I have a 1970s Trident companion Micro caravan that i have refurbished, i have unfortunatly got two broken hinges that hold the up and over door up . i managed to contact the manufacturers / supliers of the hinges three years ago but they wouldnt sell to the public direct and i had to track down a supplier of the hinge myself , needless to say i have tried all and everything i can think of without gain . the hinges are made by West Alloy part number 3170-02 , West alloy now no longer manufacture the hinges and they sold their last stock in 2019 ( about when i contacted them ) the hinges are made of zinc base alloy according to their product catalogue , it can be seen from the above photoe that the hinge have snapped at the weak point where theres a hollow in the moulding instead of athere being a big solid lump . Not being a welder , is there anyone on here that has knowledge of the material and is capable of welding/ repairing the hinge or know of anyone that can repair the hinge and filling in the weakspot to be a solid lump ? i dont need it to be pretty, just strongly repaired and i can re shape and form it correctly after its been repaired , both the hinges need repairing alternatively , but i doubt , does anyone have such an hinge (two needed) or know where i can get any from
That was optimistic rubbish even when new. Mind you the hinges breaking probably protected the fibreglass from cracking instead. You wont be able to weld zinc alloy. You would do better getting somebody to fabricate hinges from stainless steel to fit the fixing holes. PS a MIG welder with BOC ArgoShield Lite can weld stainless steel using stainless welding wire, I have structures on my boat that I made myself from welded stainless steel.
i agree , they dont seem the best design but they have lasted over fourty years until i got my hands on them , but i recon they must have been weak before i got them , Sadly the fiberglass did crack and twist and tear from the main body of caravan , but withmy first attempt at fiberglassing i have had quits a successful repair , about 90 percent happy with it, plus i was able to strengthen the area whilst at it
i have had an idea , but i dont have the programme or skills to do it. I understand you can have things 3d printed in various materials, ive had a look but they want a computer file to manufacture from, anyone know of this sort of stuff and has the required programme and skill to use it i would appreciate the help ?
Hi there. did you find anyone to help? My partner Steve would be happy to manufacture replacement hinges for you, he would probably machine them from aluminium for you - would you be interested? I'm fascinated by these little caravans - we would love to have one! Cheers Carmel
Hi Carmel. In a fashion i am sorted . But my solution isn't the best and needs more work to finalise the fix . I did go to a local engineering chap who is a friend of a friend who said he could manufacture a pair of hinges for.......£680 , gulp . I appreciate the work that would be involved but the cost for the solution was excessive. I have searched for suitable replacements online and found nothing that matched but i bought several that looked similar , best match was boot hinges of a classic mini car. They were"dog legged" so didnt fit right . I finally got some from a boat yard that worked but i fitted incorrectly so damaged the door , but having worked on them a bit they, well one of them , now work but need more work to tidy up and seal against water leak. As can be seen, not a professional job but got me on the road for this years festivals. I do have a aluminium bar that i got to make new hinges, but i dont have the skills . If your partner wishes to have a go thats great but finances dont stretch to anywhere near the above mentioned quote . Thank you for your post i appreciate the offer .
Hi, apologies for the late response - somehow my late bay login got banned and I was unable to unlock it, or get any kind of response form the administrator. I don't suppose you would be interested in selling this little caravan? I love it! If you wish to discuss having some hinges made, please call me 07767635944, £680 is utterly bonkers I agree cheers Carmel
Hi. Thank you for the interest in the little caravan . They are very few and far between, i only know of two others,one of which is on youtube ,a young couple refurbished one . The other is owned by a goldwing owner who i bought mine from as he had two . Unfortunately its has a value more than money to me , not sentimental but to replace with a modern one would cost at least 8 thousand pounds. As you would have guessed by now that its not for sale . In honesty i could have sold it numerous times each time ive used it, it gets more interest than the T2 ever did
