Once again I found myself in a circle of very intelligent fellow horse people with very nice aluminum trailers that were under the impression that aluminun floors need NO routine  maintenance at all. Yes, even heard the  "ten years of never, ever, pulling the mats out" speech and, that  aluminum floors were maintenance free! After a few minutes of not getting anywhere and sounding like it was turning into a WERM floor covering vs mats issues, I said,  that, it was all over the internet and to go home & google proper maintenance of aluminum floor in horse trailer.

Please remind your friends about the danger of urine getting between the mats and the floor and eating holes in the aluminum. Also,  remind folks that EVERY floor that supports horses should be checked out on a regular basis! That includes WERM & Rumbar, too.

Out of sight, out of mind.

For those owners that often change their equipment, it may not be a probem for them. But as the aluminum ages and the corrosion starts, the expense of repairs quickly increases. Proper cleaning will eliminate the destructive affects of urine and road salts. The mats don't have to be pulled every time the trailer is used, and depending on the type of flooring, it may only be necessary to roll the curb end of the mats, exposing the worse of the mess.

It makes me wonder how often these owners change the oil in their vehicles, or remove the lint in their driers. When was the last time their wheel bearings or brakes were inspected? Do they ever monitor their tire pressures?

How many of these owners were told by their sales persons that aluminum was maintenance free? Perhaps they are just naive and are uneducated about the effects of acids upon metals. Hopefully your conversations with them, enlightened them to the real world facts.

Some time ago, an irate owner flamed about how her trailer was a piece of junk, and the manufacturer was at fault, because it wouldn't back a warranty after eight years. It seems her trailer was found to have many holes in the flooring, when the mats were initially pulled at the nine year mark. The problem was obviously not her fault. She determined the trailer was improperly constructed, and she should be compensated for its present condition.

When we informed her of the basic efforts necessary by the owner to cleaning the floor, she huffed and puffed and disappeared from the forum.

We recently purchased a used 13 year old aluminum trailer. The floor had never been acid treated or coated. It looked like an original, untouched surface, that had obviously received some water flushings during its lifespan. Fortunately it was still on good shape and not holed by corrosion. As the third owner, I believe we were the first to address any corrosion issues with an acid bath and a bed liner application.

Aluminum has been proven to be a long lasting and durable structural metal. But like other mechanical items, it needs occasional maintenance. It appears some people haven't yet gotten the message.

So how often should they be cleaned and what factors would influence that?

My Logan Coach trailers came with Aluminum planks ( 6" wide with .25" gaps between planks) That are coated at the manufacture with Vortex ( Logans version of spray in liner) Then the Rubber mats are placed on top of that. Supposedly any urine that makes it under the mat, should drain out the slots between planks.

I use a lot of shaving in my trailers and muck out any manure each ride. I sweep out the shavings  when every they get really soiled. I also have to sweep out the shavings for every trip into National Parks like Yellowstone, (They want a swept clean trailer when you enter) I pull the mats at least twice a year and throughly flush the entire horse compartment out with fresh water. Depending on how much I use the trailer, I may even do this a third time mid summer. Since my aluminum is all coated in Spray on liner, I have no idea if any corrision has started. I am assuming the rubber mats protect the spray on liner, so the horse shoes don't ding or damage it. So my aluminum should be protected. At least I hope so.