Degraaff Should i expect more

[PeterR]

I ordered a new 2600kg swing beem trailer about sept 07 specificly for my pac 22 from Arthur.I picked it up on a dry day and before i drove it out the car park i sprayed every accesable part with 4 litres of wd40.I drove to JBT marine the yard men from the marina next door lowered the pac 22 on to trailer and kindly adjusted it correctly ,drove back still dry no wet roads.I also made another trip to folley marine to pick up my other pac 22 that again was lowered on also dry their and back.The trailer in some places is coroding .Since then it has been covered upnot near the sea . I had reason last month to roll the boat off onto pallets and the hull scraped along a barand bent it that is welded across the framework.I phoned Degraff about the two problems.1.He said that the bar i refer to is put their because the trailers come back bent from the galvanisers and he tells people if they have a problem with them cut them off.I was actually speechless and couldnt beleave what i heard.So calmly said Oh?and what about the raw ends you can paint them or we can give you a couple of plugs to stop up the ends.At that i said nicely that i would send him some photos of the trailer for his attention and look forward to his reply.I have heard nothing back after two weeks.I sent another e-mail and said i at least expected some sort of reply but again nothing.So i wanted to know what anyone on here thinks .The photos are coroded rollers are at the front and non are at the back

[jwalker]

Galvanising works by sacrificing itself. That corrosion is perfectly in order. The rusty nuts are normal too because they will only be lightly plated rather than galvanised. If it bothers you, swap them for stainless ones. Fitting washers might be good too. It's probably not a good idea to put protective compounds onto a galvanised trailer. The bits which are less well covered will be forced to sacrifice themselves a little more to compensate for the areas of covered zinc.

I drove to JBT marine the yard men from the marina next door lowered the pac 22 on to trailer and kindly adjusted it correctly... ...I had reason last month to roll the boat off onto pallets and the hull scraped along a bar and bent it...

Perhaps it wasn't adjusted as well as you thought.

[PeterR]

Hi ,its not the adjustment the bar shouldnt be there.Having now had this problem i see that the whole idea of swing beams v shaped is not to have a bar 8 or so inches higher from one side to tother it was obviously an oversite on their side.for over £2,500 i didnt realley expect to be hacking off metal and painting the raw edges or haveing corosion on some parts like i have and it not been in the water or to my knowlegde as i bought it brand new.And i did expect a reply from Degraff even if was the same as yours.I can see you are a lot more laid back than I and thankyou for your reply

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by PeterR

.... for over £2,500 i didnt realley expect to be hacking off metal and painting the raw edges....

I find myself agreeing with you...normally you'd find me saying, "bloody professionals" but I've been good recently so I won't spoil it.

[codprawn]

The corrosion does look normal for Galv - as to the open box section you don't want it sealed as water will be trapped inside.

Steel frames do need bracing as they tend to warp when being galvanised. if the bar is in the way for normal use then it should have been designed better.

Not responding to your calls is ignorant unless there is a good reason - maybe on holiday etc?

As to rusty nuts they are great - it means they will NEVER come undone. They found that out with Land Rovers in Africa - new ones keep coming apart - older ones are fine as they are all rusted together!!!

[Hightower]

Can we have a photo of the offending beam and where it's sighted, might help me when picking my De Graaff up.

Thanks!

[PeterR]

Originally Posted by codprawn

The corrosion does look normal for Galv - as to the open box section you don't want it sealed as water will be trapped inside.

Steel frames do need bracing as they tend to warp when being galvanised. if the bar is in the way for normal use then it should have been designed better.

Not responding to your calls is ignorant unless there is a good reason - maybe on holiday etc?

As to rusty nuts they are great - it means they will NEVER come undone. They found that out with Land Rovers in Africa - new ones keep coming apart - older ones are fine as they are all rusted together!!!

I agree codders the corrosion looks normal for a trailer one has used in a salt envioroment and in there car park i sprayed all over it twice with wd 40.And they may be on holiday but i think they just cant be bothered.I know we all make mistakes and its OK as long as we go some way to rectify them .

[DJL]

Just for comparison. My Rapide trailer which is now two years old was used to launch once and has since sat in a field. It looks just like the day I got it - no rust/corrosion.

I don't think covering it with WD40 is a particularly good idea - you want the galvanising open to the elements so it can do its job

[PeterR]

Originally Posted by DJL

Just for comparison. My Rapide trailer which is now two years old was used to launch once and has since sat in a field. It looks just like the day I got it - no rust/corrosion.

Thanks i was beginning to think i was mad and unreasonable

[PeterR]

I would expect the whole trailer to look like photo 3 and 4 and not like1 and 2.So theres no confusion all the photos you see were taken of the same trailer on the same day .Front rollers corroded rear nice and shiny.I shall go and take a photo of the strengthening bar this arfternoon .

[Hightower]

Can't see anything wrong with pic 1

Rusty bolt heads in pic 2....You have to remember that these have to be done up and this could have caused the damage that allowed the rust in. You could replace these if you wanted.

Can't see anything wrong with pic 3

A bit of discolouration in pic 4 on the frame by the roller.

My Admiral has little bits and pieces that have discoloured, nothing serious these areas could have been damaged during assembly and almost certainly were't present during collection.

I would try to phone Aurther again, both Aurther and his Son spoke to me last week no problem and I went up there on Saturday and paid a deposit for my new trailer.

I'd still like to see a pic of the crossmember if that's possible Peter.

PS: Isn't WD40 water based these days?

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Hightower

PS: Isn't WD40 water based these days?

Yeah, it'll leave pretty patterns when launching though.

If the things corroding, a good rinse after recovering is as good as anything.

[Limey Linda]

I think maybe you should expect more. My trailer, made by Ellebi in Italy is 12 years old and has no rust. I know it has been used in salt water. The box sections have PVC caps on the ends and drain holes. All the nuts and bolts are galv. not electroplated. The general build quality is very good as eveidenced by the very neat welds etc. However, I do beleive it has seen light duty to be in this condition. Quality of galv. is a big variable I believe.
I am sure that rinsing down with fresh water also helps alot.

[blinddog]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Galvanising works by sacrificing itself. That corrosion is perfectly in order. The rusty nuts are normal too because they will only be lightly plated rather than galvanised. If it bothers you, swap them for stainless ones. Fitting washers might be good too. It's probably not a good idea to put protective compounds onto a galvanised trailer. The bits which are less well covered will be forced to sacrifice themselves a little more to compensate for the areas of covered zinc.

Perhaps it wasn't adjusted as well as you thought.

As JW says the lightly zinc coated nuts and bolts will sacrifice themselves its all about noblity of steels,
We make subsea structures,
For corrosion you need an anode a cathode and a electrolyte to have a corrosion circuit.
Have a read on NACE or Icorr this will explain in depth about corrosion and how it happens.


gaZ

[PeterR]

Hightower heres the bar and as far as I,m concerned photo 3 and 4 are great I,m realey happy with the condition its 1 and two that I,m Not

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by blinddog

As JW says the lightly zinc coated nuts and bolts will sacrifice themselves its all about noblity of steels,
We make subsea structures,
For corrosion you need an anode a cathode and a electrolyte to have a corrosion circuit.
Have a read on NACE or Icorr this will explain in depth about corrosion and how it happens.


gaZ

Yeah, but we're talking trailers here. How long does a trailer spend submerged for all of these corrosive circuits to circulate? Surely it's more a case poorly treated steel getting a dunkin' in the briney and then being exposed to the air.
It's not some sub-sea structure.

[PeterR]

Sorry hears the photo the bar with the hole for drainage in

[PeterR]

Third time lucky.

[blinddog]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Yeah, but we're talking trailers here. How long does a trailer spend submerged for all of these corrosive circuits to circulate? Surely it's more a case poorly treated steel getting a dunkin' in the briney and then being exposed to the air.
It's not some sub-sea structure.

If you read up you will soon realise that moisture and oxygen only accelerate the corrosion process,
Zinc coated nuts and bolts have around 20 - 40 microns of zinc on which is minimal.
Oh and by the way Mollers I am actually qualifed Icorr 1,2 and 3 and Nace 1,2 and 3
so i do know a little on this subject.
Always remember corrosion is corrosion, with ferrous steel the iron within it is always trying to revert back to its natural state.


gaZ

[PeterR]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Yeah, it'll leave pretty patterns when launching though.

If the things corroding, a good rinse after recovering is as good as anything.

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