Trailer Springs

[Jono_SS]

hello ausfishers

I've picked up a new trailer with black leaf springs (i.e. not galvanised).

does any have advice on pre-use preparation to prevent rust? I'm keen to look after this trailer like it's my own....which it is.

regards.

Jono_SS

[buhky62]

Yer jono_ss spray them with vegitable oil dont use diesle or engine oil alot of the 4wd hire places here in hervey bay use it and as we do alot of spring resetting for them have noticed that those that use vegie oil the springs are in better condition than those that don't ......BOB

[Noelm]

not too sure if it is recomended, but I always used to get a big tin of cheap grease and cover evry thing with handfulls of grease, and a mate of mine used to get some sort of like hessian tape, and wrap the springs with it after a lather of grease and oil.

[Ian1]

Coat them in Tectyl 506. Its a heavy duty rust preventitive coating. Comes in a spray pack or 5l tin. If you have a Blackwoods store near where you live they should have it or sometimes repco has the spray packs. It dries to a waxy film and lasts for years. Most hardware store etc have never heard of it.
You can buy a pair of galvanized springs quite cheap. Under $100 I think. Just search the net for trailer parts.

Cheers

Ian

[Chimo]

Hi Jono
I have had good success by painting fish oil over new springs and really wetting the interleaf areas as well prior to getting any salty water on them. Same treatment also worked very well on gal bake cable on mechanical brake setups on smaller trailers. Seemed that if you used warm fish oil and really brushed it into the springs and cable it worked well.

When I sold that setup after 9 yrs and had drowned it in salt often doing off the beach launch and retrieves it had no rust. Mind you, I did hose it off after use too.

Cheers
Chimo

PS I jacked it up and pulled the wheels off to really give it good soak pre use, it made it heaps easier to get in and see what you were doing.

[Hagar]

It's a new trailer isn't it - trade in the springs for gal ones - difference in cost is bugger all . I reckon axle , hubs and springs should all come gal as standard now their freely available . Put some inhibitor on them as well and they will last forever .

[finga]

Cchange them to galv. ones.
They're cheep as chips if you know where to shop.
I think the last set I got were about $40 for a set of 4 leaf.

[bushbeachboy]

Change to gal ones bro. Will save you heaps of grief.

[Fishbait]

I agree, Gal springs are the way to go - I've even plasted my springs in marine grease also to help out. Hope that this way I can get a few extra years than by not doing this.

[nicko233]

gday jonno,stick with black springs there cheap change them every two years,i have seen gal leaves break at the eye.i believe this is because galvanizers are as rough as guts, in vic anyway.appologies to any good galvos.


nicko

[littlejim]

The galvo will be Ok for a while on the outside, but where the leaves rub against each other it will eventually disappear and start the galvanic action going. This may take ages though.

Mine quietly rust away. Of all the things I have tried motorbike chain lube seems to last the longest. Started with old sump oil/kero mix, inox, lanox, etc. and compared the results.

Where I buy the chain lube they seem to have only Shell brand. The one with teflon sprays on which is the easiest way to put it on. The one with no teflon comes out as liquid so I have to put it into an old tin and paint it on.

[seatime]

the pro beach netters would coat everything under their boat and fish trailers, and tractors with tallow, then they'd drive over the dusty roads and sand tracks, this would help hold the tallow in place. these trailers lived on the beach and in salt water.

I've wrapped my springs, axle, bolt threads and nuts in Denso tape. the grease in the denso tape is unbelievably sticky and won't wash away easily. might give littlejim's chain lube a go for the box sections.

regards
Steve

[Jono_SS]

thanks for all the great advice guys. now I just have to settle on a plan of attack!

i like the idea of the denso tape...but I haven't actually seen an example of it before! Gelsec, would you happen to have a photo of the finished product, so I know what to aim for. also, any other tips (e.g. like Chimo's advice about jacking it up, taking the wheels off etc - there's no boat on the trailer at the moment, so I think I'll do it ASAP).

thanks to all.

Jono.

ps - Gelsec - were you at the Fraser comp recently?

[Jono_SS]

an update....

purchased the necessary materials today (thanks Blackwoods at Virginia, and one of the car chain stores), and plucked up the courage to undo springs etc. got home early to make a start before dark.

thank goodness there was no boat on the trailer - not sure how many hours it would take if it was on there.

lubed up the brake calipers (the slidey bits, not the brake pads) while I was in there.

soaked the springs in tectyl, let them dry, then wrapped in denso tape. lovely stuff, don't know why I haven't used it for something before.

regular (6-12 monthly) maintenance schedule from now on.

[Jono_SS]

took about 3 hours all up