Help Sought on Cobra Trailer Lock

I wrote to Spindleberger about this, but they are on vacation for the
entire month of August. Hopefully someone on RAS can provide a
solution before the Spindlebergers return.

I have a 1983 Cobra trailer with a metal top. On the rear of the
trailer, one of the sliding rods in the locking mechanism (the rod is
the one for the right side of the trailer) is no longer attached to
the silver T-handle. It appears from marks on the rod that a set screw
came loose.

I cannot determine how to re-install the rod and re-secure the set
screw, as the lock mechanism itself and the remaining sliding rod are
completely hidden inside a hollow square tube. I don't want to
randomly drill out rivets, as there are quite a few of them and they
are tightly secured!

Can anyone give me precise instructions on how I might proceed to
repair the rear lock mechanism? Thanks!

-John

Gees, I just had the same thing happened to my trailer a few weeks ago. Same
here, would love some suggestions. PeterK
"jcarlyle" wrote in message
ps.com...
I wrote to Spindleberger about this, but they are on vacation for the
entire month of August. Hopefully someone on RAS can provide a
solution before the Spindlebergers return.

I have a 1983 Cobra trailer with a metal top. On the rear of the
trailer, one of the sliding rods in the locking mechanism (the rod is
the one for the right side of the trailer) is no longer attached to
the silver T-handle. It appears from marks on the rod that a set screw
came loose.

I cannot determine how to re-install the rod and re-secure the set
screw, as the lock mechanism itself and the remaining sliding rod are
completely hidden inside a hollow square tube. I don't want to
randomly drill out rivets, as there are quite a few of them and they
are tightly secured!

Can anyone give me precise instructions on how I might proceed to
repair the rear lock mechanism? Thanks!

-John

On Aug 4, 6:47 am, jcarlyle wrote:
I wrote to Spindleberger about this, but they are on vacation for the
entire month of August. Hopefully someone on RAS can provide a
solution before the Spindlebergers return.

I have a 1983 Cobra trailer with a metal top. On the rear of the
trailer, one of the sliding rods in the locking mechanism (the rod is
the one for the right side of the trailer) is no longer attached to
the silver T-handle. It appears from marks on the rod that a set screw
came loose.

I cannot determine how to re-install the rod and re-secure the set
screw, as the lock mechanism itself and the remaining sliding rod are
completely hidden inside a hollow square tube. I don't want to
randomly drill out rivets, as there are quite a few of them and they
are tightly secured!

Can anyone give me precise instructions on how I might proceed to
repair the rear lock mechanism? Thanks!

-John

I would try to avoid a major disassembly. Can you access the
attachment point by using a hole saw to cut through the hollow square
tube from the inside of the trailer?

Thanks - major disassembly is exactly what I want to avoid, too. I'm
reluctant to use a hole saw, though, for fear that the guide drill (or
the saw itself) might damage something important inside the square
tube.

Looking at the end of the square tube, I see that there are little
"saddles" that the rod rides in. Not sure if they are just at the end,
or if there are others in the middle of the tube. I haven't tried to
take off the nut on the inside of the silver T-handle yet, for fear
that I'll release something that will be impossible to put back into
place.

What I really need is (1) an idea of how Spindelberger put the
assembly together, or (2) an idea of what's inside the tube. It may be
that I simply have to drill out the 2 rivets for the T-handle, take
off the nut on the inside, and I'll be able to see what I need to in
the resultant hole.

-John

wrote:
I would try to avoid a major disassembly. Can you access the
attachment point by using a hole saw to cut through the hollow square
tube from the inside of the trailer?

I once spent a couple hours inside a Cobra trailer after one of the
rods became disconnected from the handle inside the square tube.
Luckily, the glider was assembled. Unluckily it was during a contest
at California City, so it was brutally hot in there.

If I recall correctly, the two rods that come out the ends of the
square tube are joined in the center by a small cam that is operated
by the handle. If you remove the handle, then you can slide the three
(two in your case) joined parts out one end.

One of the "no-no"s in using the Cobra trailer is to operate the
locking handle while the side latches are open. And you should never
unlatch the sides if the handle is in the locked position. This is
likely why your rod came loose - as it was jammed at the end due to
the back of the trailer lifting a little due to the latches being
open.

Good luck.

5Z, that's very helpful - thanks! Just one more thing - do you
remember if the handle was removed simply by unscrewing the inside
nut, or whether rivets on the handle's outside silver mounting had to
be removed?

I probably did bring this on myself - at least once I do remember
unlocking the handle after the sides were unlocked. But I haven't made
that mistake in more than a year, so it's a mystery why it happened
now. If I get things fixed, I'll never do it again! Thanks for the
insight, 5Z.

Now, about being locked in the trailer - why did you go in and have
someone close the top? Why didn't you get out through the forward
hatch? Please do tell the story...

-John

=======

On Aug 7, 4:45 pm, 5Z wrote:
I once spent a couple hours inside a Cobra trailer after one of the
rods became disconnected from the handle inside the square tube.
Luckily, the glider was assembled. Unluckily it was during a contest
at California City, so it was brutally hot in there.

If I recall correctly, the two rods that come out the ends of the
square tube are joined in the center by a small cam that is operated
by the handle. If you remove the handle, then you can slide the three
(two in your case) joined parts out one end.

One of the "no-no"s in using the Cobra trailer is to operate the
locking handle while the side latches are open. And you should never
unlatch the sides if the handle is in the locked position. This is
likely why your rod came loose - as it was jammed at the end due to
the back of the trailer lifting a little due to the latches being
open.

Good luck.

On Aug 8, 6:59 am, jcarlyle wrote:
5Z, that's very helpful - thanks! Just one more thing - do you
remember if the handle was removed simply by unscrewing the inside
nut, or whether rivets on the handle's outside silver mounting had to
be removed?

I think it was just a matter of removing the nut on the back. But it
was a long time ago. Until you mentioned the nut on the back, I
wasn't sure I could help, but that stimulated the recollection.

Now, about being locked in the trailer - why did you go in and have
someone close the top? Why didn't you get out through the forward
hatch? Please do tell the story...

Actually, I went IN through the front hatch. The pilot I was crewing
for discovered that he couldn't open the trailer. So I ended up
fixing the latch while he was out on course that day.

-Tom

In article . com,
jcarlyle writes
Thanks - major disassembly is exactly what I want to avoid, too. I'm
reluctant to use a hole saw, though, for fear that the guide drill (or
the saw itself) might damage something important inside the square
tube.

Looking at the end of the square tube, I see that there are little
"saddles" that the rod rides in. Not sure if they are just at the end,
or if there are others in the middle of the tube. I haven't tried to
take off the nut on the inside of the silver T-handle yet, for fear
that I'll release something that will be impossible to put back into
place.

What I really need is (1) an idea of how Spindelberger put the
assembly together, or (2) an idea of what's inside the tube. It may be
that I simply have to drill out the 2 rivets for the T-handle, take
off the nut on the inside, and I'll be able to see what I need to in
the resultant hole.

-John

wrote:
I would try to avoid a major disassembly. Can you access the
attachment point by using a hole saw to cut through the hollow square
tube from the inside of the trailer?

We had exactly the same problem about 5 years ago. I took the trailer to
a firm which is currently restoring an Me262 for a wealthy software
person in the USA. The CEO's dad borrowed what he called a windy drill
with which removed about 400 rivets.

That enabled us to get at the square tube and to reattach the rod. And
then replace the 400 rivets! The whole process took all day.

But I know now there aren't any bits inside the tube which would be
damaged by cutting a window in it. So it will be a quicker job next
time.

Hope that helps. Oh, our trailer was built in 1984.
--
Mike Lindsay

Thanks, Mike. Removing 400 rivets is exactly what I was hoping to
avoid! With luck I'll be able to follow up this weekend on Tom's hint
of removing the handle and snaking out the innards. If it works, I'll
let the group know. If it doesn't...well...I'll cut a window before I
tackle 400 rivets!

-John

Mike Lindsay wrote:
We had exactly the same problem about 5 years ago. I took the trailer to
a firm which is currently restoring an Me262 for a wealthy software
person in the USA. The CEO's dad borrowed what he called a windy drill
with which removed about 400 rivets.

That enabled us to get at the square tube and to reattach the rod. And
then replace the 400 rivets! The whole process took all day.

But I know now there aren't any bits inside the tube which would be
damaged by cutting a window in it. So it will be a quicker job next
time.

Hope that helps. Oh, our trailer was built in 1984.
--
Mike Lindsay