What to look for when checking trailer floors - esp the aluminium and plastic ones?

[SpruceRI]

I'm on the look out for a 2nd hand trailer.

Am currently borrowing a friends' IW 505 with an aluminium floor. I wanted to have a proper look at it as my current trailer is an older 505 model with a wooden floor, but with her trailer the rubber mats are fixed to the floor so I can only peal up the corners.

Can you only look at these floors from underneath the trailer? Wooden floors I'd poke around with a screwdriver, do you do the same with an ali or plastic floor to determine whether it's sound?

Going to look at a 9yr old Wessex Clubman model at the weekend, forgot to ask whether the floor will be aluminium, plastic or wood, does anyone know what it should be?

 

[SpruceRI]

Anyone??

 

[Beausmate]

Aluminium gets a sort of white powder on it where it's corroding, plastic I'm not sure about, it doesn't rot but I suppose you could look for signs of it cracking around fixings or any distortion. Check anywhere the floor joins, especially around the edges and high wear areas. I have seen an aluminium Ifor floor start to go just inside the jockey door and where the front partition bolts in.

 

[ROG]

Scroll to time 5.40 ............

[youtube]QKqXL-6ORBA[/youtube]

 

[Bennions Field]

Fab video thank you for posting it, very helpfull,

OP - haveyou tried a main dealer for a trailer, might pay a little more but should have been checked and should come with some form of warranty

 

[Suechoccy]

Great video. Just one thing: at end of video, the guy recommends running horse trailer tyres at around 50psi.

That's not necessarily correct. Always refer to your trailer's recommendations. Here's the Ifor Williams downloadable tyre pressure table for all the different tyres used on its horsetrailers/boxes. PSIs vary from 116 down to 35.

http://www.iwt.co.uk/customer-care/faq-categories/1166/13695

 

[OWLIE185]

Aluminium floors have to be fitted in such a way that there is no contact between the aluminium and the supporting steel structures as otherwise theer will be a galvanic action between the two alloys which will cause the aluminium to rot. When fitted correctly a seal or membrane is placed between the two.

 

[SpruceRI]

Scroll to time 5.40 ............

[youtube]QKqXL-6ORBA[/youtube]

Thank you ROG, that's v helpful.

 

[SpruceRI]

Aluminium floors have to be fitted in such a way that there is no contact between the aluminium and the supporting steel structures as otherwise theer will be a galvanic action between the two alloys which will cause the aluminium to rot. When fitted correctly a seal or membrane is placed between the two.

Thank you - I will crawl underneath when viewing trailers and see what's what.

 

[SpruceRI]

Aluminium gets a sort of white powder on it where it's corroding, plastic I'm not sure about, it doesn't rot but I suppose you could look for signs of it cracking around fixings or any distortion. Check anywhere the floor joins, especially around the edges and high wear areas. I have seen an aluminium Ifor floor start to go just inside the jockey door and where the front partition bolts in.

Thank you

 

[SpruceRI]

Fab video thank you for posting it, very helpfull,

OP - haveyou tried a main dealer for a trailer, might pay a little more but should have been checked and should come with some form of warranty

My local ones haven't got any in my price range unfortunately. They only seem to have 'nearly new' trailers which my budget doesn't stretch to.