 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Sankey trailers - what are they? |
 
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| Wangers Member Since: 19 Jan 2013 Location: West London Posts: 265   
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Yes, you probably do.
Yes, best to. Ebay, Mod-sales.co.uk - use google. 10 years plus (there's a reason they're replaced by the MoD) Yes, depending what you want it for?!?! from MoD £2k plus vat - from anywhere else - from £100 for pile of  through to - thinkI saw £5k for overland expedition trailer here .....
External Dimensions: Length: 2.8m Width: 1.8m Weight: 620kg Internal Dimensions: Length: 1.85m Width: 1.6m Depth: 0.47m Distance between arches 1.18m Internal Arch Height: 0.25m Internal Arch Length: 0.94m Width of trailer door: 1.19m Height from base of wheel: 1.2m Hitch height: 0.7m And yes wheel arches do. Keep the NATO - they have a rates weight of 1.2 tonnes, thats a lot for a little ball! Possibly Road Legal, but depends of the officer that stops you, what they want to find, what they do find, and what licence you have. No, come 24v unless already re-wired by someone. Yes - of sorts Partially, but can - depends what height your hitch is, and what sort you have. Yes, and 110 too. good luck. It sure is! (did I miss anything?) TY&GN 10 years in a WOLF, WIMIK and Snatch and this is all I have to show! |
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7th Mar 2018 11:07pm |
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| GREENI Member Since: 22 Aug 2010 Location: staffs Posts: 10358
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Great reply.
Everyone needs to have owned a sankey. Or 4!! |
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7th Mar 2018 11:09pm |
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| deejayen Member Since: 18 Sep 2017 Location: Inverness Posts: 56 
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Yes, that's a fantastic reply! Thanks very mucjh!
I'll need to read it a few more times until everything sinks in... I'm afraid I have another question I forgot to ask. I saw mention about having to move a bar or something when reversing. What's that about? |
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7th Mar 2018 11:24pm |
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| under_rover Member Since: 02 Apr 2013 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 150 
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Its to stop the towing eye from applying the brakes and locking everything up as you shove it backwards
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7th Mar 2018 11:38pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11240 
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There are various types of Sankey trailer. The original ones were designed for use with Series Land Rovers and are known as 'Narrow Track' or sometimes 'Fixed Back'. The later ones are collectively known as 'Wide Track' and they were introduced in the mid-'80's to suit 90's and 110's. Apart from being physically smaller, the earlier ones can be easily recognised as they don't have a tailgate, instead having a fixed tub. They will tow perfectly well behind a 90 but are less useful and a lot older, with the last being built, I think, in the late-70's.
Wide Tracks come in three basic varieties: Mk's I, II and III. Mk I's were only made in small numbers and you're very unlikely to find one as there was a pretty fundamental flaw in the design of the front jockey leg. This problem was solved with the Mk II, which was produced in large numbers. The later Mk III, whilst superficially similar, is very different mechanically and, with a couple of proviso's, is by far the best of the bunch. The Mk II and all earlier versions featured push rod operated drum brakes, whilst the Mk III was fitted with a fluid system and disk brakes. This system works very effectively and is easy to maintain but the brake master cylinder is virtually impossible to obtain replacements for. Other master cylinders can be adapted to fit (including that from a Series LR) but it does require a bit of ingenuity and they're not quite the same capacity. The master cylinder and its' reservoir are mounted on the A frame and the plastic reservoir can suffer due to exposure to UV light. Replacements are available though, for not much money. The other big difference between the Mk II and III is the hitch design. Both are designed to be used with a NATO jaw but the earlier trailer has the hitch mounted on top of the A frame whilst the later one has it in line. This means that it's much easier to make a Mk III tow reasonably level with a typical civilian towing hitch set-up. The design of the hitch itself is also slightly different: the Mk II requires a metal catch to be swung into place to allow reversing but the Mk III has a push-and-twist button on top of the hitch. When empty on level ground it's not usually necessary to engage either type to reverse them, though. Here's my last Sankey, a Mk III, behind my old 110:  Click image to enlarge And the hitch set-up: Click image to enlarge They are superb trailers to tow and are essentially bomb proof. Apart from their robustness, their big advantage, particularly if used off-road, is that they match the track of the Defender and use the same wheels. The quality of the ones available though is highly variable. I'm pretty sure that the last was built around 1998 and so there is plenty of scope for ratty old ones, but many have been restored and re-furbished, which can be a better bet. The single biggest problem is rust as the tub is made of steel. As standard, they were fitted NATO towing electrics and quite often 24v bulbs. Some people leave them like that and just use a trailer board but it's not difficult to convert them to suit civvy electrics. Many, of course, have already been converted. There's some more detail about the various types in this article: http://www.emlra.org/index.php/articles/sankey-trailers Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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8th Mar 2018 9:30am |
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| Stacey007 Member Since: 25 Sep 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3693
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I think some you did have to remove the handbrake bar before reversing, Mine is a Mk2 and I don't have to do this?
I bought a good condition ex Army one for a good price and did it up to match my car  Tows very solid and stable and has already been used for carry lots of heavy and large items
My 'build' is here http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43181....ey+trailer As I collected it, wrong height on the hitch but was just to get it home
Click image to enlarge Pretty much as it is now. Click image to enlarge I still Have 2 Sawtooth Alloys to swap onto it, build a lid / cover, attach a spare wheel add some arches |
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8th Mar 2018 10:45am |
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| strang Member Since: 16 May 2012 Location: Happy Valley Posts: 1362 
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Be careful with a Sankey - you need to unlock the swivel.....
Click image to enlarge Euro-Leafing to infinity and beyond..... |
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8th Mar 2018 7:42pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11240
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Again, model dependant. Later ones have a fixed eye (can't remember whether it's just the MkIII or all wide tracks) and the NATO jaw should be unlocked so that it can rotate when towing them. Earlier models have a rotating eye and the NATO jaw should be locked for those. Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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8th Mar 2018 8:10pm |
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| smb Member Since: 15 Jan 2013 Location: Cheshire Posts: 1232 
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Get yourself a mk3, but try and see a couple before you part with your cash.
I’ve had a narrow track and whilst very good behind a Series was a nightmare behind a wider defender. Mk2 was ok, but wanted disc brakes so sold it and got a mk3. Couldnt be without it. Its a bl..dy great trailer although the tubs do rot quickly if you don’t look after them(although owning Landrovers that should be something we’re all used to!). They’re so versatile and so easy towed behind a defender. Doesn’t matter whether 90 or 110 and imagine a 130 too. But then I bought a Rapier.....and have regretted selling ever since. But the Mk3 won in the end as I couldn’t keep two. If only they did a Rapier with brake discs?! |
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8th Mar 2018 9:14pm |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7873 
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There's a good FB page for Sankey's, which often has ones for sale.
I did some research on them before buying my non-sankey trailer. They do have some points which may be considered downsides. Others more knowledgeable might argue otherwise, but for a complete discussion I put out there the following... They're heavy to move about off the hitch. They are limited to 50mph in military service. Nato hitch might have insurance issues and I believe can't be used in some countries? Not trying to put you off, hundreds of people use them happily, just thought it was only fair to raise the other side. James MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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8th Mar 2018 9:41pm |
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| Mash Member Since: 09 Feb 2015 Location: Guernsey Posts: 1674  
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Make sure you get the correct hitch unlike this
Click image to enlarge 90 wolf - Jasmin http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic39408.html 90 V8 - Maggie http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic42564.html 110 TD5 - Buggsy http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic59029.html 52HG25 lightweight https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72342.html D3 Hse - Fiona Capri 2l S - Anna Think I might have a problem............ |
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8th Mar 2018 10:33pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018 
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Is that down to more operation type issues rather than anything intrinsically in the trailer design? |
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9th Mar 2018 8:59am |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7873
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^^^ I don't know. I've seen several photos with "max. 50 mph" painted on the Sankey. Like you say it might be operational and I've read many people say as long as the trailer is loaded nose heavy it will quite happily tow up to the maximum speed limit.
But for me, if the military limits the speed, it must be for a reason or from experience. Just putting it out there for consideration. James MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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9th Mar 2018 9:39am |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11240
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Yes, it was an operational choice by the military, to do with the exploits of inexperienced squaddies. There's no inherent problem with the trailers being towed at the legal limit (and beyond). Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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9th Mar 2018 10:07am |
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