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Trailer maintenance


Javi

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I have a 2006 boatmate trailer for my BU that is in need of some maintenance. Overall the trailer is in great condition and I take care of the basic wheels brakes maintenance, so that is not the problem. But as with anything made of steel, it has developed some rust spots and lost the paint at several areas. While I could go through the task of sanding everything, getting all rust spots cleaned and eliminated doing something like POR15 and then applying a high quality epoxy coating and repainting, this is a time consuming project and my time is very limited with three kids (one being a baby). I was wondering if anyone LOCAL or relatively near the MADISON, WI area, new of a place or even a guy that had the time that would do this type of work. I am guessing that a automobile body shop could do it but that would likely be so expensive that I would end up saying screw it and doing it myself.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

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Someone on here recently posted about this & that it cost about 4k to have a shop fix it all.  I have the same problem with mine & not sure what to do about it

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Keeping up with the rust is a good idea, trailer will last much longer. This is one of those jobs where labor is 90% of the cost if you paid someone.

  • Like 1
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I agree.  Unless you find some good ole boy on Craigslist or do it yourself it’s going to cost a lot.  

Im in that same situation with my 99 Boatemate.  I’ve decided I’m just going to work in sections over time even if it takes me a couple years to finish. 

  • Like 3
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27 minutes ago, Cazan said:

I agree.  Unless you find some good ole boy on Craigslist or do it yourself it’s going to cost a lot.  

Im in that same situation with my 99 Boatemate.  I’ve decided I’m just going to work in sections over time even if it takes me a couple years to finish. 

I launch/load in fresh water once per year and the trailer lives in the pole barn so I just let it slowly rust away in 3 or 4 spots.  Figure I'll need a new trailer in about 50 years.

  • Like 2
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Minnmarker. I like your math. Unfortunately, I use it every time I go out. $4k is ridiculous. I need the "guy" with extra time from craigslist looking for a gig but he needs to somewhat know what he's doing. While I can school him because I've done it, If you do it wrong it just comes back. Maybe a teenager looking for cash and I tell him what to do :)

Otherwise, I like the idea of doing some sections at a time. I do agree that buying a new trailer and selling is probably a better deal than paying $4K. Probably not going to do that because of the overhead and I would not do it until mine sells first. Out of curiosity, is there a market for used trailers?? and does anyone know what a new one runs for a 21ft?

Another thing I was thinking was maybe taking it to a shop that does sand blasting and having them take care of most of the rust. Then I take it back and finish it off. That will likely save me a heck of a lot of time but it would require working fast and getting it all done relatively quickly. What do you think of that?

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Allz I can say is Boatmate trailers are garbage.  Mine is going to hell quick & it's a 2013.  Know a guy with a 17 & his trailer is already developing the same stuff & his trailer is towed 200' then put away in shop when used.  Not sure if they replaced his trailer or not though, they should have.  I know last he said they were giving him grief.

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5 hours ago, racer808 said:

Allz I can say is Boatmate trailers are garbage.  Mine is going to hell quick & it's a 2013.  Know a guy with a 17 & his trailer is already developing the same stuff & his trailer is towed 200' then put away in shop when used.  Not sure if they replaced his trailer or not though, they should have.  I know last he said they were giving him grief.

I’m actually pretty impressed with how mine has held up for being 19 years old.  I’m not sure how the previous owner stored it but it’s not in that bad of shape.  I haven’t had any experience with a newer one though.  Maybe their quality has declined over the last 20 years?

One idea I thought of was taking it to a local technical school that has an auto body repair course and let them go to town on it over the winter. Not sure how I would get my boat off it in storage though. Figured if they messed up a little bit it would still look better than it does now. 

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7 hours ago, minnmarker said:

I launch/load in fresh water once per year and the trailer lives in the pole barn so I just let it slowly rust away in 3 or 4 spots.  Figure I'll need a new trailer in about 50 years.

Yeah i’d prolly do the same if that was my scenario.  Unfortunately we trailer 100% of the time so it’s constantly getting wet and the boat is store outside in the summer months.

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1 hour ago, Cazan said:

I’m actually pretty impressed with how mine has held up for being 19 years old.  I’m not sure how the previous owner stored it but it’s not in that bad of shape.  I haven’t had any experience with a newer one though.  Maybe their quality has declined over the last 20 years?

One idea I thought of was taking it to a local technical school that has an auto body repair course and let them go to town on it over the winter. Not sure how I would get my boat off it in storage though. Figured if they messed up a little bit it would still look better than it does now. 

When I took my advanced welding class through local tech school, we needed all kinds of things to practice on. Fixed my buddies car trailer up real nice. He said it looked better than when he bought it when i brought it back to him.

And the boatmate trailer for my 05 is the best trailer i have ever owned. It sits in the shade near the lake all summer, shows almost no rust, and tows great.

  • Like 1
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So, the local tech school might not be a bad idea. Now just knowing who to talk to would be the tricky part. Now I'm not sure they would do the whole process of sanding and painting unless its specifically some type of full blown bodyshop training kind of thing. That would be nice. 

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9 hours ago, asnowman said:

I took my advanced welding class through local tech school

I did the same thing.  I wish I had taken welding when I was in high school instead of all the useless crap that I did take.

  • Like 1
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Buy painted galvanized up front , costs big time but you wipe it down with the boat, looks brand new after 4 years in brack water and will never rust, down here you know you won’t get away with painted metal , I planned on keeping it for a very long time so invested $5000 in my Trailer

stupid though cause I shoukd have gotten saltwater package that in 14 came with the painted galvanized Trailer and I think 16 to 18’s custom wheels and matching fender graphics and paint for well under $10000.

Edited by granddaddy55
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4 hours ago, MadMan said:

I did the same thing.  I wish I had taken welding when I was in high school instead of all the useless crap that I did take.

I took it for fun a couple years ago. My dad had always wanted to learn, so i signed us up for adult ed class, and we did it together. Its actually pretty fun, and i find it relaxing. Yeah i know i'm odd.

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19 hours ago, Javi said:

So, the local tech school might not be a bad idea. Now just knowing who to talk to would be the tricky part. Now I'm not sure they would do the whole process of sanding and painting unless its specifically some type of full blown bodyshop training kind of thing. That would be nice. 

We have a local tech school that has a full auto body collision shop.  Just call and ask lead instructor and see if he’s open to the idea. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

No luck there, autobody programs don't do rust repair kind of work. Basically they said they accept cars with typical fender benders, some metal repair and minor frame bends. They won't do any rust repair or any type of vehicle restoration. I found a guy in craigslist that did a repair several years ago on a vehicle I had that works from his house. We will see  as I'm still waiting for the quote. He does know his stuff well which is important.

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Had not considered that option. I did look into powder coating but there is no oven as big locally. They also thought the trailer is in pretty good condition where some sanding and refinishing even with doing something like Eastwood or POR for neutralizing the rust would be more cost effective.

I'm guessing even if I go with Line-X, I still need to get it sanded and get all the rust neutralized which will probably be the bulk of the labor cost. So it would be a matter of deciding if I want something more durable but more expensive, vs paint. However, if I go with paint, I would still apply an epoxy or Polyurethane coating and then the paint, so you have a good point. Maybe the single step Line-X turns out cheaper... I'll may get a quote to compare. I'll need to compare finishes and color options as well.

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1 hour ago, Eagleboy99 said:

As God is my witness if I ever buy another trailer it will be aluminum or hot dip galvanized.  Paint is for suckers or ballers.  :) (Unless you are talking powder coat over galv)

Malibu does offer a bedliner type of spray over entire trailer.  This would definitely be a step up from paint.

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