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Old May 8th 21, 10:18 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jon May
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Posts: 8
Default Two Seat Cobra Trailer Tire Replacement

I used to have a Duo,We bought it new from the works in Germany, complete with a new trailer.
We rolled out of the works and on to the autobahn towards England.
The first pullover we stopped and put every thing at the hitch end of the trailer.
At the second stop we took our suitcases and everything we could find and put it in the front of the trailer.
We had the Duo 10 yeas and love it,I think the shock absorbers settled a bit because it never bounced that much again.
But I used to set the hitch weight to 75Kg which is the max allowable for the car, and I did this by adding a sand bag to the front locker.

In an earlier life I used to move boats on rented car trailers which are always double axle.
You will have an accident with one you just don't know when or how bad.


On Saturday, 8 May 2021 at 19:13:01 UTC+1, wrote:
On Saturday, 8 May 2021 at 16:22:17 UTC+1, Robert Seccombe BE wrote:
On our single axle two place glider trailer I destroyed the two original tires that were on it when I acquired it. One was just a cut in the sidewall that I discovered while parked. The other was a total failure while on the highway; and I wasn't aware of it but for another driver alerting me. The tire was completely missing and the rim was destroyed; this while towing behind a 21' class C. The replacement wheel and tire were from W&W. Though it does seem to tow somewhat better with the newer tires, I have never been happy with the way this trailer tows and I am seriously considering adding a second axle. The Airforce Duo Discus trailers are duel axle.

Having had previous experience of one trailer losing a wheel and another having a dramatic tyre destruction, when we got a Duo with a Cobra trailer I over-ruled advice from Cobra and insisted on specifying the dual axle option. I came to regret this, partly because of the difficulty in hand manoeuvring it but mainly because the trailer, having a level it wanted to maintain that was not what the vehicle hitch wanted, tended to nod during towing. Keeping the front axle tyres a little less inflated than the rear ones helped but did not eliminate this. It may have been more comfortable if the tow car did not have self-levelling suspension but I sold out of the glider before I sold the car.