Degraaff Should i expect more

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by PeterR

Thanks Mollers but it hasnt been in the water yet and from new in their own car park i saturated it in WD40 which is oil based and yes it may leave pretty patterns but i knew it would be at least 6-8 months till it was going in the water and having an old smelly smoking pac 22 do i realley care

So the Degruff is rusting up having never seen the sea?

[CJL]

Er might be worthwhile telephoning Arthur at DeGraffe rather than relying on emails.

Personally I've had three trailers from De Graffe and I still prefer them over an Indespension. The corrosion on your trailer is pretty par for the course. You'll find it get no worse.

The bolt heads are standard. Take them off one at a time and replace them. When they are on, spray a bit of white grease on them. It'll protect them for ever.

I've never ever had a trailer from DeGraffe corrode any further what yours is like.

Don't worry. Drop me a PM if you want to chat further and be re-assured.

Chris

[CJL]

Pictures of an 5 + year old DeGraffe.

[jackcastoff]

Peter,

Maybe you are expecting a bit much. I have 2 indespension trailers which cost me over £3200 and 2 Degraffe trailers the same as yours. The P22 fit the degraffe trailer much better and after 2 years the degraffe look better.

The strut across the centre is a little annoying but wont damage the P22 in the slightest if you have the trailer adjusted correctly.

I did think about chopping it off and putting in another with U bolts like the other one and sit it below the chassis, again like the other one on the trailer.

As far as any come back with degraffe re the design, well I dont suppose that degraffe made the trailer bespoke for the P22 so its not quite 100% but not a long way off it.

As for the galvanising, as other members have mentioned the surface does corrode and is sacrificial. Dont be tempted to paint over any of the imperfections or you will nullify the coatings ability.

As far as the slight corrosion on the screws, remember that when they have been tightened, that strips the galv coating off the threads a little bit - cant really be helped. If you dont like it change them out for stainless steel ones and they will look nice. Personally I would try and concentrate on having as much fun in your rib as possible this season.

Good Luck! JC

[BruceB]

Now that I see what strut you mean. Looking at mine which has the same strut it is to tie the two sides of the A frame together until the axles and swing frames are fitted. The only thing that could be done with it would be to crank it instead of being straight but until the axles etc are on something would need to hold the A frame in the right place. A clamp or cutting it off ater would be worse as ungalvanised parts would then be left.
The bad news is that your trailer isn't adjusted correctly if you are hitting it, not the fault of the trailer. Putting any boat on or off for the first time should involve lots of time care and a few towels to pad any problem areas.
I am quite pleased with the construction on my De graaf so far, the acid test will be a few years of dunking in seawater but it certainly is fairly solid looking.
I assume it is a mistake that 4 litres of WD40 were sprayed on? the trailer would surely be sitting over a pool of oil in that case?

[PeterR]

Thanks Jackcastoff,I will try play with the adjustment i would be very interested and it would be very helpfull to see a photo of the front rollers on your swing beam their height and how far from the centre they are if no photos posible perhaps a measurement.If others have a degraff with a pac 22 on and it doesnt hit the bar then i have obviously need to adjust so when and i i can get it right will eat a bit of humble pie.This is why help from others experience is good .I am very disapointed with no response from them and with the corosion The bolts dont bother me as i can change them .Thanks for everyones input

[matt h]

just for some info, wd40 is far to thin to protect this metal from corrosion, its really for helping to release rusty Nuts
when my trailer was new, i coated mine in quicksilver corrosion Guard which is like a wax that you find on new engines etc, 2 coats from new and stays on for years, bit late now i know,, hope to see you soo chap!!

[Hightower]

But you shouldn't put anything on Galvanized parts.

[jyasaki]

I may be wrong, but in the "Third time lucky" post, the pic on the right appears to have substantial salt residue. You sure it has never seen salt water?

You can get cold galvanising spray paint ("zinc rich", 95% zinc, etc.) to touch up bare steel. Doesn't last as anywhere near as long as hot dip galvanising, but better than nothing.

jky

[ian parkes]

I bought a new Ifor Williams trailer for work a few years back . The dealer told me to not to put anything on the new shiny galavanised finish and to just keep it washed . i remember him saying that spraying oil etc on it could cause the new galvanise to look dull and corroded . There was even a note in the instructions stating to do nothing but wash with water and allow the galvanise to weather naturally or the finish would not look so good .
i wonder if your good intentions with the WD40 actually caused the galvanise to look like it does .

As for the fixings i find the quality of the coating of fixings , screws nuts and bolts does vary a lot . i used to buy cheap screwfix yellow passivate screws and they were corroding even in kitchen door hinges etc . I now pay a bit more for Wurth screws and they look good for ages even outside .

[codprawn]

I have also noticed that galv looks dull when you tip oil on it.

There is no need to paint Galv but I did an old trailer with epoxy aluminium paint and it's lasted years - the silver paint is still in a puddle on the concrete lorry park and hasn't worn away in 5 years - must be good stuff!!!