Have you looked under your tongue?

[thecatsandi]

I was backing in to my parking spot at the RV park the other day and noticed something in my backup camera. The front ends of my box frame are open!
This lets in water, dirt and SALT from the road!..

I am planning on coating the inside of the box frame as puch as possible with a heavy spray grease, LPS-3 or equivlent, then seal the end with a aluminum plate and some RTV. This should arrest any corrision that has started and prevent any future corrision.

Is every one elses front of box frame is open?

[richinny]

i think there is some info on this topic. try searching for "mice".

[Excella CM]

The Pullit's frame is open, but covered from direct scooping by the ball socket. I found it handy when I wanted to put nuts on the inside when I was re-attaching the old friction sway bar after the expansion rivets had come loose. Don't get mcuh NaCl out here on the roads so I haven't tried to seal the ends. Probably a good idea though.

[john hd]

michelle

well aware of it, that is why i keep my safety chains off the ground when not in use to keep the mice out of the trailer belly.

john

[HowieE]

Hi Michelle

To answer your questioin. Yes, all that I have seen are open and I beleave open all the way to the rear. Their was rust scale coming out of the rear section of the frame when I bought my trailer, then less than 4 years old.

Your comment about spraying something to retard future rust. Short of flooding the frame while the trailer is tipped how would you introduce it to completely seal the frame?

[nickcrowhurst]

Corrosion will be occurring inside the entire length of the frame members from front to rear of your trailer. One way of dealing with this, and preserving your valuable investment is described here:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ot-2607-3.html

You will be interested to know that the same materials and technique have been used for the inside of aircraft wings in the USA.
Nick.

[thecatsandi]

LPS-3, ACF 50, Fluid Film, etc all coat and stop corrosion (rust). My trailer is less than two years old it has spent some time on salt covered roads. I do have rust starting inside the box. Coating will stop it.
I am going to make a aluminum plate and RTV it into place.

[TinShack]

Hey Michelle, post some photos and show us how you do it. I can't speak for others but I'm interested in seeing what you do.

[tpi]

Mine is open. What could be a related problem that I've encountered is water has managed to enter the belly pan above the spare tire where the frame enters the front of the trailer.

I noticed a few blotchy spots on the vinyl flooring under the couch.

Pulling up a small section of the floor covering, I noticed it was damp.

My suspicion is the water is coming in along the top of the frame rail and a small quantity is seeping into this small closed space with no ventilation. On my trailer I drilled a series of small vent holes in the belly pan to both drain the water and to provide ventilation. It has not rained here since I discovered the problem, so I'll get a better handle on the quantity of leakage and the source at a later time.

[Silvertwinkie]

Mine are open as well and I've not had a problem with water yet...er at least not in that area.

[Safari-Rick]

Once upon a time I had the same concerns and did some investigating on the internet and found the following:

Here is a recipe for home made "Waxoyl". It's an old fashioned rust treatment / undercoating:

2 1/2 quarts turpentine
12 oz. beeswax / candle wax
1 quart light machine oil

With a cheese shredder, cut the wax into the turpentine, stir until the wax has dissolved, (takes a long time; you can use very low heat (a warm room) to aid but be careful) and thin with the machine oil to a brushable / sprayable consistency. Apply liberally. You can use a hand spray bottle to get into closed-off sections if you have a small access hole.


Please be sensible when you make this stuff; don't go breathing the fumes or applying heat and burning down your house. If you have any doubts about it, err on the side of caution and just buy a commercially available product.

[john hd]

sounds like home made cosmoline.

now if one could figure a way to fish a hose from one end to the other with a sprayer on the end.

john

[nickcrowhurst]

Originally Posted by john hd

now if one could figure a way to fish a hose from one end to the other with a sprayer on the end.john

The link I quoted above describes exactly that process:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ot-2607-3.html

Nick.

[tphan]

I think Nick's process sounds excellent, but one can only wonder how much steel is left in the rails of a 30 or 40 year old trailer. I think I'll stop thinking about it! I would just add that after you've done the rust-inhibiting coating inside the box rails, then plug up the open ends to keep the vermin out, which can run right along the length of these things, possibly finding an entrance into your coach. I used copper screen.

[SilverGate]

Thanks, Michelle, for the heads-up to look under our tongues!

I bet most have not actually looked closely there…

So, to shine some light on the subject, I took a photo of mine this evening:

[SilverGate]

And sure enough, my steel box frame rails (& I suspect everyone’s) are open-ended as they come together under the tongue, and ready to receive water, debris, salt & other road chemicals kicked up by the tow vehicle.

Why doesn’t the Airstream factory cap these rails when assembling the trailer?

My trailer is 8 months old and has only been driven in rain once (on its way from the factory to the dealer here in California last January).
And as you can see, some rust is already appearing.

I like the idea of spraying the insides of the rails with rust retardant and then attaching an aluminum plate to act as a water deflector. (Please post photos of your solution).

So thanks again for the heads-up while we still have time to protect our trailers before the winter rain and/or snow season!

Bill

[john hd]

can you say "mouse super highway"?

john

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by nickcrowhurst

The link I quoted above describes exactly that process:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ot-2607-3.html

Nick.

Hi Nick. I was going to mention your concerns & remedies on this issue if you hadn't checked in already. Thank you for your contributions!

[thecatsandi]

I was planning on making a cardboard template. Then taking some aluminum, we have plenty around the shop, making a plug and sealing the edges with RTV. My rust has not progressed far I can stop it now.

[pmclemore]

I'm not sure I want to seal the box frame up - ventilation may be of some benefit.

But I will treat this the same way I did on my 25 when I was sealing up mouse entry points: ball up some aluminum screen and stuff it everywhere I find an opening.

Pat