Collapsed Axles

There has been a fair bit of discussion on Caravan Talk,Bailey Owners Club and probably other forums regarding "collapsed" axles on Mk 3 Unicorns and I think others from the Bailey range.

I am not going to go into great detail as it tends to become a bit technical and I am no expert on the matter,I put up this post so as to make owners aware and anyone who wants to take it further can do so at their leisure.

The top and bottom of it appears to be that the axle appears to settle too much on the rubber supporting bushes so that the top of the tyre rubs against the top of the wheelbox when the van is loaded thereby creating a hole for water and damp.

At first Bailey appeared to blame it on overloading but both they and Al-Ko appear to have come round to the view that there is a problem and have started replacing affected axles.

The clearance from the top of the tyre and the wheelbox should be 25mm,here is a guide to measurement :-

As I say people have been going into it much deeper than this but this is the nub of it.

I have measured our clearance and it seems to be OK,from what has been said there was a bad batch of axles,hopefully ours,and yours,isn't one of them.

Ian

Photo's

Just a reminder for any new readers,if you click on my photo's they come up full screen in glorious Technicolour for your delight and delectation.

Ian

Strip Replacement

As appears to be usual on the Unicorn 3 range the white strips front and rear which cover the gap between the caravan bodywork and the front bumpers were beginning to look a bit grim.

Replacement strips are available from the Bailey Parts ( Prima Leisure ) site at a cost of about a fiver ( Part Number :- 1132588 ) for a 2.5m length,you will need two one for the back and one for the front.

However before you dash off to increase the contents of Mr.Bailey's pockets,wait awhile.

This is the state they were in prior to removal,I started at the rear first:-

Unfortunately the side sections appear to be well fixed to the van so I left them alone and just  concentrated on the long centre section,this applied to both back and front:-

The centre section pulls out easily enough leaving a small gap that had its fair share of gunge,crud and crap in it which I removed with an old credit card and wiped it clean with a cloth.

Now comes the money saving bit,when they are removed it leaves a small gap which doesn't look too bad without the strip.

I fact if I was doing it again I would be tempted to just leave it but as I had the strips I ploughed on.

The new strip is fiddly to apply and would have been easier in warmer weather but had it sorted eventually :-

That was the back done so it was on to the front,pulled the centre strip out and once again it was concealing a dung heap.

Now after much trying we couldn't get the front seal to fit properly for some reason so left it without the strip which I may try reapplying in warmer weather but actually it looks OK without in my opinion :-

/

So to sum up the strips look a bit of a mess as were so removing/replacing them is a good idea and it looks a lot cleaner without them,whether you bother with new ones is of course a personal decision but it does look OK without and after all the strips are only "decorative" and don't provide any waterproofing so it is up to you.

The basic design is a bit of an abortion really and I note they have gone on the U4 to be replaced by a smooth front one of the few things I like about the U4.

Ian

Air To Spare Offer

I have been sent this e-mail by David the proprietor of Air to Spare :

Good evening folks,
 
I thought I’d let you know that I’m having a sale at the moment, I’ve reduced the price of each Air to Spare by 40%.

If you fancy one (or more!) then please use the link I posted in the blog to my eBay page.

Many thanks.

David 

( This is not a recommendation for Air to Spare and no money has changed hands I am just reproducing the mail for anyone who is interested ).

Ian 

Air To Spare Contd ( Again )

I have receved an e-mail from the proprietor of Air To Spare which I reproduce below :-

Good afternoon folks,
 
Air to Spare is absolutely still trading following a change of ownership; I’m David, the new owner.

The technical issues with the website will be resolved soon but meanwhile please use our eBay outlet David has linked to above and save yourself the P&P costs.

The intention was always to create a product that was better that the competition both in terms of quality of components and the length of available hose and that is what we’ve achieved.

The most recent batch of Air to Spares was posted last weekend and a huge thank you goes out from me to all of our customers.

If you have any questions you can contact me via eBay messaging or at douglasd2@sky.com

Many thanks. 

Ian