Thread: galvanizing my camper trailer

Hi Mate
I doubt galvanising is the answer or possible.
Consider the twisting effect etc of the hot dip.
Its possible to keep the surface rust at bay with regular sprays of Kiwi love potion.Biggest problem is having depraved Kiwis trying to do weird things to your camper trailer.
The stuff you need to buy is Lanoline in a spray can.It wont fix stone chips but will stop rust and WILL ATTRACT KIWIS
Andrew

Galvanising should be relativley easy to arange.

Think about how many boat trailers for instance are.

As long as the chassis is relativley structurally sound and not large expanses of sheet steel it should be fine.

It will need to be chemically cleaned before they will do it in my experience. (Sand blasting may be ok if its done well)

Must be several places that could do it in BNE.

It will cost around $500 - $600 after blasting, also make sure that there are no 'blind' tubes, every sealed tube section must have approx 10mm holes drilled or they will explode!

Originally Posted by Psimpson7

Galvanising should be relativley easy to arange.

Think about how many boat trailers for instance are.

As long as the chassis is relativley structurally sound and not large expanses of sheet steel it should be fine.

It will need to be chemically cleaned before they will do it in my experience. (Sand blasting may be ok if its done well)

Must be several places that could do it in BNE.

The chassis and trailer is totally sounds and i want to keep it that way . But can't be arsed with respray the trailer every couple of years. Just want to do it once

In 2001, it cost me $300 to have my Trackabout CT hot dipped at the time it was being made

Originally Posted by isuzu110

In 2001, it cost me $300 to have my Trackabout CT hot dipped at the time it was being made

Cheers

I was offered the same thing at the time i bought mine but they waqnted $1000 extra which at the time seemed alot , but no now

To gal a trailer there must be no sealed sections – tubes with the ends welded closed. The other issue is buckling of the sheet metal – a boat trailer doesn’t have that problem because it is all heavy section and the guards (the only sheet) are designed to stand on so are quite thick.

A lot of guys with this decision are disappointed when the trailer comes back with buckled panels…

Cost is about 70-90c per kg (depend where - ring they will tell you) for dipping – weighed after it is dipped - it goes on the weight of the trailer, not surface area like powder coatings. The entire trailer must be completely free of paint or they will not accept it so add in couple 100 for sand blasting. You will need to remove the Axle (most people remove springs) & coupling (+ non steel bits or steel parts that move, ect) factor in getting it there and home.

I had my Box trailer hot dip galvanised when it was made about 16 years ago and it is as good as the day it was made so it is really worth doing. However it does tend to warp things a bit, and I did have to hit some bits with a hammer to make them align again etc. Also be careful with any bolt holes, bolts and threads, if you take the bolts out, then you will need to rebore the threads. If you leave the bolts in they may never come out again.