Which Way Is Better To Clean Saltwater

For a nominal cost, yous can construct an constructive rig to rinse the underside of your trailer using a garden hose, a Y valve, two lawn sprinklers and a PVC pipage. SWS Staff

Florida angler Joe Bak has a unique way of shedding salt water from his trailer after a day'south fishing in the nearby Indian River Lagoon. On the way home, he makes a quick terminate at a convenient ramp on one of the area'due south many freshwater lakes and backs his rig in as far as necessary to completely submerge all components of the trailer that were exposed to the salt and, at the same time, deep enough to provide sufficient cooling h2o for the engine. He runs the outboard for 10 to 15 minutes to affluent the cooling organization, removes the transom drain plug and turns on the bilge pump. This serves to rinse all of the salt water out of the bilges. Once he has completed these tasks, all he has left to practise is bulldoze home, wash downwards the gunkhole and put it abroad. That'due south one unique technique for gunkhole trailer rust prevention.

Personally, I don't take a convenient freshwater ramp on my mode home from salt h2o, so past necessity I utilize a dissimilar but just as effective approach. I have two lawn sprinklers rigged on the ends of a piece of PVC piping and slide them underneath the trailer to cleanse it of salt water. The PVC pipage is merely long enough to provide a slight overlap in the sprinkler'south spray patterns. I use a Y valve to split the water from the faucet to ii hoses so that I can flush the outboard while the sprinklers thoroughly soak the part of the trailer that came into contact with salt water at the ramp. Always go along in heed that if at that place are any weaknesses in your trailer, table salt water will discover them sooner or later (normally sooner). The best boat trailers for saltwater are those that are cleaned every trip with fresh water. Anything that can rust, rot or corrode will do and then in surprisingly little time in saltwater environments, especially if you must submerge the trailer in order to launch the gunkhole. If y'all fail to go on up with basic trailer maintenance, y'all are asking for bug.

Bearings and Springs Boat Trailer Maintenance

Florida resident and trailer expert Kevin Charlton (Strictly Trailers; 305-665-6313) says the trailer components most vulnerable to saltwater damage are wheel bearings, leafage springs and anything else not fabricated of aluminum or stainless steel. In fact, most on-road trailer mishaps occur because of a cycle begetting failure due to the intrusion of salt h2o into the hubs while launching or recovering the gunkhole.

There are two proven means to prevent wheel bearing failure. The outset is to service them annually. This entails removing the bearings and completely cleaning out the hubs before re-greasing and reassembling. Also supercede the bearing seals with new ones; the one-time seals should never exist reused. The 2d way is a bit easier and far less messy. Merely replace each hub every yr with a new one that is pre-assembled (complete with grease and seals). Yous can fifty-fifty have the erstwhile hubs cleaned and re-greased (with new bearing seals) by a service station and recycle them onto the trailer the following year. In the meantime, yous should deport at least ane hub that has fresh grease and all-new internal components in place aboard the tow vehicle in case of an emergency.

As for the springs, by far the most saltwater resistant are the torsion variety. Just if you have leaf springs, you lot tin can make them last at least a few years longer if you recoat them as frequently every bit necessary with a thick lubricating spray such as CorrosionX Hard disk drive. A good blanket volition concluding for many trips (typically half-dozen months or more) before information technology begins to wash off. The balance of the trailer, especially basics, bolts and other fasteners, should be sprayed regularly with a moisture-displacing lubricant such as WD-forty or CorrosionX. I buy WD-40 in a gallon tin at Dwelling Depot for most $15, and I use a hand spray bottle that I bought there to dispense the WD-40.

The virtually user-friendly time to go the WD-twoscore to those hard-to-reach places is at the end of the day only earlier you load the boat back on the trailer. The trailer is dry by then, and the lube will displace the salt water out of the cracks and crevices. Fifty-fifty though the trailer will go wet again when you reload the boat, the WD-40 has already started doing its task. I do this every three or four trips considering this mode it only takes a few minutes to hit those critical spots.

Frames and Fasteners Boat Trailer Maintenance

When it comes to trailer frames, aluminum definitely lasts longer than the all-time galvanized steel. However, if yous go on table salt water off the galvanized metallic with regular washings and periodic lubrication of rust-prone areas, it volition yet last years longer than otherwise. I replaced the most vulnerable fasteners on my last galvanized trailer with stainless steel long earlier they became as well rusty. If at that place are rust-decumbent steel fasteners and other components on the trailer for which there is no stainless-steel equivalent, use a paintbrush to cover them with a thick layer of waterproof grease. A proficient coating volition last several years.

Coating galvanized bike rims with grease is mode too messy for me, but a thorough washdown with soapy water at the end of the 24-hour interval removes the common salt well plenty to keep the rust at bay for many years. I apply dishwashing liquid in ane of those hose-zipper spray rigs typically used for dispensing pesticides, and information technology works for the entire gunkhole, within and out.

Another skilful thing to practice from fourth dimension to time is to remove the lug basics, grease the threads and supplant them with stainless-steel acorn nuts.

All of these procedures are actually easy and require very little time and effort. If yous make them a regular part of your boat trailering routine, you will be amply rewarded in the long run with a boat trailer that limits the furnishings of common salt h2o and rust.