Painted Trailer in Salt Water

[Mbernier]

Hi everyone, so I have been waiting to get my new Yamaha AR250 for awhile now and it finally came in. Problem is that it came in on a painted trailer instead of galvanized. Of course I want to go pick up right away but I’m worried about the trailer in salt water. I will probably be 50/50 in salt and fresh water.

It’s just a lot of money to then have a trailer that won’t last as long as I plan on having the boat. Should I hold off and wait for another dealer to get one in on a galvanized (not guaranteed) or just plan on having to buy a new trailer a few years out?

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I personally think the trailer sucks. At 50/50 - stick with the painted to get your boat now, who knows when the next one will be here. When it's time to move on, get a custom aluminum one. Someone on here did that and he loves it.

I keep a 1 gallon jug with a sprayer in my truck. It is filled with a salt-away mixture, spray down the trailer after you launch (when you park), and of course rinse off when you get back home.

 

[dshscarab]

I agree with @adrianp89. I have a galvanized trailer and it looked like crap after a year and a half use in salt water. (Even spraying it down). I actually painted it black because it looked so bad. Looks nice now lol. Don't worry about the trailer. Save money for an aluminum one. That is what I plan on doing in a few more years (Hopefully I can get a few more out of it)

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The big problem is painted trailers rust from the inside because they are not painted on the inside and it is pretty difficult to effectively rinse them from the inside unless you have special rinse ports added to it or you find a lake close by where you can submerge the trailer after every use and yes people actually do that.
I like the rinse ports myself plus add zinc to your trailer at the back because it is grounded to the battery and charging system of the tow vehicle so when it is submerged it can corrode.

 

[DogDadDave]

I'm in the same situation right now. We've had a deposit down for 8 months but all the AR250's our dealer has gotten have come in on painted trailers. Now they won't say whether one will ever come in on a galvanized trailer. We'd prefer to buy at the local dealer to maintain a good relationship for service (and they are giving a fair price).

Trying to figure out what the price range of buying a galvanized or aluminum trailer later would be to make the decision.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Agree with the others. Copious amounts of fresh water rinse and I think @adrianp89 has a great idea with the salt away. Even a Hudson sprayer with regular tap water and a quick spritz after launch will go a long ways. I have a painted trailer and exclusively boat in fresh water, just my location, and it is rusting in places.

Go forth and boat and worry not about thine trailer!

 

[MajorBummer210]

A lot easier to get a trailer right now than a boat…I’m guessing, but I bet I’m right.

 

[Wayloncle]

You can rinse a painted trailer all day long, but you will never get the salt out of the crossmembers and such. I washed my painted trailer the best I could after every recovery, even letting the hose run inside the rails…used in salt for 2 years and got to where I didn’t trust it about 3 years after leaving salt water area. So I got a good 5 years out of it, before it rusted from the inside out. The crossmembers were the first to get really bad.

i ordered an aluminum trailer from Platinum, best price by far of any aluminum trailer I could find and it was delivered to me.

 

[PatrickKolby]

I took delivery of our 2021 212SE in October of 2020. I use 100% salt water. The trailers light wiring corroded in 45 days at the connections of each light. Easy replacement and fix. Other than that the trailer is keeping up. Make sure to take care and maintain the bearings often; Bearing Buddy covers will save you.

I say don’t worry about it. Enjoy the boat and in 5 years when the trailer is on its last leg get the custom aluminum as mentioned above.

 

[212s]

Hi everyone, so I have been waiting to get my new Yamaha AR250 for awhile now and it finally came in. Problem is that it came in on a painted trailer instead of galvanized.

How about you pick up the boat, order an aluminum trailer, and sell the painted trailer while it's still new to offset the cost of the aluminum trailer?

 

[Cambo]

How about you pick up the boat, order an aluminum trailer, and sell the painted trailer while it's still new to offset the cost of the aluminum trailer?

Best advice sell it my friend had the painted trailer and it rusted from the inside out. First time it hits salty water the chemical reaction will start and it will rot away and be unsafe to use in about 5 years. The aluminum frame will last for 30+ years all other components will need to be replaced but the frame will not dissolve.

 

[kgower]

I personally think the trailer sucks. At 50/50 - stick with the painted to get your boat now, who knows when the next one will be here. When it's time to move on, get a custom aluminum one. Someone on here did that and he loves it.

I keep a 1 gallon jug with a sprayer in my truck. It is filled with a salt-away mixture, spray down the trailer after you launch (when you park), and of course rinse off when you get back home.

That's a good idea. Will be boating in Sarasota/Siesta Key in April and was wondering how best to protect our painted trailer. This is a good start.

 

[kgower]

The big problem is painted trailers rust from the inside because they are not painted on the inside and it is pretty difficult to effectively rinse them from the inside unless you have special rinse ports added to it or you find a lake close by where you can submerge the trailer after every use and yes people actually do that.
I like the rinse ports myself plus add zinc to your trailer at the back because it is grounded to the battery and charging system of the tow vehicle so when it is submerged it can corrode.

Can you give more detail on rinse ports. Is it a DIY project, drill holes add fittings?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Can you give more detail on rinse ports. Is it a DIY project, drill holes add fittings?

If you can find openings already there use those if not make some small holes in the ends of the tubes where there is very little stress on them do not drill holes along the sides just at the ends,

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Now if you have a compressor and a hand held sand blaster you can mix roofing tar with mineral spirits and make your own undercoating then get a long piece of tubing and attach it to the nozzle of the sand blaster that is now full of the mixture, slide the tubing in the holes of the trailer and spray the inside of all the metal tubes , this makes the best undercoating I have ever used in salt water.

 

[marcham]

Did you order and buy a galvanized trailer? If so, I'd get the dealer to swap it out at no cost. Maybe their next delivery will be galvanized and they can do a swap?

I wouldn't use a painted trailer even once in saltwater, you won't see the rust until it's too late.

We've been used the galvanized trailer in saltwater for 2 years now, it still looks good as new. I use the leftover salt away when I'm done with the engine, especially on the brake components.
Then finish off with a quick fresh water rinse after each outing.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

If you were supposed to get a painted trailer you should document all this with the dealer and get an I. O. U. from them to C. Y. A. also tell them that you go in salt water and if this is an issue see if they can lend you a more appropriate trailer for the time being. look on the invoice for your purchase and be sure they were supposed to provide you the other trailer.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Agree with what others have said. if you paid the uncharge for the galvanized trailer, then you should get it. If not, then get that exact amount refunded to you and use it to buy an aluminum trailer. These "included" trailers aren't all that great and there's better ones out there.

 

[2kwik4u]

You can rinse a painted trailer all day long, but you will never get the salt out of the crossmembers and such. I washed my painted trailer the best I could after every recovery, even letting the hose run inside the rails…used in salt for 2 years and got to where I didn’t trust it about 3 years after leaving salt water area. So I got a good 5 years out of it, before it rusted from the inside out. The crossmembers were the first to get really bad.

i ordered an aluminum trailer from Platinum, best price by far of any aluminum trailer I could find and it was delivered to me.

Was talking to a friend about this a few weeks ago. We want to go to more Salt Water destinations with our painted trailer. While we won't be 50/50 usage, we'll be doing a couple dunks a visit a few visits a year.

His suggestion was to install washdown sprayers on the side walls of the trailer, and plumb them all back to a single "source" where you could rinse the inside with Salt-Away or similar.

I'm curious, which part of the trailer went first? Was it just the cross members, or was it the main rails?

Either way, I'm with the rest of the crew here. Go ahead and get the boat and the trailer now. Use it when you can, and just plan on that upgrade coming in a few years time. Salt won't eat the trailer faster than you can use it. You should get a year or two from it even in full time salt water dunkings.

 

[Beachbummer]

The issue is the square tubing. They rust from the inside. As a kid we had a painted trailer for salt water that saw use weekly, but the trailer was made with i-beams, so there was no inside to rust. It was also painted and rinsed very well after every use. You can't easily rinse the inside.

I had a painted trailer later on with square tubing and in brackish water it lasted about 6 years of seasonal use. One of the beams holding the bunk gave in and swallowed the bunk support that was welded on. The trailer was really in poor shape by then and I replaced it with a galvanized trailer. The painted trailer was really a rust bucket by then, rusting from the inside.

In my experience a galvanized trailer will last much much longer than a painted trailer in any potentially corrosive environment.