The wawaron

[tartosuc]

The roof is locked when in the up position
And comes down and lock to travel. The side potch lamp is removable, the cover pops out with a flat screwdriver leaving only a flat thin base and the led light. takes 1 second to remove.

Last work for this spring, repaced the cabinet doors....the slidingbsystem in the front was not working well ans the 3 door setup of the big cabinet looked like crap...

[bonnie]

Very nice

[tartosuc]

Well after all that rain the sun finally decided to peak ou.
Went by the trailer to check if i had leaks, looking at it from far away i see a rubberband on the ground...
Somehow all th rubberrbands broke while sitting there in the parking lot!
I'm flabergasted! i'm suddenly thinking of selling the thing.

[mezmo]

What a bummer tartosuc !

I thought you had your solution with those new rubber bands !
Don't be too discouraged though, get on the band manufacturers
case and get them to replace them with stronger bands.

Meanwhile, I guess a fallback would be some pull springs like it
had when you got it.

If you have lost trust in the rubber bands themselves, then
another reasonable cost solution would be to get a couple of the
rubber torsion half/stub axles. Like these Flexride half/stub axles.
http://www.ucfamerica.com/flexhalf.html
I believe they just bolt on. A regular rubber torsion axle might work
too if you could fit it through the under floor framing struts.
http://www.ucfamerica.com/flexfull.html

There are other axle manufacturers, and sources for them too
[Dexter is one mfr name that comes to mind, e-trailer is a parts seller
that comes to mind.] but the Flexride has the benefit of your being able
to adjust the suspension arm angle yourself, from what I understand.
I've read that most mfrs will make axles to your measurements too
[especially width], so to fit your exact frame mount measurements.

I guess it's, step back, take a deep breath, and regroup eh ?

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[angib]

It's surprising that they all went at the same time and stationary.

I'm not aware of a Wa-Wa club but I bet if you email the Belgian Oldtimer Caravan Club http://www.bocc.be in English, they may be able to tell you who sells new rubber bands for Wa-Was.

Modifying the fairly complex chassis of your Wa-Wa to take a different suspension system (which probably won;t work as well) would be hard, if not impossible.

[S. Heisley]

To my way of thinking, having them all go at the same time with the apparently same strange tear is suspicious. I would study them and the equipment carefully.

Was there a sharp spot somewhere on the vehicle's equipment that might have rubbed or pressed on them? Can something be adjusted or filed down? Just as a tire only lasts for about 8 years, the same might be for these rubber bands. Did someone sell you old rubber bands? If you were sold old bands, I'd see if you can get your money back or replacements. Check the manufacture date of any new ones. Did some kid start each one's demise with a little help from a knife? If you find that someone had "fun" with your bands, I would find somewhere else to store your treasure.

Check into what Angib suggested. Not only might you find what you need but also you may get some tips from other owners.

(Read this part when you have patience.) A few more thoughts: Other machines use pulley systems; so, there may be some pulley made out of another type of material (but maybe with a little stretch to it?) that you can use. Or, would some sort of automotive fan belt work or is this idea way off? I understand that some of those little A-frame trailers use a rubber band type of mechanism for their roof set-up..... Are those bands used as axle springs? Could you add a new/used axle and springs or simply move the whole cabin onto a different trailer chassis? It all depends on what you're trying to do, just camp in it or restore it. (Forgive me if I seem to be acting ignorant but sometimes the best ideas come from someone who doesn't have a clue; and yet, it may spark an idea of your own....one just never knows.)

Don't give up. You're made of tougher stuff than that! I'm cheering for you to rally up and find a way over this set-back.

[coop74]

I wonder if the power bands they use on some weight machines now might work for you. They appear about the right size, should handle thousands of stretches and I believe could be had in multiple weight ranges...

my two cents anyway.

Big Coop

[bonnie]

http://www.wawacaravan.nl/

This looks current. Might help.

[tartosuc]

Thanks all for your answers...as you can imagine i've been doing a lot on searching since i have that trailer, amd all the link you guy's posted i already have in my browser.

I used smooth bolts and the bands were not rubbimg.
I actually only did one test drive with them, seemed to work good and the par the trailer... Everything was ok upon return of my test drive nothing broken..
I'm thinking tht maybe i was putting more pressure than what they were design for....or the rubber was a bit dry.
The hard part is to find these things...i took me a year to find something that would fit in there...now i know that model wont work.

I have contacted the different wawa website in europe , waiting on a reply from one of them...or need to find other rubberband somewhere on the net.

My goal is not to restore the camper, i just want it make it usable, safe and for it to look good..
I wanted to try to find something that would work with the existing system before going to a more expensive solution like grafting the cabin to aother trailer or try to fit another type of axle. My $$ are limited i have tools but i'm not well setup for "big mecanic" i have to do this outside, by nights and weekends on top of all the work a house requires.

[bonnie]

Another one.

http://www.wawacaravan.net/

Your winch lift seems to have been added later. Also, how do you close the gap between the lower wall and the top when it is in the up position?

Love the look.

[tartosuc]

Another one.

http://www.wawacaravan.net/

Your winch lift seems to have been added later. Also, how do you close the gap between the lower wall and the top when it is in the up position?

Love the look.

The is a pieceof plywood on a hinge. I have t set with a bug screen under it, i just liftthe plywood to get air flow.

I found speargun rubber online...looks like an interresting product to try.

[tartosuc]

Well there is

Talking with a guy in france(good thing i'm french). I found out that the pull type suspension is common on a few brand of trailers..he pointed me to a few website and i'm now discussing with some sales guy about rubber specs. A first sight what they have in stock should fit.
They call it "anneaux de suspension "wich would translate into suspension rings ... Of course doing a search for suspension ring in english come out with notting good... I think i have search every french and english combination of rubber/suspnsion/rubberband possible, but never "anneaux de suspension"

[CarlLaFong]

Have you considered shock cord for your suspension? Many light aircraft use it for their landing gears. I'm sure that aircraft quality cord is available and could be adapted to work in your trailer.

[tartosuc]

ok

i'have located the suspension rings and i have a set coming from france..

I'm sorry and happy at the same time to say that once its installed and working, the trailer is for sale.
i've had a long discussion with the wife and we decided that its not worth putting anymore money in the trailer for the result we will get.
it was a leaning experience for us, it was our first camper/trailer and has confirm that it is what we want for the future(no more tents) ... It showed us what we like and dont like about the one we have..

i tried to convince her for a teardrop trailer but she wants more space and be able to stand up...the type we both like and agree on are the fiberglass camper like the boler, scamp, trilium.
i found a lot of them for sale within 2h drive from my place...as soon as the tax return is in the bank we start shopping.

[tartosuc]

Well, the wawa is sold!


We now have a new camper trailer
A 86 uhaul fiberglass trailer.
Tested it last weekend, great trailer!