Trailer rust...already?
 

This trailer is not even a month old - it has been sitting outside at in Michigan weather while I wait on completion of my boat. It did accumulate quite a bit of road salt when being towed as well (by the way, will these stains come off?)

The bow stop and winch stand are the only 2 pieces that are not aluminum so they were painted with what I thought made a nice match however, should this be happening already? I haven't even seen the damn thing yet and it is already rusted!!

They did a crappy job prepping it before they painted. If its steel it needs to be sandblasted completely before priming it. I can tell from where the rust is they just hit the high spots with the sand. Let them know your not happy with it and you want it repainted.

Thanks Mark. I called and explained the issue and said I wanted it sorted. In fact, the boat is at Mitcher T's shop this week which is only 30 minutes from them vs. the 2 hours away the factory is from them (making this very convenient for them). I told them it was a great opportunity for them to go grab these components, re-finish them and deliver them back onto the trailer at Mitcher T's before he is done. So far, 2 days of messages requesting status and no returned calls....I am not terribly excited with this at the moment.

Any idea of those road salt stains will come off the aluminum?

What do you expect when you save 6-8 grand? :D

Mine is not painted all that well either. I would redo it yourself if perfection is what you are looking for. I would also drill a hole(s) at the bottom of the tube that the bow stop slides into to prevent water accumulation. Doesn't matter how pretty the outside is if it is rotting away from the inside. He was going to make mine out of aluminum but I insisted that I wanted steel for that part of the trailer. I'll deal with the small amount of rust over time on that one piece.

If you really want it to last, send it out and have it galvanized. I can't tell you how many bow stop/winch stands I've seen that rotted from the inside. Obviously if you thoroughly strip it and coat it in a good basecoat, it won't rust from the outside. Problem is, the only way you know it rotted inside is when it snaps.

Another DIY approach is to drill a small hole in it and pour POR-15 into it. Unless it has peeling rust scale, POR will stick and seal it. Fill it up, keep turning it until none comes out. 2 coats should do it. Perfect undercoat for the outside too.

No rust on my MYCO :evilb:
I am seeing the salt stains on the aluminum from that wonderful south Florida saltwater. My trailer is going to get a good douche next month in freshwater when i get the boat home. Then mist it down with Liquid Wrench. I know that sounds crazy but we use to clean the tuna tower on my dads sportfish with it and it worked great.

Heat,

Probably need to go get you some salt-away (container that fits on your garden hose) and rinse the trailer down every day for the next few days. Then, if you think that you will be around salt water much...I would have Manning galvanize both the bow stop and the winch stand, only way to really keep that stuff protected in my opinion. He uses Imron paint (I beleive???) but nothing lasts in salt enviroments. I had him galvanize mine. There has not been any problems so far, and I am in the Florida. Also, I have been trying to contact him on another issue, and have received no return calls either. Let us know how this goes.

Activeshack, does the liquid wrench leave a film or what?? I am trying to find something to clean and protect the aluminum. There's something called Eureka fluid film that the military uses around here on their stuff, but haven't tried it yet.

Which brands are the best against rust and corrotion? We bought a Loadmast** and that rusted because of the saltwater dripping down on the trailer after we used a forklift with belts to load the boat on the trailer... the trailer has NEVER EVER been submerged.

Is the quality of the paint on the bowstop what makes them cost twice as much?:eureka:



I am totally pleased with my aluminum Manning and I looked at all of them prior to purchase.

No film :cool: Whatevers in that makes it penetrate so good gets into the aluminum and keeps it from pitting.

Maybe i need to scrape some paint off of mine to see if they painted over gold. I haven't looked at the Mannings real close but from the pics. i've seen they look just like the MYCO without a 6 grand bow stop.:rolleyes: