hey guys, i am waiting to pickup a brand new 5 ton dump trailer that i am planning to use for tree service - brush / chips / logs / stump grinder and i wanted to know if anyone could suggest some tips to keep if from rusting. i live in canada so we get snow but i am planning to build a wooden chip box, undercoat annually, and park it in my garage for the winters, unless needed. the trailer is zinc primer, powder coated, hot dipped, painted steel from the factory, i am not sure if the floor is painted/coated but it is 11 guage steel any advice on using bedliners sprays and/or miracle paint on a new trailer. i dont want to sand/grind it down and ruin a new trailer either i was evening thinking to lay plywood to prevent knicks as i will be chainsawing inside the trailer but i dont know if that will cause rust issues also ie. moisture and stuff under the boards... thanks in advance
No on the bedliner, will just rust underneath. Fluid film AR in the wheel wells/ direct spray areas. Fluid film NAS / Woolwax on the rest. Re apply atleast once a year
thank you mike will research that now
If you get it new. I'd flip it on it's side and go over the whole bottom with another coat of paint, brushed on, to be sure the cracks and crevices got painted. Typically trailers are sprayed cosmetically, and not many people look at the bottom of a dump trailer. I could be wrong, I don't look at a lot of new trailers, only rusty ones. I wouldn't bother to put it in a garage unless the garage stays much less humid than outdoors, AND you rinse the salt off every time you put it in the garage. The salt will keep it damp enough to rust indoors. Get a good system for blocking up the lift so it's safe to wash with the bed in the air. A slightly acid water helps to rinse the salt off, rainwater is just about the perfect acidity for this. I agree 100% with fluidfilm, and no bedliner. I saw a trailer once the guy had connected all the cavities in the steel frame and filled with diesel, not much rust, but he might have taken care of it well too. If your frame is sealed you could add oil, or rustproof with fluid film etc if it won't hold liquid. If is open channels, then watch the ledges when you wash the salt and dirt off it.
thank you delmer. all these tips help