Can you bring a salt water trailer back to life?

[Boats Bros]

I just bought a trailer and it was used in salt, so there is some light rust. Original trailer for an 09 210, I’ll get some pics tomorrow. What steps should I take to bring it back to life? I was surprised it has disc brakes on the rear axle, but I do not think they were working on the drive home. I’m hoping I don’t have to take it completely apart.

[bturner]

In my personal experience with mild steel trailers, no. The salt gets everywhere and I do mean everywhere. It penetrates into the pours of the welds, every crack, every chip and worse yet if its a tube type trailer, the trailer will rust from the inside out. I've even seen galvanized and aluminum trailers start to go after a few years but that's typically with fasteners or anywhere something has been scratched. Anything that moves or has a bearing surface will eventually be effected by salt as well. If this wasn't a trailer designed for saltwater usage, expect to have these kinds of issues.

They do make saltwater rinses like Salt Away and Str Brite makes something as well. You can follow that up with a corrosion inhibitor which should help but on a tube type trailer getting everything rinsed and coated with the inhibitor can be challenging.

A lot is going to depend on what trailer you actually bought, how much it was used in saltwater, how it was taken care of and how bad the corrosion has gotten.

[SilentSeven]

Is the trailer made from C frame steel or box frame steel? If box frame and it was used extensively in salt water and shows signs of significant corrosion (bubbling and flaking), I'd be concerned. The problem with box frames is you can't inspect the insides. On a C frame you can inspect the entire surface.

If your box frame shows surface rust only, you might be OK. You can have the trailer professionally refinished or do what I've done in the past and do a rustoleum type aerosol overhaul in the driveway. To be effective, you'll need to grind off loose finish with sanding wheel or similar, treat the metal and then repaint. If you let moisture linger under a flaking top surface (regardless of salt or fresh water) the trailer will deteriorate quickly.

Pictures of your trailer will help.

As the trailer was used in salt and you have brake issues, I'm going to guess the calipers and discs are shot and will need a full replacement. Factory rated salt water trailers typically are equipped with aluminum brake components and have fresh water post use flush kits installed. Again, pictures will help. For reference, I attached a picture of a saltwater used trailer with non-maintained disc brake system...this was from a boat I was inspecting for possible purchase. This trailer needed a complete braking system replacement.

[SilentSeven]

A few pictures of my '97 DHM model trailer driveway repaint.

Examples of rust damage prior to the work












Surface prep






Oddly, no pictures of the final product. I used off the shelf rustoleum spray paint as the color was quite close to the factory color. Trailer looked great when finished.

[Boats Bros]

SilentSeven you pretty much hit the nail on the head. It’s box frame steel. I pretty much need to do exactly what you did. I’ll be honest, I’m not too picky on the trailer but it would be nice to have it looking nice again. I don’t fully understand how the braking system works but it would be nice to have them operational.

[SilentSeven]

That doesn't look too bad....but it does need attention. Black is an easy color to spray...

Strip it and spray it! Two days of pain for years of looking good.

Try calling pacific trailers for your brake needs. They've been really good in helping me.



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[bturner]

Seven and I are typically on the same page with most things but I'm on the other side with this one in a couple areas.

IMO, this is the worst type trailer you can buy for saltwater, which is a mild steel tube construction. You can see on the rear shots where the rust is on the tail light openings, which means the saltwater has been in the tubing. The axel tube will have a weep hole in the center of the axle on the bottom which is there to let water out but it also lets water in, which in this case means saltwater in the axle tube. The upright supports for the bunks show considerable rust, I would inspect them and the welds very closely. Nothing about this trailer is/was made for saltwater use.

Where we agree..... Maybe be it can be saved or at least saved for a while. I'd personally start by dunking the trailer and letting it sit for a bit to hopefully flush it out as best you can, the sooner the better. I do agree that the next step would be to strip the trailer, grind out ALL the rust, inspect all the welds and start rebuilding. There's a good chance the wiring is going to be a problem as well as copper doesn't do will with salt and current running through the wires. The brakes were not designed for saltwater and if they're not working now as Seven stated they're probably toast from end to end. I've only worked on one saltwater trailer and it was a total shiz show. Every nut. bolt, fastener was rust welded.

I think someone once said.... the most expensive trailer I ever bought was a saltwater trailer I got a fantastic deal on. That actually may have been me.

By the time I was done with the Freshwater trailer below I had close to $2200 into it but that included new Marathon tires and those new aluminum wheels. Oh, and that was me doing all the labor for free.

As to repair, expect to be doing a lot of the below.....

[bturner]

As far as tools/materials go I would start rounding up the following.....

• Random orbital sander - I love the cordless DeWalt the BIL bought me for doing his trailer in the pictures above.
• Sawzall - for the rust bolts
• Cutoff wheel - for the rusted bolts.
• Various hand tools
• Stapler - for attaching the carpet to the new bunks.
• Skll saw - to cut the bunks.
• Drill and bits
• Band-Aids - for when the rusted bolts don't come off and you slip off a bolt in the process.
• Sandpaper - lots of it. I like 60/80 for getting the heavy rust. You'll also need 120 and 220 for paint prep.
• Grease and wax remover
• N95 mask - to use for sanding and painting.
• Zinc Chromate Primer - You'll want a primer that's going to really bite into the surface and seal up the rust. This will do it but be sure to really prep and clean the surface. Also, wear a mask. This stuff is not good for you.
• Paint - I had a lot of luck with the Rust Oleum High performance Black Enamel. The stuff really covered well and had a great gloss. https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...=Gloss%20Black
• Bunks - The carpet and wood are probably soaked with salt that will continue to bleed out for years. I'd cut new bunks and replace the carpet.
• Lots and lots of time.

Brakes are going to be a whole other deal so I'll let that lie for now.

[SilentSeven]

Seven and I are typically on the same page with most things but I'm on the other side with this one in a couple areas.

IMO, this is the worst type trailer you can buy for saltwater, which is a mild steel tube construction. You can see on the rear shots where the rust is on the tail light openings, which means the saltwater has been in the tubing. The axel tube will have a weep hole in the center of the axle on the bottom which is there to let water out but it also lets water in, which in this case means saltwater in the axle tube. The upright supports for the bunks show considerable rust, I would inspect them and the welds very closely. Nothing about this trailer is/was made for saltwater use.

Lol...actually, we agree! What you say above is quite accurate....I guess I was just trying to be a little optimistic. But yes, a close inspection is in order for sure as you can see that some of the rust is under the finish and bubbling. That's not a good sign but it may not be a death signal. Here in the PNW, I've seen worse.

I'll build on bturner 's recommendations in two areas. First, I'd get a ball peen hammer and use it to tap on the frame tube areas. If you hear a thud-ish dead reply (vs a nice tight ring), inspect carefully as that area is suspect. For a rust removal tool, you'll want to use a grinder. Something like a 4.5" angle grinder with this sort of wheel. Save the sandpaper for feathering in the paint edges to the grinder ground off area. An air compressor to blow the area clean will also be very useful. .

And yeah, brakes are whole other topic.

[srock]

The problem with painted trailers is the lack of paint on the interior of any closed piece of iron. Galvanized trailers are dipped and that really helps but you need to knock the salt off after each use. Even though I am a fresh water guy I always buy galvanized. If I see any rust, I just hit the spot with galvanized spray from a can. Also, if the trailer came with stickers, steps or sea dek the rust can form under those items.

[Boats Bros]

Thanks a bunch SilentSeven and bturner I like the trailer, but there is a lot of rust. Also I do not have a place to keep the boat to be able to work on the trailer, so I am leaning towards looking for a whole new trailer. 1st thing it needs before anything is a new axle, the spindle is bent from the previous owner.

[Boats Bros]

A little bend is all it takes. Got the new axle in and going to attempt to hit the lake this weekend!

[shag]

I would bet money that the inside of those tubes have rust already. I lived ion a Salt water area (and skied) for along time... I have seen galvanized tubes rust... Theres jus too way to flush them out.. Salt gets EVERYWHERE