J.B. Marshall

I 2nd that. It's all about the proper care/maintenance by the owner that makes the difference. I'm very happy with my steel trailer but I'm in fresh water.

diggin H20

X2 I have a C-channel Manning tri axle and love it. It is solid. I boat in fresh water but like the fact that I get weight savings with aluminum and just wash the frame. No rusting from rock chips or paint issues. To each their own but I also am more concerned with the performance of my trailer over looks.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I don't see a single advantage of a steel trailer over a C-channel aluminum welded trailer like Myco and Manning build.

Too many folks think the above described trailer flexes like cardboard; like the aluminum I-beam trailers that are bolted together. This is not the case. The aluminum C-channel trailers are built just as well as the comparable steel ones. They offer considerable weight savings. There are no resale issues as anyone can buy your boat without new trailer concerns. They don't rust or rot; AND Myco and Manning have been painting them for years. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet you have seen an aluminum painted trailer that you thought was steel. It's happened to me.

BenPerfected

This is a mid-90's South Florida Trailer. It was ordered with a upgraded/larger I-beam w/2-axle drum brakes and it is rated at 10,500 lbs. We have towed from OH to FL 8-10 times, and all over the midwest thru-out OH, IN, MI, IL, MD, MO. Although we have checked, the trailer bolts have never been loose.
We have added two new set of tires and in 2007 we upgraded to 3-axle Kodiak disc brakes (still surge). I am sure their is a weight point that a painted steel trailer has performance benefits, but our experience is that the right aluminum trailer can be a great low maintenance value at 10,500 lbs.

Too Stroked

I'd respectfully disagree here. With a square channel welded steel trailer, there's simply no way that one can effectively flush all of the salt out. On top of that, most trailers are not properly painted inside the square channels anyway. All it leads to - even with just one dunking in salt - is a perfectly good trailer rotting from the inside out.

vette131

been there done that twice !

Too Stroked

Thanks for backing me up on this one. And if you look at my sig, you'll notice that I live in what must be the road salt capital of the north. I can tell you with great certainty that simply rinsing a vehicle does absolutely nothing to reduce the ravages of salt.

SS930

I have your back on this one too... Saltwater and steel trailers are a bad combo... Well if you want them to last and remain rust-free anyway. I have a steel Myco, which has C channel framework, and I even hate the idea of dunking that in saltwater even though it can be rinsed fairly well!

fordf350

Hi guys I have read through all of your answers and concerns about steel and aluminum trailers. Well let me start by saying I have been in the N.D.I. Non-Destructive Inspection field for a long time now and I am also a avid boater, fisherman and crabber. I have been through more fishing and crabbing boats both aluminum and fiberglass than most people have had cars. But let me lay some metallurgy on you. Steel will be heavier than the aluminum inch for inch. So aluminum may save you some gas when you are towing it down the road. But they paint the steel ones with what should be a good epoxy based paint to reduce stone chips and other harsh abuse. The aluminum one should have a clear coat on it. But lets throw a uncoated bar of steel and a bar of aluminum uncoated in a tank of salt water. It will be plain to see that the steel will rust. How fast will be determined by the amount of iron in the steel. The aluminum which is a alloy will start to get innergrainlar corrosion or exfolyation within hours. If there is any pitting in the aluminum this will happen from the inside out and you won't know it until the beam cracks. Do you guys remember the Aloha jet airliner that landed with half of the roof missing? Innergrainular Corrsion. Now this is not to say that the same thing will not happen to steel, It is just more obvious with the steel returning to it natural state of iron/brown rust. But it will take longer. Where aluminum is a little harder to see because it is a alloy. I have two galvanized trailers for my fishing/crabbing and duck boats which may look gray but they are in great mechanical shape and the wellcraft seats on a painted steel trailer. Which gets a sandpaper scrubbing and primer than a paint stroke after every season. I have had that trailer since 1986. The fountain I just got also seats on a painted steel trailer. But hey aluminum just looks cooler. Its your choice. Isn't America great.

fordf350

Hi guys I have read through all of your answers and concerns about steel and aluminum trailers. Well let me start by saying I have been in the N.D.I. Non-Destructive Inspection field for a long time now and I am also a avid boater, fisherman and crabber. I have been through more fishing and crabbing boats both aluminum and fiberglass than most people have had cars. But let me lay some metallurgy on you. Steel will be heavier than the aluminum inch for inch. So aluminum may save you some gas when you are towing it down the road. But they paint the steel ones with what should be a good epoxy based paint to reduce stone chips and other harsh abuse. The aluminum one should have a clear coat on it. But lets throw a uncoated bar of steel and a bar of aluminum uncoated in a tank of salt water. It will be plain to see that the steel will rust. How fast will be determined by the amount of iron in the steel. The aluminum which is a alloy will start to get innergrainlar corrosion or exfolyation within hours. If there is any pitting in the aluminum this will happen from the inside out and you won't know it until the beam cracks. Do you guys remember the Aloha jet airliner that landed with half of the roof missing? Innergrainular Corrsion. Now this is not to say that the same thing will not happen to steel, It is just more obvious with the steel returning to it natural state of iron/brown rust. But it will take longer. Where aluminum is a little harder to see because it is a alloy. I have two galvanized trailers for my fishing/crabbing and duck boats which may look gray but they are in great mechanical shape and the wellcraft seats on a painted steel trailer. Which gets a sandpaper scrubbing and primer than a paint stroke after every season. I have had that trailer since 1986. The fountain I just got also seats on a painted steel trailer. But hey aluminum just looks cooler. Its your choice. Isn't America great.