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Author Topic:   Karavan trailer defect

Portola posted 10-19-2010 12:32 AM ET (US)
I have a 2010 170 Montauk with the stock Karavan trailer. I ordered the trailer with disc brakes because I trailer in the mountains and it seemed wise. I had some problems with the fender marker lights popping out of the mounts, but the trailer mostly seemed to perform well. It is certainly solidly built.
Before trailering from the mountains back to the flat land of California, I was checking things out visually and found that the suspension was pretty screwed up. The trailing arm of the torsion suspension would work fine without brakes, but adding the brake calipers caused the axle bracket to collide with the brake calipers with the trailer at rest. This means there was essentially no suspension. Here is photo showing the trailer sitting right on the brake caliper:
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095329795/[/img]
My dealer contacted Karavan (and Boston Whaler) and a new axle of improved design was deliver within a few days. I am amazed at the responsiveness of the dealer and Karavan. The resulting fix, however, is not altogether wonderful. clearances are still tight and I think there may be collisions over bumps in the road. Here is the new setup:
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095929038/in/photostream/[/img]
(Hope these photo links work...)

Portola posted 10-19-2010 01:04 AM ET (US)
Okay, I read the UBB stuff more thoroughly, and when it says that the IMAGE tag is disabled, it actually means the IMG tag is disabled. Here is the link to the suspension before modification
http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095329795/
And here is the picture after modification
http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095929038/in/photostream/
wezie posted 10-19-2010 08:26 AM ET (US)
Might use a ruler in the after pictures and send the final results to Karavan for their perusal. Just ask if this is as it should be.
Use some kind of marker, chalk, etc., to see if there is any contact when braking or crossing RR tracks at high speed.
Can I watch the RR test?
This is very interesting, because the GVMT is pushing all of us toward brakes on trailers with smaller towing vehicles.
Good Luck!
Jefecinco posted 10-19-2010 11:26 AM ET (US)
If the suspension on your Karavan is frequently bottoming out that could be a cause of your marker lights infrequently popping out of the sockets.
The clearance looks too minimal to me but I'm no expert. A test you may want to perform just for fun is to jack up the wheel using the trailing portion from which the axle shaft extends. If that causes the suspension to bottom out the clearance is too tight.
You may also want to put the jack under the box axle near the wheel and raise the axle enough to get the tire off the surface. Check you clearance with the tire off the surface. If it seems excessive there may be an axle problem or the axle installed may be intended for a lighter load.
It's not clear to me if the brakes on your trailer were added by your dealer of if they were installed by Karavan. If they were installed by your dealer they may have been installed improperly or they may have been the wrong size brakes.
Butch
Portola posted 10-19-2010 11:52 AM ET (US)
I do think the suspension was related to the marker lights popping out. Now that the suspension has improved, and I tightened the fender U-bolts, I drove 150 miles with the lights staying in place.
The brakes on the trailer were installed by Karavan and shipped with the boat from Florida last June. The modified axle was made by Karavan and shipped to my dealer for installation last week. (Whaler was also in the loop.) The dealer just took the brakes off the old axle and installed them on the new one. All this happened while I had the boat in the water, though, so nobody saw it loaded with my boat until yesterday when I took pictures.
Thanks both for the suggestions on testing. I was also thinking I might get a couple of people to climb in the boat and sit in aft quarter while I watch the suspension. I will do some experiments, although I'm leaving town today and I won't be able to work on it for a week or so.

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Author	Topic: Karavan trailer defect
Portola	posted 10-19-2010 12:32 AM ET (US) I have a 2010 170 Montauk with the stock Karavan trailer. I ordered the trailer with disc brakes because I trailer in the mountains and it seemed wise. I had some problems with the fender marker lights popping out of the mounts, but the trailer mostly seemed to perform well. It is certainly solidly built. Before trailering from the mountains back to the flat land of California, I was checking things out visually and found that the suspension was pretty screwed up. The trailing arm of the torsion suspension would work fine without brakes, but adding the brake calipers caused the axle bracket to collide with the brake calipers with the trailer at rest. This means there was essentially no suspension. Here is photo showing the trailer sitting right on the brake caliper: [img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095329795/[/img] My dealer contacted Karavan (and Boston Whaler) and a new axle of improved design was deliver within a few days. I am amazed at the responsiveness of the dealer and Karavan. The resulting fix, however, is not altogether wonderful. clearances are still tight and I think there may be collisions over bumps in the road. Here is the new setup: [img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095929038/in/photostream/[/img] (Hope these photo links work...)
Portola	posted 10-19-2010 01:04 AM ET (US) Okay, I read the UBB stuff more thoroughly, and when it says that the IMAGE tag is disabled, it actually means the IMG tag is disabled. Here is the link to the suspension before modification http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095329795/ And here is the picture after modification http://www.flickr.com/photos/draustin/5095929038/in/photostream/
wezie	posted 10-19-2010 08:26 AM ET (US) Might use a ruler in the after pictures and send the final results to Karavan for their perusal. Just ask if this is as it should be. Use some kind of marker, chalk, etc., to see if there is any contact when braking or crossing RR tracks at high speed. Can I watch the RR test? This is very interesting, because the GVMT is pushing all of us toward brakes on trailers with smaller towing vehicles. Good Luck!
Jefecinco	posted 10-19-2010 11:26 AM ET (US) If the suspension on your Karavan is frequently bottoming out that could be a cause of your marker lights infrequently popping out of the sockets. The clearance looks too minimal to me but I'm no expert. A test you may want to perform just for fun is to jack up the wheel using the trailing portion from which the axle shaft extends. If that causes the suspension to bottom out the clearance is too tight. You may also want to put the jack under the box axle near the wheel and raise the axle enough to get the tire off the surface. Check you clearance with the tire off the surface. If it seems excessive there may be an axle problem or the axle installed may be intended for a lighter load. It's not clear to me if the brakes on your trailer were added by your dealer of if they were installed by Karavan. If they were installed by your dealer they may have been installed improperly or they may have been the wrong size brakes. Butch
Portola	posted 10-19-2010 11:52 AM ET (US) I do think the suspension was related to the marker lights popping out. Now that the suspension has improved, and I tightened the fender U-bolts, I drove 150 miles with the lights staying in place. The brakes on the trailer were installed by Karavan and shipped with the boat from Florida last June. The modified axle was made by Karavan and shipped to my dealer for installation last week. (Whaler was also in the loop.) The dealer just took the brakes off the old axle and installed them on the new one. All this happened while I had the boat in the water, though, so nobody saw it loaded with my boat until yesterday when I took pictures. Thanks both for the suggestions on testing. I was also thinking I might get a couple of people to climb in the boat and sit in aft quarter while I watch the suspension. I will do some experiments, although I'm leaving town today and I won't be able to work on it for a week or so.