Thread: Trailer Winter Storage/Maintenance...

There more pressing problems to worry about...

Originally Posted by JohnDeere4300_KY

Good thread Dougster!.. I haven't seen any threads like this.

Why?... Because a trailer is something that "most people" forget about until they need it!... I've seen people around here push their trailers in high weeds and forget they even own one.."Until they need it."

Then it has bad tires, bad deck boards, rusted down, etc.. etc..

I've never done anything to my brakes, and they have always worked fine when I use my trailer.. The only problem I have ever had with brakes, was when I pulled it on a wet road during winter, and the temp. was below freezing.. I parked and went in Lowe's and when I went to pull out, the brakes was froze up... I had to buy a torch and heat up the brakes.

Dougster "before" you put any kind of treatment on your "wood deck,"... It is best if you pressure wash it down to remove anything from the wood, because it will stick to the wood better!.. Pressure washing the wood will also make it look like new.. But it's best to let the wood dry after pressure washing it down, before you put anything on it.

On most trailers with a wood deck.. The main place where the wood will start to rot, is on the ends. (If the metal is over the ends to hold the boards in place.)... A lot of dirt, mold, etc.. etc.. will get in the ends!

I always park my trailer on concrete or blacktop.( I never park it on blacktop during the summer, because the blacktop heats up and I believe that's bad for the tires.)

When my trailer isn't parked on concrete or blacktop I always back the wheels (all-4) on 2X6 blocks of wood 8" long, or those 12"X12" stepping stones... I've never took the wheels off my trailers, But I do on my boat during the winter, and I keep it parked in a metal carport.

I do park my trailers "out of the sun.".. Because the sun will damage the tires.

I put "Thompson's water seal" on my deck during the summer, and I put several coats on it.. The water will bead up and roll off.. "I also raise my jack high (all year) so the deck will be tilted and that lets the water drain off better!"... Also when it snows on my trailer deck, I shovel/sweep the snow off.

Now my father-in-law put "brake fluid" on his trailer deck.. But when it rained on it, you couldn't hardly stand on it because it was slick... It stayed slick for months.

When I use to drive a tractor trailer I pulled a 48' flatbed trailer.. They put some kind of oil on the wood... But I don't know what kind of oil they used.. And it really protected the wood.

I've never covered my trailer deck with a tarp during the winter.(I believe a tarp would do more damage)

But several times I've had a load of wood on my trailer, and I put a tarp over the wood just in case it rained that night... The next day when I took the tarp off, The wood was wet. (Maybe because it was new wood?)

I've also covered up "dry firewood with a tarp" only on the top, and not down the sides... When I removed the tarp to take the wood to the woodshed..."The wood was wet on top."

I believe when using a tarp on wood and when the sun hits the tarp, It heats up underneath and sweats..?

If my trailer gets the paint knocked off (Lowe's forklifts) in a place, I touch up that place with paint...."Before it starts to rust." ... I also wash my trailer several times a year, and I also wax it!

I also put a 5-gallon bucket over the trailer tongue (all year) "to keep the latch from rusting," and I put the trailer plug inside the bucket.

From my experience with trailers being out in the weather "all year,".. The main problem is the "tires will dry rot."

I just changed my rear lights, and went with the type that will be hard for(Lowe's forklifts) to knock out... The other type that came on my trailer got damaged at Lowes's early this spring..."They didn't pay me for the damage."

Here's some pics Dougster after I pressure washed the deck, washed the trailer and other maintenance before winter.

PS, Dougster Look at my license plate and mudflaps!

Damn good thoughts and suggestions Cuz. I take back everything I said about you Kentuckians in that other thread!

Your point on the pressure washing of the wood prior to treatment is excellent. I was thinking along those same lines and you confirmed my idea makes sense. I also store my equipment trailer with as much of an angle (slope) as I can get on it... but achieving proper drainage and dealing with ice and snow are still problematic.

The dump trailer is easy for me to move around and keep dryer/cleaner because of it's shorter length, angle/dump capability and where I generally store it (i.e., right out in the open). It's my "all-purpose" trailer and it does all those odd jobs that don't require a L-O-N-G bed trailer. Because it is all metal and because it gets far more use, I am less worried about it.

But the wood bed equipment trailer needs to be stored in tight quarters along side the garage and doesn't get moved very much... or at least it didn't get moved very much this year. It's in the shade under many trees 96% of the time... probably good for the tires, probably not very good for the wood. Frankly, I only noticed how bad the wood was looking after my leaf cleanup effort. Not good... and hence my OP.

I remember Junk talking way back when about using waste oil of some type on his trailer beds. Wish I could find the old post or have him go over it again. Seems it might make sense in lieu of one of the expensive sealers... although I certainly don't want a slippery surface and I can't afford to pizz off my evil suburban neighbors with the results of any possible oil spillage or runoff into the street no matter how minor.

Interesting points about the brakes. Sure wish there was a way to check, clean and lube the moving parts from the outside but I guess that is asking for too much. One bad problem I've got here is spiders and their webs/nests. They seem to love the trailers and I'm sure that includes the interior brake areas/parts that I can't see. Those spider nests seem to be the initiating source of some problems. Seems they trap debris and dirt. Bottom line is that I don't know how to keep those electric brakes running flawlessly short of doing a LOT of time consuming (and maybe unnecessary) maintenance. Lord knows I know about car and truck brakes... but how to keep those electric trailer brakes working in view of the long storage times is another matter. One good thing anyway: My trailer brakes never see salt.

I just remember the costly, time-consuming problems that Lone reported at one point. I'd sure like to avoid them if it's possible to do so.


Dougster™

Originally Posted by LoneCowboy

electric brakes suck, not much you can about them.
But they won't freeze to the side of the drum.
electric brakes only touch the drum when current is applied in other words, they fail "off"
air brakes fail "on" or when air is removed, they are applied.

I hope you understood my post... Electric brakes "can't freeze" from driving on wet roads?

That day the temp was in the lower 20's and the road was wet... When I pulled in Lowe's I applied the brakes and had my trailer brakes on also.. When I got ready to leave all 4-wheels was locked up!.. When I put the torch to the first hub and started heating it up..(I heard the brakes click and release.)... I had to do that on all 4-wheels.

If they wasn't froze up... Then what made them lock up ?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ducati996

He may have mentioned it - I use diesel and used motor oil....best damn job so far, and I no longer worry about the deck...use a roller of course and try not to have to use too much, so it dosent drip and ruin the ground when applying....holds up really, really good and outlasts thompsons by 3 to 1 so far

I heard that mixture before...Is it 75% oil and 25% diesel ??

I agree the mixture is better than Thompson's 100%... I've never put oil on before.. What time of the year is the best ??

Since it's just oil & diesel.. Could it be put on right now ?? (oil repels water)

One year at a tractor show in Ohio, My wife wasn't paying attention, and sat down on the edge of a trailer that had oil on it.... After that, I looked at the trailer and the guy must have just got done putting the oil on it.

Originally Posted by Dougster

Damn good thoughts and suggestions Cuz. I take back everything I said about you Kentuckians in that other thread!

So does this make us cousins again?

I remember Junk talking way back when about using waste oil of some type on his trailer beds. Wish I could find the old post or have him go over it again. Seems it might make sense in lieu of one of the expensive sealers... although I certainly don't want a slippery surface and I can't afford to pizz off my evil suburban neighbors with the results of any possible oil spillage or runoff into the street no matter how minor.



Dougster™

Is this the mixture.. 75% oil and 25% diesel?

I know some old timers around here that put that mixture on barns, fence posts, trailer decks and just about anything that's made of wood.

Oh, Here's another good thing to do with old "hydraulic oil" in the winter.

If your going to pull a trailer in the winter on roads with a lot of salt.. Put some "hydraulic oil" in some kind of spray bottle, and spray underneath the trailer frame!.. It will keep it from rusting.

Originally Posted by LoneCowboy

I was actually replying to Dougster's, that when no power is applied, they aren't touching the drums. (unlike air brakes which can and do stick to the drums when it's wet and cold when you set the brakes (remove air)).

Your situation is different (although strange), probably just got slush/ice in the actuating rods (and other linkages) and it went on and didn't come off because it was stuck/frozen/whatever.

But my point was that when leaving it over the winter, electric brakes brake shoes don't touch the drum.

OK Thanks for the reply!... I understand now.

I've never had that happen before, and now I carry a torch in the winter just in case it happens again... That day I even tried to pull the truck forward/reverse and the brakes "would not" release.

I hate electric brakes.. When I bought my trailer new and loaded my tractor for the first time. I was going down a hill, and my brakes failed.. I thought the brakes didn't have a good ground.

After I got home, I jacked the trailer up and found that the factory had the brake wire wrapped around the axle, and the brake wire was cut..(But that was the factories fault.)

That brings up another thing to check when doing maintenance Dougster.

The area where you have a ground on the electric brakes needs to be checked.. Check to make sure it has a good ground, and make sure the ground wire doesn't have rust on it, and no rust on the place where the ground is.