New trailer preventative maintenance

[scottar]

I'm curious and possibly missing something....if the trailer frame can hold oil without an Exxon Valdez incident at the ramp, how can saltwater ever get in there? So why the oil?

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The big drama is you can't see what is going on. Until all the oxygen in a space is used up, it will still oxidise (rust) - we run into confined space oxygen depletion due to rust in tanks on barges at work when entry is required for survey or maintenance . If there is the most minute pin hole will breath with temperature change and allow oxygen in. That said, I'm not sure on the legalities of oil filling trailer frames. While I personally have never been checked the rumour about people getting fined surfaces once every so often.

[scottar]

You make a good point, The trailer my big boat is on was a closed off chassis but some how salt water found its way in but never got out it ate the trailer from the inside out and the damage is quiet extraordinary huge big pieces of rusty steel massive over holes i was lucky to make it home when i bought it

If the hole was in the top of a rail in an area that goes into the water, as the rails cool, they suck water in but it can't run out. Water is amazing stuff - gets into places you wouldn't believe until you have seen it yourself. When I first fitted my trim tabs, I used enough sika to near on build a boat, prepped all the surfaces and the covered the screws in sealant prior to screwing them in and yet still had one side that leaked. I recently had to replace a heap of mild steel fresh water pipe in one of our vessels due to internal corrosion causing blockages. Re did it in stainless using stick. I had a few leaks (par for the course - I'm no gun with the welding) but the amazing thing was just how much weld the water could track through if there was the smallest bit of slag in it. I had several where I basically had to run the grinder through a weld that looked perfect except for the tiniest black dot to totally get rid of the slag so the weld would seal. If I just welded over the top, it would surface again and still leak.

[ericcs]

If you go to build again use channel so there is no internals you can't wash down.
I rebuilt mine recently using 75x38 channel and 75x10 flat bar cross members.
Fitted a full length floor plate walkway down the middle and welded the lugs for the rollers to the floor plate over the cross members.
Attachment 120039
Attachment 120040

that's an interesting design, did you you build it and then get it galvanized?
guess you also could have used the same C section also for the cross braces instead of the flat bar?

[Giveitacrack]

A fella gave a good tip on here a few years ago.As gal channel trailers even if rinsed thoroughly inside and outside will generally rust from the inside/out he uses a petrol blower to blow out the channels to reduce condensation after.It makes a bit of sense so I do it now.I had to cut the back half of my 14 yr old Redco which looked as new from the outside and rebuild so $1100 for a new frame from Redco after a dealer puts their paws on it sounds good.

[NAGG]

I have a hose connection on my cross member - hook the hose up and flush after every trip …… hopefully this prolongs the life of the tailer .

Chris

[TheRealPoMo]

So may be the happy medium is to bung a small amount of rustproofing oil in there to slush around and take care of the oxidizing agents that are trapped within once you seal it.

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[tug_tellum]

I had a very large, heavy gal ramp trolley with open ends for my 25ft Mariner flybridge cruiser. If I backed it down my ramp too quickly it would float untill it filled with water.. If I blocked off the ends it wouldnt sink. Small boat trailers must be different if you can block off the ends and they will still go under water to retrieve your boat

tug_tellum

[tunaticer]

that's an interesting design, did you you build it and then get it galvanized?
guess you also could have used the same C section also for the cross braces instead of the flat bar?

Build in black steel then hot dip galvanize.
Went with flat bar cross ties because it instantly drips dry and far easier to work with in the design.
As far as flex for the trailer frame goes, there is none, every bit as rigid as using a channel or RHS cross member.
All cables are conduited to protect from stone damage.

[stevej]

what i do for my trailers
dont use the trailer as a earth for wiring
the day it gets brought home i sprayed a wax substance my old man got me a 20l drum off, heat it up a bit so it flows and had a right angled nossle that would fit in a 10mm hole and spray till it ran out
dont store the trailers on grass with a tarp covering the whole lot or when they were shed stored made sure they were dry before putting away
and put webbing straps on instead of steel strand so ally hull wasnt bonded to the trailer
and had a hose nossle screwed into the tubes and flushed with saltaway using the same adaptor i used on the outboard

all about reducing differing metals contacting, stray current and minimising moisture around or in the trailer when stored
not huge or expensive things to do