dump trailer floor maintenance

rilesdav · Oct 12, 2010

Hello,
I have a dump trailer that after many loads of wood, mulch and dirt is starting to dent and rust. In my lack of infinite wisdom, I am considering apply a truck bed coating to the floor to repair the damage and prevent further denting. I think that would work great for wood, but my concern would be issues with dumping mulch or dirt as I assume they would stick to a textured floor. Anyone try this or should I steer clear.
Thanks
Dave

ccsial · Oct 13, 2010

rilesdav said:
Hello,
I have a dump trailer that after many loads of wood, mulch and dirt is starting to dent and rust. In my lack of infinite wisdom, I am considering apply a truck bed coating to the floor to repair the damage and prevent further denting. I think that would work great for wood, but my concern would be issues with dumping mulch or dirt as I assume they would stick to a textured floor. Anyone try this or should I steer clear.
Thanks
Dave

I coat mine with Fluid Film when I'm not going to use it for a while. Stops the rust. I also cover it. The moisture will still rust it when covered, hence the Fluid Film.

Deadman · Oct 13, 2010

Paint it with POR-15.
Its an amazing rust preventative paint that is nearly indestructable.
Its Expensive, but you'll never wear it off unless you haul breaker road for thousands of loads! lol

I painted my trailer frames with this stuff, and when I did, I got a few "drops" of the paint on my Concrete garage floor. After a week, I decided that I wanted those Ugly POR-15 drops off of my floor. So, I went and got a chisel and a hammer, and I absolutely COULD NOT chisel it off! LOL :laughing: It kinda made me mad at first, but then i realized how GREAT of a product it was, and i was confident that it would never come off the frame of my trailers!

My buddy is a farmer, and they have their semi trailers repainted once and a while when they get rusty. They had one trailer that was brand new and was rusted bad in only a few years. They had a Paint shop sandblast the trailer and put POR-15 on it. The trailer has been painted with the POR for over 10 years now, and there is not a spec of rust on it anywhere, and their machinery doesn't scrap it off, like it did the factory paint.

Its like $40 a quart, but I'd pay $100 if I had to!

Mace Canute · Oct 13, 2010

Just 2 days ago I had the opportunity to look at an old Toyota truck that had the truck bed coating treatment done to the floor in the box. There was a lot of missing floor! The moisture had apparently gotten between the steel box and the liner material and huge strips were simply rusted away. I expect this was caused by a small hole in the lining letting in water and the same thing might to happen to your trailer floor. I'd stay away from any thick coating and consider just a paint job with something like POR-15. (If you do decide to use POR-15, PAY ATTENTION TO THE INSTRUCTIONS!)

rilesdav · Oct 13, 2010

Hey Deadman,
Good tip, how much needed to do the floor on a 6 by 12 trailer??
Thanks,
Dave

Deadman · Oct 14, 2010

Hmmmm, Its kinda hard to say, but I would guess that a Quart might do it....I'm sure once you get started, you'll get all excited and do the frame of the trailer and some of the other areas!

If the floor is really rusty and pitted (POR-15 LOVES This) then it obviously takes more product, because it kinda soaks into the rust pockets.
I'd buy yourself a Quart and see how far it goes, or better yet, buy 2 quarts and save the second one for your next project. Once you use this product, you will end up using it on All kinds of stuff.

If you open the can, then take one of your Wife's (lol) canning jars and put the POR-15 in there and seal it good and tight. BUT, put a piece of super thin plastic under the lid, so you'll be able to re-open it. Then store this in the refrigerator. The cold temp allows you to keep it for **** near a year or better once its out of the factory container.

My dad painted a old rusted to heck trailer with the POR almost 20 years ago now,and I looked at the trailer the other day. The trailer sits out in the woods, and NEVER comes inside, and lives in Northern Wisconsin. Its still all black, and has yet to even show a single spec of surface rust. :laughing:

rilesdav · Oct 14, 2010

Thanks, I ordered a quart as well the products to prep surface, I will let you know it goes. Thanks to all for advice. Dave

Skyco · Oct 14, 2010

Since the POR15 makers say it must be top coated if exposed to sunlight...was that done on the examples given? Just curious since it wasn't mentioned.

Wis Bang · Oct 14, 2010

Skyco said:
Since the POR15 makers say it must be top coated if exposed to sunlight...was that done on the examples given? Just curious since it wasn't mentioned.

I have used POR15 by purchasing a 'starter pack' which was 6 tiny cans where I got three of the POR15 and 3 of the chassis black [satin] topcoat along w/ the marine clean surface cleaner and the zinc phosphate metal prep.

So far I used it on the badly rusted portion of the wheels on my pickup, a good ole GM design using a full chrome face on a steel wheel that has a lip making it hold water. I wanted the black paint to 'blend' out of sight when looking thru the wheel from the chrome side.

POR15 gets ugly from UV unless it is top coated though that diesn't affect the rustproofing qualities and they recommend their top coatings. The POR15 dried to a gloss black that was hard and smooth and the topcoat toned it down yet the mud still washes off when I clean the truck.

The tiny can covered two coats on two wheels, so did the top coat. Next spring I'm going to use the last can(s) to do the all steel spare wheel and the rear portion of the frame b/4 I install a receiver hitch.

The sampler was $49.00 and I spent around $95.00 ordering off their web page. Alot cheaper than replacing [4] 17" wheels.

Both POR15 and the topcoat are isocyanate compounds and work by sealing the metal surface so moisture cannot get to it to cause rust. It gets used alot in the chemical industry and by top end auto restorers. They have gas tank coatings, manifold paint, engine coatings & a DIY two part bed liner that comes w/ it's own disposable spray gun.

If you fail to get it off your skin quickly, it takes around a month to get it off!