Originally Posted by gazza2006au
Reply With Quote
Geez what a load of crap some people state.
Australian supplied steel should conform with Australian standards...actually higher grade than what was on offer 40 years ago.
Hot dip galvanizing costs have risen yes, materials are exactly the same as 50 years ago. They have to meet standards for galvanizing, they are not lightly dipping the trailer. I get on average about 3-30 tonnes dipper per month, if anything the gal is better now than 20 years ago.
WHAT HAS CHANGED is trailer companies are building using far thinner materials than 20 years ago, they are using the next size up with thinner walls.
If you want a trailer that will last longer do not buy RHS (box) steel chassis trailers, buy open form channel or I beam. At least then you can hose off all sides and keep an eye on the condition of all the galvanizing.
Bought galvanized RHS and pipe only has a very thin coating, it does not have to conform with hot dip galvanizers codes. Hot dip galvanizing is about 4 to ten times thicker depending on the thickness of the substrate.
Galvanizing is MEANT to break down, that is how it protects the parent metal by being sacrificial, exactly the same as the anodes on your outboards.
A lot of Aluminium is produced in Australia, but far from all that is sold.
Whatever material is used in the build of your trailer you can request certificates for all materials that have been used. The certificate will state place of production, chemical analysis, tensile strength, break test results and most times if compliant with Australian codes. If it does not have compliance stated it does not mean that it is not compliant, the chemical, tensile and break results will be there to match to the Australian code.
