Dunbier trailers recalled over snapping drawbar concerns

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission yesterday published a voluntary recall notice from the Melbourne-based company listing the serial numbers for 38 of the 2000kg multi-roller tandem trailers, built between 2014 and 2018, that it will need to check to ensure they are welded properly.

“A faulty weld has been identified on one trailer,” the notice from the consumer watchdog says. “If a trailer has a faulty weld, the drawbar could break.

“If a drawbar beaks completely, the boat could come loose from the trailer while being towed. This could cause a risk of an accident, resulting in serious injury or even death to other road users.”

Dunbier Marine said it would contact customers via mail, asking them to book an appointment to have their trailer inspected for faulty welds. Dunbier also said it would “double-brace the drawbar, which will reduce flex”.

Owners were asked to contact Dunbier Marine on (03) 9580 2455. The trailers were sold nationally.

A spokeswoman for Dunbier Marine said more than half the trailers affected had already been fixed.

Coincidentally, a boat that collided with a stobie pole in Adelaide in late January, knocking out power to thousands of homes, was sitting on a Dunbier tandem-axle trailer that appears to have snapped at the drawbar. It is not known if this incident is related to the recall.

The boat's owner, Ben Shyda, described to the ABC how he realised something was wrong after he heard a noise, and then saw the boat overtaking his car.

"It's a bit of a scary moment, you know, seeing your boat going faster than your car," he said. He was able to guide it to the side of the road before it hit the pole, disrupting power to about 2500 homes.

A week earlier, another boat owner had his fibreglass boat slip off the trailer at a North Adelaide intersection. That driver was fined by police for having an unsecured load.