Rust on Frame

William_Keever

In March of this year we purchased a new TaB 320S Boondock. We have taken one major trip from South Carolina to Utah at about 4800 miles and everything worked perfect. 

Now that we are home, I was inspecting it this evening and noticed some thing that really concerns me: RUST. 

We keep this unit in an enclosed garage and maintain the humidity with a dehumidifier. I don’t think a new unit should have this much rust on it. Does anyone have any thoughts?

The picture is taken from the rear of the TaB looking just the inside of the right tire. 

William_Keever

Here’s the picture. 

manyman297

FWIW, we had a brand new tent trailer and it had rust from day one. My guess is it was pulled from the factory to the dealer during the winter so it soaked up all of that road salt. I’ve noticed new trailers with some rust so this isn’t unusual. I have a 2020 Tacoma and the paint has already peeled from the rear brake drums and they’re rusty within a year. 

William_Keever

Manyman297, I should have mentioned that this rust was not there before our road trip to Utah, which was In early June. Yes, we encountered much rain on that trip, but this still seems excessive to me.

manyman297

Ahh, gotcha. I would keep an eye on it. My Tacoma literally had rust forming on the drums within a few weeks of owning it. If the paint applied is thin I can see rust forming after driving through a few puddles. Raw steel will form a “patina” with just a few drops of water. Most of this surface rust will usually be more cosmetic than structural but I’d let Nucamp know so it’s documented.

Horigan

You could spray some T9 Boeshield on the area to slow the rust.

Tundra57

My tab 400 2019 had rust on the drum back plates and places on the frame where it was welded from new. I wire brushed those areas and sprayed a few coats of Rust-Oleum. The frames are not dipped fully so there will always be places where the paint is porous or scratched. Just scrape off the loose and spray with an outdoor paint like Rust-Oleum. Check it yearly. Its just another line item on the trailer yearly tune up.

markhanks

Manyman297, I had a T@g 2015 that had extensive rust on the entire frame.  I just cleaned it with a a scrapper then wire wire brush on a grinder, hit it with two coats of rusty metal primer and 3 of black paint...then sold it.  Just bought a T@B 320cs and vowed that I'm going to hit the entire frame with rust proofing (Oil based)  before hitting the road in the spring.  I'm going to be religious about it every year.   

manyman297

@markhanks What product are you using? I'd be interested. 

markhanks

I’m I’m going to use an undercoat product by Ew Hampshirite undercoat oil.  I bought a couple cans online.  I’ll try it for a year or so.  Going right over the paint.  Frustrating because it seems as though most automobiles these days have licked this problem.  To get rust almost immediately?

markhanks

Sorry, cell phone keystroke errors…”New Hampshirite Undercoat Oil” NHUO.  Can be found online, purchase direct from OEM.

manyman297

Thanks for the recommendation!

tabiphile

An proven way to treat frames is painting with POR-15. It is considered to be a professional product and is available at autobody supply shops, wallyworld or Amazon if you must. 
Before applying it you must remove rust scale and clean the surfaces with POR degreaser/cleaner. I always wire brush before cleaning and follow the cleaning with acetone cleanup. 
It is usually finished with a flat or gloss black UV resistant paint.

Wouldn't it be nice if these frame suppliers would powder coat?

Melanietab400

We treat our 400 frame with cans of rust check yearly. Yes it’s sticky and messy If you brush against it. But it does it’s job… if not for that the Barry there paint rusts in coastal areas wayyyy too fast.

Denny16

Powder coated steel doesn’t hold up in coastal environments either.  The powder coated steel attachments and a wheelbarrow all have their powder costing coming off in large bits, like peeling skin after a sunburn.  Give me good paint any day.  Tractor was originally oil based enamel painted, which held up for 20 years.  The powder coats started failing after two years, or less.
 Cheers 

sequimite

I’ve been reading this forum for about nine months now, but this is only my second post. We bought our 2016 320 S Max last February. Due to other commitments, the trailer sat idle this past summer. I’m planning several mods this winter, but wanted to address the same problem as the OP: rust around the back side of the wheels. I know the trailer was stored outdoors the last few years by the prior owner. I don’t know how the original owner stored it. In my house, it’s garaged.

These images are behind the driver's side wheel looking from both the front and the back in that order.

I’ve read through every post on this forum that contains the word “rust”. My rust looks worse than the OP (see photos), but then my trailer is 6+ years old. My question is how do I evaluate the extent of the rust before I put a lot of time and money into mods on this trailer?

My plan at this point is to treat the rust with Gemplers Rust Converter and then paint it. But I want to hear wisdom from folks about my older trailer in case the answer is different in my specific case.

manyman297

I’m in no way an expert on steel and corrosion but any place where the paint is bubbling would be a place I’d check. Take a flathead screwdriver and do some poking around. Much of the rust we see on our frames is superficial and not a cause for concern. 

Denny16

You can wire brush off the excess rust surface, and treat it with several products that run the rust Into a non corrosive layer.  Then you can paint and reseal the areas.  You can also use WD-40 to help,clean the rust, as well as T-9 spray.  This will keep the rest from getting worse.
 Cheers 

fstop32

@sequimite, it looks like most of it is located on the axle torsion arm and the mounting bracket.  Keeping in mind that I seldom hesitate to tear into things I'd be tempted to drop the axle.  That would give you much easier access to get at all the rusty spots, both on the axle parts and the trailer chassis where it mounts.  
I second @manyman297 and @Denny16 on their comments, if you're going to wire brush it make sure to get back to good paint adhesion or you'll be back under there in another year or two.
Happy Trails!

Bayliss

@sequimite, and others interested in this topic.  The article and video link below was just posted in the RVtravel.com newsletter.  It provides a good explanation of how to remove and treat rusted areas on your RV.  It is a 24 minute video that dispenses with a lot of the chit-chat (after the first few minutes) gets right to describing the process on different metal parts of the RV, including the frame (starting at 9:27 in the video.)  I found the process to be simple and straightforward.  It is worth bookmarking here, or keeping a copy of the link for future reference.

https://www.rvtravel.com/video-rv-rust-destroy-rig-prevent-fix-rv-rust-1987/

BrianZ

Thanks, @Bayliss, just what I needed.

sequimite

Thanks @Bayliss and all the others that commented. Good guidance from all. Following that guidance, I should be able to get to a  relatively rust free state.

sequimite

Any thoughts on the type of brush that should be used to remove surface rust on the frame and axle such as pictured above? E.g., steel or brass?

Denny16

I would use a stainless welding type brush, used to prep a surface prior to welding.  It has the stiffness to remove the rust.
 Cheers 

sequimite

Excellent, thanks.

ChanW

@sequimite, I've used Gempler's rust converter. It works well.