My trailer repair thoughts.

[Crocodile]

Hello to all,
I have just made some repairs to 13 year old trailer and I wanted to share some thoughts.
I think that the amount of rust was very reasonable for a trailer of that age, I have owned the boat for four
years, I always wash it but how it was treated before that is unknown.
It is a 4.3m tinnie on a fairly light duty trailer.
The crossmember is 50mm square box and the rails are about 25 by 50 box.
Only the aft foot or so was rusty.
I was ready to have that much cut off and re-built by a local welder.
I had it inspected and he said that it was only surface rust and would still be sound, I was very sceptical because it really looked bad with great flakes of rust.
On his advice I bought a steel wire wheel for the 4" angle grinder rather than use a wire brush in a drill.
Wow, what a terrifying tool it is, even hard rust that the drill wouldn't touch was torn off in seconds, keep this thing away from fingers!!!!!!
Talk about the right tool for the job.
To my suprise there was only minor pitting under the flakes of rust so I decided to proceed with stripping and coating to get a few more years from the existing trailer.
After stripping I applied two coats of Penetrol, the product literature claims that it has very good penetrating properties. It smells a bit like fisholene and dries to a hard clear finish.
To protect the Penetrol and to make it look better I have painted over the Penetrol with HiChem Silver Gal which is a cold-gal product that looks a lot like hot-dip gal when dry.
The silver gal is really only cosmetic.
Now the waiting game begins to see how well the coatings do their jobs.
The enclosed sections have been plugged and flooded with a diesel and fisholene mix and allowed to soak.
Points to consider;
Get several opinions from welders as to repair, recoat or replace.
Rust often looks worse than it really is.
If you need to strip rust, use an angle grinder with a wire wheel, it is ten times better than a wire brush in a drill.
Do the work out of doors as the rust dust is choking and the fumes from the coatings will send you on a trip.
Wear a construction workers helmet when wriggling around under the trailer, it saves your head when you bang it on the outboard motor, I learnt the hard way!
Wear safety spectacles and ear plugs and a dust mask.

I know that I will never beat the rust but but I hope that I have delayed major repairs or replacement for a while.
I hope that you find this informative.

[fisho64]

its not that hard to get it re-galvanized, I think they charge roughly $2 per kilo depending where you are.
Get all the rust off you can, do all your repairs, wire all the fittings you want done also to the frame.

So if your bare frame weighs (say) 200kg it'll cost roughly $400.

[cgibbo308]

from a guy i used to work with told me one day. Its not just the rust on the out side of the box section you worry about, as that can be cleaned and painted. he reminded me that the rails are in most cases hollow and that is where most of the worst rust will be. just a thought

[deckie]

Just posted this in another thread then spotted yours :-? Copied and pasted coz i'm lazy. Just some thoughts.

Like many i'm not sure why trailers just do not seem to last as long these days. I have my theories about poor gal jobs, lack of simple but regular maintenance etc but they're just theories and pick ups from older experienced heads that have the results to back it up. latest trailer i did up was also a near 30yo gal still in great nick made by Tracer trailers in Sydney who are still going strong from what i gather...that alone says something to me but is that simply a reflection of a good gal job originally ? No idea.
All we can do is pass on stuff we have heard, results we have seen, and theories that need to be disproved or pondered by those better qualified.
When it comes to trailers its not just the money saved by doing it right..its peace of mind, supporting a hull evenly without pinpointing road and weight stress onto it, safety, and that pain in the arse factor of being disappointed it didnt last and/or having to replace.
Best old salt i know has always done things his way and as a wise man once said...if we dont learn from the past we are destined to repeat our mistakes.
I'll pass on some things he told me and other stuff i've heard which as far as i'm concerned make at least some sense but i cant prove either way.
1. Trailers that were regularly fishoiled last longer. Probably still the number 1 preventive maintenance i keep hearing...and heard it from repair/builders. Easy applied by various means and can be used/done anywhere without getting the wannabe Bob Brown's on your arse.
2. Removing trailer lights. This theory is old school but just keeps making sense to me. Older trailers where you spent all of 20 seconds removing the lights before dunking and leave in the boot till going home might be another theory that is actually true to a certain extent. We discuss galvanic corrosion, residual currents etc in alloy boats a lot, but for some reason our trailers (being the ugly fat chick of the boating world) dont get asked this question. How does this sound to you ...we dunk steel into saltwater and leave it sit for hours and hours with electric appliances connected to it. Does this sound silly at a very basic level to anyone else ?
3. The majority of trailer corrosion is done at the ramp whilst on the water. We dunk into saltwater then leave alone with the salt for hours and hours. The second time on retrieval we tend to think about the trailer and wash/rinse it off with freshwater and feel content thats enough good maintenance. One dunk left for 6 hours with saltwater on steel in the sun, but the second treated after maybe 5 minutes and we're happy ??? One day someone will carry an old 22l plastic fuel tank full of f/water on their trailer with a small bilge pump in it, connect via a switch to the parker lights thru the trailer pin plug, and run some garden poly irrigation tubing down their trailer. After launching and retrieval flick a switch or turn the parkers on when coming off the ramp and it sprays/flushes the trailer with freshwater as u head away from the ramp to park or to go home. No me tho..too bloody lazy and stubborn and cant wait the 25 yrs to test the theory.
4. We tend to think trailer only after the damage is done in its first years. When we notice a problem we attack it but the best time to treat is when brand new. One old guy i know with the most beaten up tinnie u;ve seen but immaculate trailer told me he covered it in marine penetrol when brand new to act as a water repellant and binder/primer over the gal. But i know this bloke bullshits abouts fish he catches so i dont necessarily trust a word he says. Just passing it on coz it seemed to make sense at the time. His secret he said was penetrol and fishoil over the back half since brand new.
5. Ask for the most common axle, stub axle/wheel/springs combo. Can be half the price to maintain/replace every 5 yrs or so.
6. Welds and box section corrode fastest from the inside and never treated/looked at. Ask for a resealable access hole into any box section especially at the rear so u can stick a spray nozzle tube into it and fishoil the inside of the steel tubing especially at welds. Plug up/weld/epoxy the hole up. Assume water always finds a way into anything no matter how secure it looks. Look for low points where water can pool on the inside even on a new trailer.
7. Always let the bearings cool down before launching. Plus always take a spare set and some grease if heading up the highway at 100kph on hollies....this part i know is worth doing http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/Original%20Smilies/wink.gif

Everyone has probably heard similar or other theories over the yrs. Who the hell has the patience to test them all out tho ? What i do know is that if you're like me, when it comes to trailers we never learn coz we cant be stuffed http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/Original%20Smilies/grin.gif I'm trying hard to listen to the old buggers tho coz the odd one seems to have some common sense.

[indy]

Get a rubber glove like the ones used for washing up and coat the frame in grease sort of goes hardish after a couple of months and it wont rust it is the best, i used techyl on the big boat trailer and grease on the axels but already the techyl is coming of in places after about 9 months to a year.

[whiteman]

My trailer rusts from the inside. Where this occurs I get my welder to replace these sections with much higher qulaity thicker steel, sealed from external moisture. In fact, ANYTHING is higher quality than the rubbish that modern trailers are built from.

[oldboot]

One important thing is to put grease on very single nut, bolt, screw and pin... most new trailer have not a spec of greas on them appart from the bearings.

Most people don't understand that aly form of plating including galvanising is a very poor second to a good quality paint.

Very shortly( now the gal has gone off) I'll be pulling my new trailer appart and spraing it in "Galmet Duragal" .....its a zinc rich paint that has a lot more resin in it than most cold gal products......did the young brotherinlaws boat trailer in it nearly 1 years ago & it still looks good.

Lanolin spray is considered the go these days for inside the rails......cut it with white spirit so it runs and penetrates well and spray it in the rails with a trigger sprayer fitted with a length of microirigation with a 360 spray head on the end......this will get you right up all the rails.

OH
If you are going to grease 1 thing on you trailer.....do the shafts and bolts that you brake calipers run on.


As far as washing down the trailer before you park it at the ramp...Oh hell yeh.

I have seen a trailer fitted with a water tank and micro irrigation.

The electrcal thing is a bit of a reach.....considering most boat trailers the electrical system is not earthed to the trailer...AND.....none of the lights are operating while it is parked at the ramp.

cheers

[tin can marlin]

I would say don't run any risks and buy a new one if you can't afford it i know that stones corner do terms on trailers Wayne really knows how to look after people

[fisho64]

Most people don't understand that aly form of plating including galvanising is a very poor second to a good quality paint.

cheers

Im not so sure about that?
What many people dont understand is that galvanising is a sacrificial coating, and eventually is going to require attention.
Just like good paint though, there is also good and bad Gal jobs.

No matter how good the paint though, its only cosmetic if its a box section trailer.

At least an I or C beam trailer, what you see is what you get.

[deckie]

The electrcal thing is a bit of a reach.....considering most boat trailers the electrical system is not earthed to the trailer...AND.....none of the lights are operating while it is parked at the ramp.

cheers
As always u make great points...being an electrical novice tho got one question.

If you owned a tinnie or plate steel hull under the same electrical circumstances as the trailer...would you expect corrosion to ever be an issue ?

Even tho your switches are off to all equipment, would you still feel that disconnecting the battery terminals, or turning off a battery switch on this tinnie/platey would be sensible insurance or totally unnecessary ?

Steve

edit..make that 2 novice questions ;D

2. With steel covered in saltwater upon retrieval, we then connect up large current drawing electric winch and operate it. Is there any likelihood this can have any corrosive effect ?

[Camhawk88]

Just like good paint though, there is also good and bad Gal jobs.

Yep spot on. I brouhgt a new Redco about 5 years ago after my old homemade job rusted out (it was almost gone when I brought the boat). I washed it religously so it didnt suffer the same fate as it's predecesor. It took all of 2 years for the rear crossmember to rust completely through from the inside.
The galvanising obviously was completely shit on the inside- there were no drain holes for the galv in this bar so I would say the galv did not coat all of the interior of the bar.
Apart from that the trailer wasnt too bad but geez it pissed me off>:(

[dreemon]

Crocodile, I did almost the same thing to my trailer as you did a few months back, the wire wheels are great ! sounds like you didn't need to take the boat off? look out for flying wire bits when the wheels get older, I had to pull a few out of my legs,

from looking at paperwork my McKenzie trailer is 30 + years old !:o, and still in very good condition, ( better steel and galv job?) trailer is all C channel, I had to dump my boat on a lawn to make the job easier, then used a heavy zink based cold galv, then etch primer, then killrust topcoats, the rear section got 2 coats of each, no signs of rust so far,

only on the gaurds as they're to far gone to put any effort into them, prob replace them nect year,

Deckie do you have the same trailer under your boat ?

Cheers

[TheRealAndy]

I have seen some trailers at the yacht club, all sealed up box section with a sump plug at one end, filled with old sump oil. Painted on the outside, they will last forever.

[deckie]

Crocodile, I did almost the same thing to my trailer as you did a few months back, the wire wheels are great ! sounds like you didn't need to take the boat off? look out for flying wire bits when the wheels get older, I had to pull a few out of my legs,

from looking at paperwork my McKenzie trailer is 30 + years old !:o, and still in very good condition, ( better steel and galv job?) trailer is all C channel, I had to dump my boat on a lawn to make the job easier, then used a heavy zink based cold galv, then etch primer, then killrust topcoats, the rear section got 2 coats of each, no signs of rust so far,

only on the gaurds as they're to far gone to put any effort into them, prob replace them nect year,

Deckie do you have the same trailer under your boat ?

Cheers

Nope...made by Tracer here on the good ole northern beaches Sydney eons ago. 2 inch C section and rear box x member with gal mudguards that were still damn near perfect :o. They musta built them ok and still making custom trailers in 2 states so i reckon they must make em good. Good gal job or lotza fishoil the secret ?...no way of knowing is there ::) Easy to redo when in damn near perfect nick.

I went down a similar path to you after a bit of thought...about 2 beers worth.

Boat off.
Massive clean and scrub which was probably the worst bit.
axle/springs/hubs/wheels/wobble brackets basically everything off.
2 coats marine penetrol over the old gal. This part made sense whenever i heard it from the old buggers...to water seal/ bind and prime the old gal and steel. No idea if worth bothering with tho.
2 coats por15 paint. The stuff used for engine blocks and chassis...tuff as nails. They only make one UV paint so went with that luckily its silver. Everything done incl wobble brackets etc.
New axle/springs/galbolts/ubolts/fishplates...new axle and springs sprayed with tectyl.
Then fishoiled.
Looks kinda spiffy and not even a hint of rust yet ...u know why ?..still hasnt been dunked since done ;D

[TheRealAndy]

Nope...made by Tracer here on the good ole northern beaches Sydney eons ago. 2 inch C section and rear box x member with gal mudguards that were still damn near perfect :o. They musta built them ok and still making custom trailers in 2 states so i reckon they must make em good. Good gal job or lotza fishoil the secret ?...no way of knowing is there ::) Easy to redo when in damn near perfect nick.

I went down a similar path to you after a bit of thought...about 2 beers worth.

Boat off.
Massive clean and scrub which was probably the worst bit.
axle/springs/hubs/wheels/wobble brackets basically everything off.
2 coats marine penetrol over the old gal. This part made sense whenever i heard it from the old buggers...to water seal/ bind and prime the old gal and steel. No idea if worth bothering with tho.
2 coats por15 paint. The stuff used for engine blocks and chassis...tuff as nails. They only make one UV paint so went with that luckily its silver. Everything done incl wobble brackets etc.
New axle/springs/galbolts/ubolts/fishplates...new axle and springs sprayed with tectyl.
Then fishoiled.
Looks kinda spiffy and not even a hint of rust yet ...u know why ?..still hasnt been dunked since done ;D

My last sailing boat had a c section trailer that was mad in the 70's. Only part that rusted out was 2 bits of tube used to centre the boat on the trailer. If I ever have to build a trailer it will be made from C-Section and painted.