Frame Rusting out???

[Steamintrains]

I have a 2000 30' BHSS that has been starting to show rust all over the frame. The tongue area has the paint falling off. I live in maryland and the camper is parked on asphalt all winter. I called the factory and the dealer that sold it to me and was told that I should expect thisin a trailer this old. I have other utility trailers that are this old and not showing any where the rust that my camper has. I did look in the owners manual and it does mention that I should paint any areas that are starting to rust.\
Is this normal for these trailers to rust out like this or is there a issue with the paint and prep on mine? what are other trailers of this age doing?

[KyDan]

I've had 3 trailers. All rusted somewhere on the frame.
The first one barely had a very thin coat of paint on the frame.
Luckily it was a little 16 footer. I remember laying under there
with paint running down my arms as I painted the frame.

Your trailer is 9 years old.
It's way past time to be doing some serious maintenance.
IMO it's much better to paint early rather than late when the rust
is flaking and you need lots of wire brushing and 2 coats to get
the job done.

You cannot beat Rustoleum oil paint but even that stuff won't work
well if you have loose rust.

I painted the tongue of my current trailer when we'd had it all
of 3 months because it looked thin and I had removed the LP
tanks and battery box to do some "rearranging". While they
were off I painted the entire area. It looks great!

[dimurrrw]

Nothing is rusting out in the sense that it is going to self-destruct. You are experiencing normal deterioration of the paint applied during production and the problem is just cosmetic. Get out the wire brush and Rustoleum as previously suggested. A carbide tipped scraper can also come in handy.

[Steamintrains]

anybody ever used POR-15 on their frame, I heard about and ordered some last night

[rockwood06]

My RockWood is three years and it started rusting the second year I had it and what bothers me is that all the rust is at the welds. I will be surprised if this camper last 10 years.

[KyDan]

Dude, get a wire brush and some Rustoleum and paint it!!!
Or let it sit and rust..........
No trailer is maintenance free.

[08flagvlite]

Hi Steamintrains, I have a 72 Mustang Mach1, and I have spent almost 600.00 on Por-15 products. They do work very well, however the black por 15 discolors over time-just lightens up, some. It's also hard to find, and a bit pricey. discoloring is really not a problem on the frame, anyway. DON'T get any por 15 on your skin, and let it dry, or you'll really have a difficult- if not impossible time getting the stuff off! I painted the entire undercarriage of my Mustang, including the wheel wells, and the interior floors, and inside the doors, as well. I did this over 10 years ago, and so far, it is holding up exceptionally well. Good luck, Randy

[Steamintrains]

I understand that in time everything will need maintenance. However with that being said I didn't expect it to be this soon. I have different pieces of equiptment, several trailers, trucks, and motorcycles and have not seen rust form this soon on a piece of metal. I would have expected that metal that was properly prepared at the factory would last longer. The bumper, Hitch area and entire C channel frame has areas of rust on them. The attitude of the person I spoke to at the factory and the dealer I bought it from was "Oh well, what did you expect" and I see some of the same attitude on here. My answer is I expected it to last longer and not rust out.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by Steamintrains

I understand that in time everything will need maintenance. However with that being said I didn't expect it to be this soon. ....... My answer is I expected it to last longer and not rust out.

It is NOT rusting out. The term rusting out applies to
things like fenders & other thin pieces of metal that
actually get holes in them.
Your frame does not have holes in it. Does it???

I boated for over 16 years. I never saw a boat trailer
that did not show rust within a few years of outside
storage.
Your trailer is 9 years old.
We all expect rust on the frame at that age.
Paint it and move on!

[Hokiehall]

It is merely surface rust. It only affects the appearance. The frame on my 04 Flagstaff had surface rust on it when we picked it up at the dealer. It still has it. Every trailer out there has it in some form or another. It is just the nature of the steel used to fabricate the frame. I wouldn't spend a lot on maintaining it, just enough to spruce it up.

[Jon Breen]

my old tt had rust on the bumper.. not big deal. i sanded it down and sprayed it with some rustoleum paint.

[hdkyle]

maintenance,maintenance,maintenance. i have never seem a trailer without rust even after a year at most, especially if it was delivered to your dealer in the winter(salty roads)

[tlmg_camping]

The paint on the frame of my Rockwood pup started pealing after only 2 years. It wasn't just surface rust, the first spot I noticed was a 2" by 2" piece of the frame paint just flaked off while washing. This, and the size of the other pieces since, make me wonder if it was ever properly cleaned or primed before painting. I tried the POR-15 that was mentioned earlier and it worked great. Just remember that the POR-15 is on a top coat, but a promer. It needs something else on top. Whatever you use, buy enough for all the metal, you'll need it.

[08flagvlite]

Hi tlmg camping, I have the Mustang mentioned earlier on this post, and I thought you actually do not necessarily need to top coat Por 15. It's just that the black Por 15 coating will discolor over time- when and if exposed to light. I painted several areas on my car with this stuff only, like the floorboards (both sides), and the inside of the doors. I did however top coat the framerails and the wheelhouse areas, as well as the radiator support and battery box areas. 9 years since I did this, and so far it's holding up very well! Randy

[Steamintrains]

I did get the POR-15 on Ebay and it wasn't as pricey there, still have over $150 of the stuff now.

[Steamintrains]

I am using the POR-15 and it says that if it is exposed to sunlight it should be top coated> I am using their Chassis Coat and it seems to be working out well. It is a pain in the butt to do and they are not kidding about not getting any of the stuff on your skin, it has to wear off.
I am only doing the front and tongue now and it does take time with putting on two coats of the POR-15 and one coat of top coat. But it does look pretty good when it is down. I do hope it will last. I am not looking forward to doing the rest of the frame under the trailer but I know I have to, everytime I reach under there I can feel the rust on the frame rails.
I still don't think FR gave much thought in prepping and painting the frame steel.

[gecoboy]

I have a FR salem 27 ft bought 2016.
In 2 years the back and front chasis was flaking in rust with large chuks of painted metal flaking off. As soon as I saw this I power wire brushed it and got down to sound metal. Then painted with oil based paint, totally sealed it with 2 coats.
1 year later it was flaking again, rusting from the inside of the metal.
I have come to the conclusion the metal it is made of is VERY poor quality stuff the same as they used to make cars of in the 50/60s. In addition to the "dust" coat of paint put on at the factory.
This RV is kept on site on a piece of land no where near the coast. It is outside, and we use it 2 weekly for weekends.
The battle continues this year !
Going to try POR-15 next unless anyone has a better product. ???

[fella10]

I've had great results with Extend Rust Treatment


https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-75430...rust+treatment

[gecoboy]

thanks very much, I will definitely do some research on this.

[Velosprout]

I spray Fluid Film on any areas starting to show rust every 3 months. https://www.fluid-film.com