Corowa. Get your entry in now,please, if you haven't entered yet.

Regards Rick.

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

Hi Tony,
Interesting, since the first time I saw one, I thought it was a British one, as apart from the simple mudguards and different wheels, the rest is absolutely identical, down to the X pressings in the side and the drawbar components, not to forget the hubs.
regards, Richard

Edit:
Just looked at Mike Cecil's excellent book, Mud & Dust and see that Corio built the trailers to a British War Office design. Maybe they originally had the round mudguards and changed them later as they were close fitting around the tyre and could get damaged. This explains a lot.

Once again Richard your knowledge and helpful direction is invaluable. Great points, one's I had not considered...will investigate through Mike's book.

Actually hoping he gets back onto this thread..