Trailer Rust Inside Frame - Advice Needed - Pics Attached

[Dave666]

I am about to refurbish the trailer. All new gal running gear and roller brackets. The trailer frame is going to get sanded (where needed) primed and painted.

Just not sure how to treat inside the frame / cross members. As you can see from the photos the frame is not badly rusted, it’s more a case of the gal degrading. However, I am sure part of the frames would have corrosion inside them.

How do I (a) treat this to stop the current rust and (b) try to prevent future rust. Some of my thoughts are

- Spray inside with Penetrol first then thin some tectyl and spray inside, or
- Spay inside a rust converter first, then a fewcoats of fisholine, or
- Another combo of the above products

What do you think is the best way to Fix and then Prevent rust inside the trailer channels?

Thanks in advance.
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[Mister]

There is not a lot you can do to fix or prevent rust inside the trailer channels.

[Jarrah Jack]

Oil fill the frames but if the rust has already taken hold then you may be too late. I'll be oil filling mine soon.

[cormorant]

That looks like a old rolco trailer? They were tough , good steel and well galvanized and a lot were a split back trailer. Not bad for 25 y/o at a guess?

Flush it let it dry and tectyl it inside a couple of times. Prepare the spots to paint properly and epoxy paint. You can thin the tectyl and use a garden sprayer or a underbody car gun if you like mess and have a compressor

If you change any of the wobble rollers let me know as I need a few spares.

[PinHead]

drill a hole in the top of the frame members..thread it..pour in killrust or fishoil and leave it there for a few weeks..put a bolt in the hole to seal it. Then drill a hole i nthe bottom to drain it.

[cormorant]

If it is a rolco there is drain holes as it was hot dipped so plenty of holes to stick up a spray. Galvanizers wouldn't put it in the baths unless it drains and no sections would be airtight is my thoughts Yeah I am always against cutting or drilling a dipped gal finish.

[deckie]

To be honest Dave...you have a trailer thats absolutely ripe for a refurb. Looks in bloody good nick and damn solid. Looks a fair age and amazing how many 20-30yo gal trailers are in far better shape than new ones after 5yrs. Better gal jobs or better workmanship i got no idea. Running parts just a bit of surface rust which is nothing a light grind wont fix before treating. Chassis parts look v solid well built and cant even see any rust thats eating away at it. Be silly to replace that kind of quality...like me replacing my dishwasher simply coz it was 15yo but still good, new one didnt last 15mths. If this trailer has had plenty of use in s/w i reckon there's another 20years left in it with what you;re planning.

The box section low points and the insides of any welds are the susceptible areas going fwd, as well as anywhere there are holes for bolts such as springs. I'd be looking for any drainage holes/access points in the cross members and if not create small ones you can reseal up with a small gal bolt and some sika. The middle low points get the odd belting as well as anything settling and rust out from the inside. Everyone would do it differently but i'd start with just getting the corrosion powder off surface (dont strip off the leftover gal). A serious scrub with hard brush and detergent cleanup and rinse and not worry about the light surface rust unless u find eaten areas. Maybe a hit with a gerni and sun dry. Get some good fishoil (dont buy the cheap shit coz its just false economising) and get plenty inside each xmember using an access hole...no need to drain that out, just make sure it'll give good inside coverage for the welds and low pts. You can prime with something u trust but probably not necessary. A real good scrub then some chassis paint like a Por15 can go straight on...its meant to go straight over light surface rust. Duragal might be another good option. Make sure any "paint" you whack on is UV tolerant coz they cook in the sun at the ramp. I used a Por15 called "sterling Silver" that was UV tolerant...probably lots of other options to investigate with the paint as long as its damn tough. Make sure no sneaky fishoil/tectyl anywhere u want to paint.
Tectyl's best for the running parts i reckon but can also spray inside xmembers...after cleaning the surface rust off the axle/springs etc its great over that stuff but horrible messy crap to spray/apply so get the missus to do that part maybe 8-).
Strip off all the roller brackets, same treatment, replace any corroded bolts/fishplates with new gal stuff and go easy on the threads. Personally i;d replace the springs but axles are usually stronger than they look when covered with just a bit of surface rust. Pretty stock items and reasonably priced tho to replace.
Put it this way...if that trailer was under a second hand rig i was looking at i'd be happy. Looks good enough to at least get a quote (aint cheap) for hot gal dip.
Steve

[Dave666]

Cormorant - Not sure of the brand but it does have drain holes at the low point of each cross member. I purchased the boat, motor & trailer recently from a private seller. The boat is at least 25yr old (19ft Pride Montego) so you could be right on the money with the trailer age.

After reading the reply's so far, I am thinking spray fish oil first let this dry and then spay with tectly after thining...Hmmmm.

Cormorant - you have helped with advice previoulsy, which I appreciate, so you are more than welcome to the old wobble roller if you want them. I am going to replace with new red poly rollers. Be warned, these old black ones can leave marks on your hull. Let me know if you are still interested.

[Dave666]

Deckie - Your right, in fact the whole boat, motor, trailer falls into the "quality and rock solid" for its age (Pride Montego with 98 Yammaha 2 stroke).

I just purchased 6 leaf springs, 45mm axles, new hubs & brakes, all in gal. I will also replace the wobble rollers and wobble brackets. The keel brackets will get wire brushed and painted. Also, new winch, jockey wheel. Also going to install a mesh walkway and some other modifications to make life easy.

I know the Por15 is perfect for the job, but I was recently given (free) enough Rust Guard epoxy enamel hammered finish to do the job. Probably got enough to do 2 or 3 coats if I wanted.

I might try to post a few more pic's in case anyone is interested in the ongoing restoration work - god knows the wife's not:-?

[Dave666]

Few more pics for those interested.

[cormorant]

here is how they do the coatings in a workshop. Justa fancy garden sprinkler and the tectyl can be thinned with turps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcNP4INYEMI

Yep I'm in for the old brackets and rollers ;D as we have a once a year haul out trailer for a antifouled put put that has em on it. Will send you a PM to arrange.

After degreasing I just use a twisted wire brush on a 100 mm angle grinder and touch any surface rust so any paint has a good clean surface to bond onto.

Hardware and General has industrial grade gal bolts selection down at Brookvale.

You can use stainless pins for the keel rollers and they will roll smoothly compared to gal .

[barra71]

Few more pics for those interested.
There a good old boat mate you will have many yrs of fun and fish in that..

[deckie]

Sweet looker that model and in good nick. Pick it up recently Dave ? Whats the condition ? Much work to do ? Any pics of transon/deck/cabin ?
That trailer looks a bewdy and worth the work...even those wheels look like they'd come up great without too much work.



Hardware and General has industrial grade gal bolts selection down at Brookvale.

Got mine there before as well, excellent. Still cant beleive how much of that road is owned by that crowd. Known here as "Hardware and General Rd" . Know about Bomond Trading around the cnr in Orchard Rd Brookie ? Brilliant place for bits and pieces including this stuff..in fact if you cant get it in Brookvale it doesnt exist i reckon.
Nthn Beaches Marine now in that 3 block radius too...moved from back of Warringah Mall and he's picked up Seadevil...Long Reef's favorite bulletproof rig. Last time i went past tho i think Silverwood trailers has moved/gone from Orchard rd.
That 3 block radius is like car/boat maintenance central. Includes Chard Rd too where you can always have some personalized plumbing work done, if u know what i mean ;)

[Noelm]

how about tipping the trailer up side down and using the existing holes to fill the frame with used sump oil/fish oil/whatever, then blocking the hole up and leaving the oil in there?? won't hurt anything being in there, so why drain it out? I do suspect that the inside of the fame will be rusted quite a bit more than what you can see on the outside though.

[Jarrah Jack]

how about tipping the trailer up side down and using the existing holes to fill the frame with used sump oil/fish oil/whatever, then blocking the hole up and leaving the oil in there?? won't hurt anything being in there, so why drain it out? I do suspect that the inside of the fame will be rusted quite a bit more than what you can see on the outside though.

How would you suggest blocking the hole Noelm as I'm about to do mine. I'm leaning towards tap and bolt with sika to stop any rust.

[tunaticer]

Strip it down, check for metal thicknesses in suspect areas, drill if needed for gal drainage and get it re-dipped. I re-dip mine every decade or so. Best preventative maintenance you can get.
If you hit it with oil or rust preventative it can not go through the bath for another dip later on. There is no way to effectively remove all the internal rust preventatives for them to guarantee the new dip. Weigh it up before you add oils or coatings........which is better?

[Dave666]

Sweet looker that model and in good nick. Pick it up recently Dave ? Whats the condition ? Much work to do ? Any pics of transon/deck/cabin ?
That trailer looks a bewdy and worth the work...even those wheels look like they'd come up great without too much work.

Deckie - purchased her in November last year. She is my first boat. Someone said to me your first boat is like your first r#!t, special memories;D. Not too many photos as yet, but she does need quite a bit of work. One is attached with the young bloke who think he is a pirate on a ship.

Also, I attached the before and after shots of the wheels. I gave them a serious hit with the wire wheel then SLS Etch primer (alloy mags) then a metalic epoxy enamel in silver. I didnt fuss with fixing the dings. The tyre place that removed the old tyres said they were date stamped "March 96". That makes them 16 years old:o Makes me wonder how I didnt blow a tyre driving her home down the F3 freeway when I purchased. I am going to put on a set of Maxxis 8ply light truck tyres.

[Noelm]

How would you suggest blocking the hole Noelm as I'm about to do mine. I'm leaning towards tap and bolt with sika to stop any rust.
I guess it will depend on how clever you are, I would just find a bolt that will "self tap" into the existing hole, then cover it in some sort of silicon to make 100% sure it is sealed and wont fall out. When I did my old trailer, I was going to get it sand blasted and try paint instead of Gal, so I just made holes in the top of the tube and welded nuts to it, got some plastic end caps that fitted the tube, siliconed them on and filled them up with a mixture of 50/50 sump oil and fish oil, then plugged the top holes with a bolt.

[whiteman]

666, you have more time on your hands than most of us - that's a compliment btw. My 10yo trailer is looking a little rough around the edges. I thought I looked after it as it never gets soaked at the ramp and I'm always spraying fresh water into the holes after each session. But that nasty salt water attacks the frame from inside out typically at the bottom of the V in the rails (can see it in your photos) and often at the top of the V on the opposite side from the one you usually clean/spray the boat from. As your trailer looks somewhat better made than mine it may take a lot longer to gain a serious foothold.

Because the serious rust is inside it's easy to find tapping a hammer around suspect parts. Then you start up a relationship with a welder to cut out the cancer and replace it with heavier gauge metal - but if it's not re-dipped you have this fight on your hands forever!

If I buy a new trailer it will one of the open channel types starting to come on the market.

[Dave666]

Whiteman - I am a desk jockey by day, so these types of resto jobs are a labour of love....well at the moment it is. The box section is in pretty good nic, but the rollers were frozen from rust. So while I originally intended to just fix the rollers, I thought I may as well fix the lot properly.