Keeping a trailer frame from rusting

I have a Transcraft Tl-2000 semi trailer, which is in a remarkably decent condition, considering it is 17 years old. It has superficial surface rust, but no through holes or big pieces or rust falling off.

It was owned by a construction cmpany prior to me buying it at auction, and it was probably not used much during winter.

Well I will need to use it during winter, so, my question, how to rust proof it cheaply. (it cost me only $1.5k plus buyer premium). Say, can I spray some oil on the frame every couple of months? Would that work satisfactorily?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus28180
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The best thing you can do is pressure wash the sand and salt mixture from the winter roads off of it after each outing. In the spring wire brush (angle grinder), prime and paint all rust spot areas before they can get past the surface rust stage. Don't forget to drain the moisture out of the air tanks daily as well, especially in freezing weather.

Reply to
Pete C.

Why not buy a kit and do a Rino Liner type coating over the metalwork? It would be much cheaper than anything else other than polluting Chicago.

On second thought....a couple gallons of used motor oil would be a good thing. Spray it on with a bug sprayer and then drive through Chicago and let it drip dry.

Gunner

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Reply to
Gunner

I'm interested in this thread. I've been looking into using acids to remove (actually "convert") rust prior to paint. Dilute phosphoric seems to be the stuff. I hope someone has done this and gives us a story on it. I need to remove or convert rusted poles set in concrete on my back patio prior to repainting them.

I've always thought that a good, thick coat of paint would be the best protection against rust, but cleaning the rust off (and removing the cleaner and broken-down materials) prior to painting has always been the hardest part.

I wonder how hard it would be to Parkerize your entire trailer... ;)

You have the added "benefit" of tons of salt on your roads up there, too, don't you? Have you looked into the electronic rust prohibitors? That "cathodic protection" concept seems pretty cool, but I understand that it doesn't work on automobiles.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Well you could spray it with oil BUT since that would probably land you in jail these days (pollution and DOT checks)

You have limited options in the cheap category. Probably the cheapest would be to blast off any current rust with a blaster loaded with slag (NOT CHEAP SAND), then steam clean the places and spray them with a good equipment paint.

Personally I would blast the entire thing (you can do sections to lower the costs some) steam it and then use a good epoxy primer, topcoat that with bed liner material. Done correctly it would probably last the rest of the trailers life.

Reply to
Steve W.

Clean it, de-rust it & spray it with something like the wurth underbody sealer. Its good shit & very easy to spray on using something like a cheap "kero gun".

Reply to
Spuckle

I have a lot of clean, transparent used hydraulic oil and such.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus3598

It works only where there is a complete path for current. For automobiles, the analogue is galvanizing.

But, I thought, some clean oil sprayed on the metal every couple of months, ought to work? i

Reply to
Ignoramus3598

It would also cost 3x-4x what the trailer cost me.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus3598

I would spray it with liquid floor wax. I think that will last longer than oil. If you are willing to spend a bit more, go to a pottery supply and buy some microcrysaline mox. mix it with paint thinner so it is sprayable and use that. Microcrystaline wax is used in Cosmoline.

You can get phosphoric acid at Tractor Supply Company. It is used in the dairy business to clean pipes. It needs to be diluted. Look around an the internet for more info. Best if you wire brush to reduce the amount of rust that has to be converted.

Dan

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Reply to
dcaster

Linseed oil.

Regards,

Boris Mohar

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Reply to
Boris Mohar

I oil the beam of my log splitter with whatever I want to dispose of, most recently bath oil. Only LPS-3 has kept it from rusting in storage, outdoors under cover. Hydraulic oil seems to keep already-rusted surfaces from getting worse but isn't much help on bare steel.

Way back before they banned it I tried brushing used motor oil under a vehicle and found it nearly useless as it washed away too quickly. That's what made me test protective sprays including LPS-3. WD-40 is junk, some of the others worked pretty well. LPS-3 was the easiest to buy locally and not as messy as industrial chain lube.

Several years ago I sprayed a thin layer of undercoating on a rusty wheelbarrow that stays out in the weather. Rust hasn't crept under and lifted it though it's worn through in places.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I've seen LPS products at store, near me. Well, 20 miles is "somewhat" near me. Thanks for the field report.

Have you tried LPS3 under vehicles?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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I oil the beam of my log splitter with whatever I want to dispose of, most recently bath oil. Only LPS-3 has kept it from rusting in storage, outdoors under cover. Hydraulic oil seems to keep already-rusted surfaces from getting worse but isn't much help on bare steel.

Way back before they banned it I tried brushing used motor oil under a vehicle and found it nearly useless as it washed away too quickly. That's what made me test protective sprays including LPS-3. WD-40 is junk, some of the others worked pretty well. LPS-3 was the easiest to buy locally and not as messy as industrial chain lube.

Several years ago I sprayed a thin layer of undercoating on a rusty wheelbarrow that stays out in the weather. Rust hasn't crept under and lifted it though it's worn through in places.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

And your point is...? There are no perfect solutions that aren't hella expensive. Like stripping the trailer to the bare steel major components and getting the whole thing Hot Dip Galvanized. Then you have to put it all back together again...

Get the trailer up in the air a little on cribbing. Better if you can get one side up at a 30 - 45-degree angle to make it easier.

Crawl under and spot-blast the rusty places then prime and paint them. Touch up all the paint under the trailer that's scratched or disrupted.

Then hose it out every chance you get during the winter to knock the salt off - especially on the tops of the frame rails and axles where it sits.

And every few years get under there to search out new rusty spots and clean, blast, prime and paint again.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable)

Actually, I'd probably not worry about it--it'll outlast you, anyway...

If you really want to do something, I'd suggest one of the rust-converting undercoating and then repaint the problem areas.

Reply to
dpb

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I've sprayed them every fall for decades, been doing it this morning. It slows rusting down very substantially but doesn't completely stop it on surfaces exposed to tire splash or engine heat. It works better in protected areas and keeps bolt threads from rusting as long as I've owned the vehicle, 20+ years for my truck.

I use the hand spray bottle and dilute it with solvent to make it go further and soak into rust and crevices better. The aerosol cans are wasteful and the thick waxy layer they leave soon fills with dirt and falls or washes away under a car, so I apply it more lightly that a single coat of spray paint, only enough for the thin surface rust to absorb. An hour later it's invisible.

On my tractor bucket loader it kept bare machined surfaces from rusting for about 5 years, except where hydraulic oil leaks washed it off.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I'd be willing to bet that if your local PTBs got wind of a business spreading oil around, they'd fine you so quick, your head would spin.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Really, I spent 34 years in the frozen northeast, just washing off the sand and salt crud from the underside of a vehicle regularly during the winter is what works.

Reply to
Pete C.

What's the deal with with lps-2 and lps-3 being impossible to locate in any stores?

I'm in Chicago, and nobody carries anything but the plain oil, lps-1.

A few places will special order a case of 12 cans, but that's not what I want.

Are there an equivalent products from another company that has a real distribution network?

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

Being in NYS, I don't know.

Have you considered buying from Amazon, for example?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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What's the deal with with lps-2 and lps-3 being impossible to locate in any stores?

I'm in Chicago, and nobody carries anything but the plain oil, lps-1.

A few places will special order a case of 12 cans, but that's not what I want.

Are there an equivalent products from another company that has a real distribution network?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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