thats the news weve been waiting to hear

Hi jmurray i love it thats what i call "MAD" fully equiped let us know how it goes.

Looks great Joe, nearly ready for the open road!!

Do You have pics of the problem area? What kind of calipers are You using?

is this a 1 piston caliper? if so, make sure the caliper can move freely on it's pins.

for 2 piston as well as one piston calipers, squeeze the pistons in, then apply the brakes. the only thing that retracts the pistons away from the rotors during use is the friction of the rubber seals, so they need to be 'pre loaded' prior to starting.

might also try pulling one of the pads out and see if it's the inner one or the outer one causing trouble. is it possible the caliper isn't exactly parallel to the disc?

i don't think the thing's position should cause the drag.

good luck, keep us posted please!

What's the rolling resistance like if you push the pistons in by hand (and don't apply the brakes)?

If it's much better than what you've got now, then you may be able to put a spring into the system that pulls on the brake pad, retracting it that little bit further than normal. It won't need much distance (but will need a fair bit of force), if you get really fancy then you could make an adjuster to cater for brake pad wear. Although I'd be surprised if you saw any noticeable wear through your entire trip, you wouldn't have the sort of load on it that a motorbike sees.

Another option might be a cable pulling on the brake pad, so when you want to reduce the friction you pull on that cable and the piston retracts that tiny bit more, reducing friction.

The only problem with this setup is that you may need to pump the brake pedal if the piston has been retracted too far. It would need an adjustable stop added to the system so that this didn't happen.

I think Landyacht is right, but only for the front tyres. I would change those double wheels at the rear to one larger diameter wheel. May need a motorcycle wheel.
I wouldn't add too much sail. A reefing method would be a good idea.

Joe, if you ditched one pair of rear wheels, the pivoting dual axle assembly (apparently a throw back to your trucking days), the discs calipers and operating gear plus a whole lot of other weighty unecessary stuff you want to carry around, you will probably reduce the G.W.M (Gross Working Mass) of your machine by more than 100 kg.

The first benefit of doing this is that you may then be able to push it for 100 metres without causing yourself a cardiac arrest.

The second benefit is that you will give it half a chance of actually sailing in 20 knots or more of breeze!!

It appears to me that you have designed and built your yacht with more emphasis on stopping than going.

When I show my landyachts to people who are not in the know, usually the first question is "Where are the brakes?" or "How do you stop it?"

My response is "This thing is built to go not stop. If I need to stop in a hurry I just throw a Uie." Instant release of energy.

I assume you want success in your endeavours but your efforts appear to be self defeating. There are some physical facts you seem to have ignored.

With the weight saving suggested above, an effective lever operated drag brake would be just as effective for a less than 10 kg weight cost.

Another weight saving can be had by substituting your radios with hand helds and your canopy with a wide brimmed hat, sun block cream and appropriate shirts. BCF have "fishing shirts" which block UV exposure and are quite cool to wear. I have one and they are great to wear.

Please do not take offence to my above as honesty is the only way I know how to operate, be it brutal or subtle. Cheers Cisco.

Thank you all for your input, all of the points you make are relevant,

in/on most cases i have already experimented in the ways you say/advise

and this has been covered in earlier posts. This whole rejig is my third

revamp of what i think i need for my basic enjoyment/needs. As soon as the

weather clears up a bit, i will post what i will be carrying within. It will

surprise you. The cart is now 8 year old and there were two before that,

the biggest difference is that, my latest update is built to travel self

supported for a number of days it is not a rip tear recreational machine.

Keep in mind, that the real point of the exercise is to make my body

partake in something my mind does not want to do

It is the journey that is so important to me. If it kills me [64] i will die

doing what I want to, and all/most/all of you can say..."I told him so !!!"

....but it wont...not yet.......some of us have to be different/cantankerous

Landyacgt, I like your attitude............however it wont happen...I hope,

don,t mind taking a bit of stick...occasionally. I think yours is tongue in

cheek, ............some others are a bit spiteful and very uninformed, a bit

childish. So I will put a case forward here........... There is a historic old

landyacht photo in these forums that depicts a land sailer with six persons

aboard, built pre WW1. If we give these people an average body weight of

80 kg = 480kg add to that the craft weight of around 200 kg total 680kg so

lets say about 700 kg all up.....IT SEEMS TO WORK WELL !!

Now with my cart coming in top at 500kg, more modern in every way, why

wouldn't it work. I base all my calculations on The Engineers Black Book

2nd edition with the cover photo of The Vitruvian Man by Divinci . based on

Marcus Vitruvius a Roman Arcitect who published ten books, many, many

years ago, subjects include, architecture, city planning, and, MACHINES!!

Wannabees , the under educated, the narrow minded and self centered

should spend a few days reading up , It will enlighten their dark lives.

Nice work Joe. I wish you well for your adventure.

Hows the rolling resistance so far? Looks like it will need a hefty push to get going Great looking machine!

Still a few little things to tweak, I hope to leave home next Thursday

for a break in trail of about a week or two. Dont intend to bust a poo-poo

valve , just tippy toe around some near coastal rural roads, between

Roseworthy and about Balaclava South Australia.

Could be very interesting, fairly flat and open country that will get sea

breezes. Open grain country with harvest nearly ready to begin. they are

cutting and bailing Hay at present.

Busy trying to pack it all and leave as much as i would like to take

behind....decisions, decisions. I have got the disc brakes working quite

well with I would say about 95 percent efficiency that is only 5 p/c drag,

up from 50p/c so that's good. It gets a bit scary about here

Aiming to be at Wind Event @ Port Germaine weekend 19-20-21 November