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Trailer Rust


Setter2016

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I purchased a new 2016 LSV25 with a new Malibu dual axle trailer from a Malibu Dealer in September 2016.  As I am closing out this season, I have noticed rust forming on the steel trailer at the location that my rear trailer tail lights are installed.  I have never launched the boat in salt water and I am surprised by the rust.  My prior Mastercraft boat and trailer, which I had for 10 years, showed not signs of rust on the trailer at the tail light area when I traded her in.   Is this normal for Malibu trailers?  Is anyone else having this problem only a few years after purchase?  Any suggestions on how to get it fixed as the Dealer says rust is not covered under the 5 year trailer warranty?  Thanks.

Daniel

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I had rust issues on the rear cross beam drain hole on my '10 TA BM. The drain hole was cut large enough that I could get some fingers in to clean out the scale and treat most of the affected area. And this was stored in a climate controlled garage. My Malibu trailer seems to be sealed a little better than the BM was. Time will tell.

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Rust per say may not be covered but defects in workmanship are.  Is the rust due to poor quality build?  Just a thought.     I had a problem with rust due to shipment damage on the truck to the dealer.  That was fully covered by Malibu warranty.  

Picture could tell us more as to how extensive the rust is.  Can it be cleaned up?  Then painted.  Dealer should be able to help you with that.  My local dealer provided me a rattle can with the trailer paint color for touch ups.  

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16 minutes ago, Bozboat said:

Insomnia Grade Question: Does a box beam trailer rust from the inside out?  

Yes.  And if you want proof, I'll try to get a few pictures of the trailer I'm about to scrap. 

For the life of me, I don't understand why everyone doesn't demand hot dipped galvanising.

 

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20 minutes ago, justgary said:

Yes.  And if you want proof, I'll try to get a few pictures of the trailer I'm about to scrap. 

For the life of me, I don't understand why everyone doesn't demand hot dipped galvanising.

 

Because we all don;t live in Florida.  Salt air is killer.

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2 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Because we all don;t live in Florida.  Salt air is killer.

Salt on roads is no cupcake. 

4 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

My 21 yr old trailer (stored 6 mos in and 6 out) has a few rust spots but nothing a rattle can of paint won't fix.

Jam an ice pick into those rusty places to make sure they are solid. 

Anyway, for about the same effort they put into priming and painting, they could dip it.  About $400 or so for our size trailer.  Then no rattle cans.  Ever. 

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There is NWIH that you can get a trailer galvanized up here for that money.  Environmental regs have pretty much shut it down.  They have to account for each molecule of zinc.  And my trailer is sound - this is cosmetic stuff around the steps.

 

Oh, and we don't use that much salt in the west - just 3/4 minus.  :) And not many folks trailer in the winter here.

Edited by Eagleboy99
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Around here the Brazos River water is pretty salty but not at all brackish. One of the largest desalination plants around is at Lake Granbury. Very hard on box beam trailers. 

 

7653BCF8-57B5-4AC2-9BFD-A2D3E0B08A16.jpeg

Edited by Bozboat
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11 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

There is NWIH that you can get a trailer galvanized up here for that money.  Environmental regs have pretty much shut it down.  They have to account for each molecule of zinc.  And my trailer is sound - this is cosmetic stuff around the steps.

 

Oh, and we don't use that much salt in the west - just 3/4 minus.  :) And not many folks trailer in the winter here.

Well, I wasn't thinking that you would get a trailer galvanized, I was thinking that you would buy one already done.  I have not seen what painted trailer makers go through to prep for paint, but I would hope that they start with a sand blast to remove mill scale and weld residue before they prime and paint.  Even without blasting, priming and painting multiple coats seems fairly labor intensive.  Galvanizing is pickled and dipped and done.

And even though you don't tow your boat around in the dead of winter, the salt on the road doesn't just disappear.  It waits very patiently for you to return with your boat in tow.

By the way, the salt air here is nothing like the salt water on trailers.  Once you dip your trailer, you can't get the salt off completely, and as @Bozboat said, it gets inside the tubes, which aren't painted.  Trailers should be made from open beams whenever possible.

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I've had a bunch of stuff galvanized and there is some surface prep.  There are commercially available glavanized trailers, but I am not aware of any that are paint over galv.  I've said before that if I ever get another trailer it will be alu of galv.  I don't care for all the fancy stuff on the trailer - it just sits in the yard for 6 months or in the barn for the other six.

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Any stories from any Malibu owners who have had trailer rust issues shortly after purchase and have tried to have Boatmate or Malibu, for the newer trailers, repair them?  Thanks.

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2 hours ago, Setter2016 said:

Any stories from any Malibu owners who have had trailer rust issues shortly after purchase and have tried to have Boatmate or Malibu, for the newer trailers, repair them?  Thanks.

New trailers from Malibu have a 1 year paint warranty, at least that is what it was for 2019. Mine is being repaired right now and I know of a few others so I do know they honor it within that time frame. Outside of that, I think it would have to be a structural failure, but I don't know. It won't hurt asking.

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I agree. The coverage on the underside of my trailer steps and fenders, and even parts of the frame was pretty bad. That’s what lead to it rusting imo. It wasn’t eating through paint anywhere, just lack of coverage. Hopefully they get it better because the Malibu trailer is really really nice. Great towing, everyone I’ve towed has been perfectly balanced. They have some really nice features and everything else has been great to me. 

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Thanks to all.  Sorry for the question.  I paid over a $100,000.00 for the boat and trailer, and expected the trailer to hold up more than three years from rust issues.  While I fully understand rusting when, because of towing, the paint on the trailer chips and the metal is exposed, I never expected to have rust around my rear tail lights start within such a short period of time.  My other trailer simply lasted much longer going to the same lakes and did not have these rust problems.  In my opinion, rust like this which is under my trailer's paint means the assembly and preparation of my trailer prior to the paint being applied was not done properly by Malibu and Malibu should fix this. Lets see if Malibu steps up and fixes this issue or abandons me.   I will let you known.  Thanks again.

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43 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Word.

1816618555_2017endofseasonontrailer5.thumb.jpg.f4fba9f18df2b738631b8a6d90c82465.jpg

Hmmmm.  Galvanized prop cage.  Nice.  I made mine out of aluminum, and I know that I can't put the floor jack under it and lift the whole boat and trailer, so I'm at risk.  I'm still considering welding up a steel one and sending off for a zinc bath.

7BX2VYi.jpg

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It looks nice, good job, but honestly I think aluminum would bent away with very little resistance.  Can't you just buy the guard from the trailer company and bolt it to the rails?  If not, I think Load Rite will sell you one.

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10 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

It looks nice, good job, but honestly I think aluminum would bent away with very little resistance.  Can't you just buy the guard from the trailer company and bolt it to the rails?  If not, I think Load Rite will sell you one.

If you had been here when I was trying to bend the forward bar (it has two small S-turns in it), you wouldn't think it has very little resistance.  Yes, it will deform temporarily, but it is very hard to get it to actually bend.  I didn't take a photo, but I was trying to bend it by parking my truck tire over it and lifting the end with my floor jack.  As I watched the tire sidewall compress and then the truck start to lift but the bar didn't take a bend, I decided it was time to go use a press stand.  That bar is 1/2 by 3-1/4, and the cross bars are 5/8 by 1-1/2. 

The trailer company didn't want to be responsible for making the cage, probably because they are 7 hours away and didn't have the boat to measure.  I can buzz one up, but the real question is, do I need to?  I haven't run my old trailer over anything yet....

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