Expert
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Location: western PA | Most aluminum trailers require a minimal amount of maintenance. The first thing you will most likely hear about, is the cleaning and acid washing of the flooring. The steel trailer manufacturers would have you believe, that if you don't instantly do both after an animal urinates, it will immediately disappear through a mash of corrosion into a subterranean hell. Just as with any flooring, aluminum should be routinely washed free of urine. How often depends on the amount of your usage, and how messy the horses are. Most better trailer companies use the five thousand series aluminum for their flooring construction. This is sometimes referred to as being a "marine" grade aluminum, while it is commonly used in truck bodies and many other applications. It is very corrosion resistant, commonly used in salt water environments, and doesn't need to be flushed after every use. Several uses a week and messy horses might warrant a bi weekly flushing with water. A lighter usage might only warrant monthly washings. Acid washing are usually only necessary after a few or several years of wear, and then only when some initial indications of corrosion are noted. We bought a third hand, 7 year old trailer that never had been acid washed. It needed the acid washing, but exhibited no holes or pitting in the flooring. I acid washed our other used trailer, one year older, only because I was covering the floor with a maintenance free coating. It too had no pitting or holes. The exterior appearance of the trailer is subjective. Some people only want a high gloss, brightly polished look, while others are content with the duller, grayish, natural oxidation. I'm in the middle and pleased with a "freshened" cleaned finish. I use a common RV wash, which lightens the oxidation colouring, but does not remove the protecting surface. Aluminum trailers have much the same maintenance as steel trailers. Generally everything that moves needs lubrication; hinges, latches, windows, jacks, vents etc. Some trailers have greaseable hinges, others only have a steel pin inside an aluminum boss. With no lubrication, these will eventually corrode, freeze up, and start to break out when not maintained. Newer designs like the Blue Ribbon trailers feature, have a nylon bushing between the aluminum and stainless pins. They are maintenance free, and tested for 30,000 cycles of normal wear. When they do wear out, the bushings can be replaced. The advantage of an aluminum structure, is how much less effort it takes to maintain the appearance and structural integrity of the trailer. Nothing is maintenance free, but the aluminum is much less. |
Up keep on aluminum???
