I have a 2003 featherlite which I love, when I bought it new I was told I should put some sort of bed liner product on the alumnium floor.  Which I did,  took it to a Rhino Lining dealer and he prepared the floor and sprayed it, he made sure he sprayed it about 4 inches above the floor so nothing would get behind it.  I have had it now for 5.5 years I still take the mats out and clean under them every 2 mos and now I have bumps in the floor/rhino lining. There are no holes that I can see from underneath.  Apart from having the rhino dealer cut into one of the bumps and see what is going on??? Which I will be doing, but I talked with my dealer and was told that the floor will out live me, was told to just have the rhino people redo the lining and it should be fine.  I asked what if there is pitting etc and erosion?  Again I was told that the aluminum floor will out live me??  Any thoughts on this??  Thanks

The Rhino lining was a very good surface to install. However...if there was any active corrosion in the floor that was not chemically halted before the surface application was applied, the corrosion will continue under the liner. The oxidation has to be chemically etched to stop the corrosion before any further repairs are effected.

What you may have is similar to the blistering of paint on a car. When you push on a little blister, you discover a larger rusted area underneath.

If there is corrosion and these bumps are growing in area, you will not out live your trailer.

As you suggested, clean away the Rhino above the bump to determine its origin. I would carefully inspect the  bottom of your trailer floor, underneath where you have the bumps. Clean the area of road dirt and look for small gray or black areas surrounded by a whitish powder in the aluminum. You do not have to actually have a hole in the floor to indicate a damaged area. If any discoloration is discovered, poke at it with a small screwdriver or knife tip to see if it is soft and flakes off.

If you find anything, you have corrosion that is eating a hole through the trailer floor. The area will have to be stripped, cleaned and etched before it can be repaired. The type of repairs will be dependant on the severity of the area.

The liner can be easily repaired with a spot respray, but getting all the oxidation exposed will be difficult.

BOL  Gard

If your trailer was brand new when you had it coated, there should be no corrosion issues. Continue with a close inspection of the area underneath the floor and the actual bumps in the Rhino. If there is no apparent corrosion,  it may be that the problem is the liner itself. There may be adhesion issues or a mixture fault during the application. My truck's Rhino has a life time warranty which I believe is the common practise. Let the the Rhino folks figure out what is wrong.

You are correct. If your trailer floor had been badly damaged by corrosion, it would have been necessary to correct it before any thing else was accomplished. There should be no reason to expect another floor will have to be installed. That is why you had the liner installed in the first place.

BOL  gard

  I don't know, but I bet there were some oily residue on the spots on your aluminum floor where the "liner" has turned loose. 

  Do you think you could put W.E.R.M. on top of "Rhino", without the Rhino being stripped off.....Wonder what kind of job that would be, stripping off Rhino liner!!?

Mechanically stripping the Rhino, must be a very difficult job based on the durability I've experienced with the application in my truck. It is applied with a gun and pump system that mixes and heats the mixture during the application. I don't know if the reintroduction of a heat source would soften the surface enough to scrap it off.

I would think that the liner would be a very good base for the WERM system, assuming that it was properly applied. Removing the Rhino to a clean metal will be a very labour intensive activity.

BOl  gard

The aluminum needs to be cleaned of any oxides, thru an acid wash or a self etching primer.

Aluminum corrodes when exposed to air. It's that corrosion that makes the primer, paint, Rhino or WERM not adhere.

I would acid clean, dry, apply a self etching primer made for aluminum, then apply the finish surface.

Painting aluminum is very labor intensive, but ya want to do it right.

The metal already has been coated with the Rhino coating which is going to be difficult to remove. If the metal had been properly prepared before it was coated, there should be no further oxidation to that surface, with the coating installed. No oxygen can get to the metal except for a damaged area of the coating, or from underneath where corrosion, if formed, was left untreated.

Any metal area that is stripped of the Rhino coating, will have to be acid etched before another coating is applied.

Gard

gard,

I agree with your post. But I think with the aluminum planks floors of todays trailers, you're never going to get the seams "clean".

I had a '99 Featherlite, had mats, but had some corrosion. Went the whole routine. Acid wash, self etching DTM primer, then Rhino. Guess what....bubbles in the Rhino. Now you have an even bigger issue in that you can't clean the area under the bubble, unless you "lance" that area.

I got rid of that trailer. The new trailer, I spoke with a fella that did WERM. Stated he had adhesion issues were the horses rear feet would be. He found that strange. He doesn't install WERM anymore.

Wyndancer

You are very correct. Aluminum trailers are not maintenance or corrosion free. They, like steel, involve a routine maintenance schedule to keep them in the best condition possible. Urine, being contained within the joints of the floor planking, has an excellent place to start corrosion. Any area that is not accessable for routine cleaning will be susceptible to damage.

Routine trailer maintenance would include flushing of the floor area. Flooding would be a better description than a quick light washing. Every few years, depending on usage, the floor should be acid washed, which etches the metal and stops the corrosion. The underneath should also be included in the inspections and upkeep. While not as vulnerable to the acidic urine, it encounters road salts and various acids from every day travels. This is a very important area to be vigilant about and is often the most neglected part of the trailer.

Aluminum is quite tolerant to oxidation, but once it forms and is left untreated, like cancer, the corrosion can quickly spread through the thickness of the metal.

I have never had the experiences that you folks are now posting, IE; corrosion under a surface coating. If the aluminum is properly prepared, coated and sealed with an adequate product, the metal's surface cannot oxidize without an air source. The only way this could occur, is by the surface coating being broken and allowing a product and air to contaminate the metal, or by a source of corrosion being allowed to penetrate from the opposite side of the metal.

I have never used Rhino on a trailer floor. I have it installed in the steel bed of my truck, and have found its durability to be excellent. I have used another product that is a bed liner paint product, with excellent results. I spoke about it at some length in some of my other threads. Theoretically, the Rhino because of its additional thickness and durability, should provide a superior barrier coating than what I used. I have not had the problems that are being discussed now.

I can only surmise, that the applicator who is prepping these trailers before the spray application, is not doing an adequate job. Washing an oxidized aluminum floor will not stop the corrosion process. It has to be chemically accomplished by an acid. If the Rhino installers are not familiar with the acids in urine and the corrosion of aluminum, they may be prepping the floor as they would a steel truck bed.

Even a new trailer has to be properly prepared. The oils and contaminates used in the metal forming process, have to be completely removed prior to any surface application of Rhino.

I am not familiar with, nor have I used the WERM coatings. Again, I would think that this product would not adhere to the aluminum unless it were properly prepared. Rolled aluminum has a very slippery surface, and unless it is etched, it is a poor surface of which to adhere anything.

I'm sorry that I don't have a definitive answer to your concerns. I can only speculate on what has happened. Once the areas of delamination are investigated and a source of the problem is determined, a procedural cure can be effected. Until then we can only contemplate our various options.

BOL  Gard

Hard to beat a trip to the lumber store, a few bolts, and a circular saw.

I wonder if it would be possible to determine how many aluminum trailers have had a floor FAILURE and compare those numbers to a steel framed trailer with a wooden floor. Many wooden floor/steel frame owners are very silent while the aluminum owners are being chastised.

BTW, if you use fewer wider boards, 2x8 2x10 or 2x12, rather than many 2x6s, you will construct a much stronger floor.

BOL  Gard

Gard - love your posts as a rule.  I tend to lurk more than post - but - this subject hits close to home for me.

I've had 3 trailers with wood floor and one with aluminum.  The first trailer was a 1970s Miley that I purchased in the late 1980s.  That floor was still original and still in great shape when I sold it.  And I lived in the Seattle area at the time - so it was exposed to a lot of moisture. 

Then I bought a Trails West - 1997 - steel trailer wood floor.  Trailer was solid and well built and I sold it in 2001 as it was a bit small for my horses.

The next trailer was all-aluminum.  By the time the trailer was 4 years old, the floor was a disaster.  And not for lack of cleaning (just a preemptive statement).  The welds kept breaking, the planks were corroding on both the top and bottom side and they dented under the hind feet of my horse.  I'll not say the brand so as not to upset the supporters of it but suffice it to say I was not the only person that encountered this problem.

I then made a conscious decision to purchase a trailer with a wood floor.  Bought a Hawk and am still pleased with it.

S

Scoop

 For twelve years I owned a steel BP trailer with a wood floor. It was a stock combo and I installed lexan side windows to keep out the weather and wind. We always had mats installed and were very particular about cleaning the trailer after any usage.

 When I sold the trailer last year, the flooring was in a new condition except for the over spray of paint primer. The trailer frame had surface rust, but no strength issues. Structurally it was in excellent condition and had no limitations as far as distance or load limits when it was sold.

I have never said that all steel trailers are bad; I've owned three and only had problems with one. My issues are concerned with the area in which I live, the much lower maintenance I've encountered with the ownership of two aluminum trailers, and the remarkable condition and value they have retained.

 One of my trailers which I have owned for four years is now selling for what I originally paid. The second trailer I bought last year, is now selling for $5000 more than my purchase price. I've never owned a steel trailer that retained its value, much less appreciated in value.

 I had a life time career that involved the maintenance, repair and modifications to aluminum structures. I am familiar with aluminum. its strengths and weaknesses. After the purchase of my first used aluminum trailer, and enjoying its appearance and condition, while I was sanding and repainting my steel trailer, I quickly became a convert.

 Anything mechanical, made by the hand of man will eventually fail. Where and how it is used, is as important to its durability, as is its construction and materials. There will be aluminum trailers that are absolute crap. There will also be trailers that are almost perfect. There will always be variables.

If I had a trailer with the problems you encountered, I would never again own another like it. I understand where you're coming from and why you have your present trailer. I admire your objectivity, especially after putting up with so many problems. Under similar circumstances, I doubt that I could be as gracious.

 I keep mentioning comparisons, in an effort to quell the histrionics often spewed by various people, in efforts to degrade or unfairly group one brand or one type of trailer. All trailers xyz roofs leak; all trailers prq have bad floors etc. The hype and a lack of particular knowledge gets very burdensome to endure at times.

 I usually come to the defense of the "little" guy. Aluminum trailers don't really qualify in that category, but they increasingly, seem to be more unfairly chastised. Hey, I've got feelings too.

 BOL  Gard

Thank you so much all of you for your replys and ideas and information.  I am still nervous about what they will find when they (The rhino dealer) will find.  I also live in Western Washington near Everett.  So hence we have rather too much moisture.  Anyway  I am still contemplating whether I should just have the aluminum floor ripped out and put in a wood floor.  The rest of my Featherlite 2h Slant is awesome I love the window size the tack room etc.  I have it just the way I want it.  I also contacted the Rumber Manufacturer, no dealer in our state, but they said we could purchase the planks 2x8x7 and put in ourselves.  I am tempted.  I am 50 and have arthritis in my hands and taking the mats out all the time is a chore for me.  I would love rumber easier to hose out and clean and I could sweep out the shavings etc... Any opinions on these Ideas I would appreciate.  I will post what I find out from the Rhino dealer and I will ask him (the owner) what he did when he prepped the floor 4 years ago... Thanks again..

TRL

Removing the aluminum flooring of your trailer can be very labour intensive. How many areas are involved in the Rhino blistering? Wouldn't it be easier and less expensive to repair what is affected?

Installing and purchasing the Rumber will be an expensive process. It may be the floor joists are too far apart to support this type of flooring. You may have to have additional joists added to you current frame to provide adequate support.

Before I made any drastic changes to the structure of your trailer, I would certainly try to determine the cause of the problem, and repair only what is necessary. If you have a planked floor, a worse case scenario would be the replacement of one or two of the planks. Holes in planks can be repaired without replacing the whole plank.

The Rhino folks will have to determine what happened with their product and what, if any, damage is done to your trailer. Take a deep breath and relax. There is nothing that has to immediately accomplished, and you can use your trailer in the interim.

Lean on the Rhino people and their warranty for now. See what they do and decide.

Gard