I ran one of the largest trailer plants in the country before branching out on my own. Before I came the aluminum was never cleaned before welding so there was no penetration. I hired the best welders I could find and outsourced weld engineers to lock down the process. Wasn't easy to maintain and we still had issues from time to time but I know most manufacturers don't do it right.
Galvanic corrosion due to dissimilar metals, causes the aluminum to corrode quicker than the steel can rot out due to the aluminum being more anodic. The steel is more cathodic, meaning it's more inert or doesn't change its structure as quickly as the aluminum.
Absolutely look over the frame on any aluminum trailer. My first full aluminum trailer had both frame rails break right were the axle bolted to the frame. Literally snap the trailer in two. My current full aluminum trailer, 14 ft. , is built way better.... thicker wall tubing. I always check it over now after my previous experience. ..... Great Video guys!!!
Had the same issue with galvanic corrosion, which weakened the aluminum rails. Caught it before the steel dexter axle went through and welded a .25 inch aluminum plate over corrosion and used a plastic insulator between new plates/steel axle - works great now, but can’t understand why it wasn’t manufactured with an insulator between different metals….
I bought a new steel trailer couple years ago and oil sprayed as soon as I got it home, and everyone asks me why I didn't go with aluminum.. I tell them because we live in Canada and your video proves why and plus they'll cost 2 - 3,000$ more.
Good for you for making this video. It's the best way to call out these companies and inspire them to improve. We bought a camper 2 years ago, and I just can't believe the poor craftsmanship. We even paid ten thousand more than two guys I work with in the name of higher quality. What a joke and waste of money that was.
I have a buddy that was a service tech at a large camper & RV dealership, and according to him, “If you buy anything made after 2018, you’re going to be very sorry. It’s all junk.” He couldn’t deal with how badly things were made, and falling apart. He quit, and is now pretty happy.
Really appreciate the video. I was considering an aluminum cargo trailer to convert to a travel trailer but was hesitant because I know from experience screwing fasteners into steel and aluminum that the steel definitely is better.
Anti ice agents that are applied to winter roadways are also a huge contributor too! We can’t use any sodium/salts on airports for this very reason. An aluminum snowmobile trailer used primarily on treated roadways is a recipe for disaster, as this video plainly proves. I run 2 trailers. An aluminum for my Ural Gear Up in the summer, and a steel frame for winter projects.
Holy mother of god… this is unreal. But if you and your friend could give us some sense on age, milage and load it was carrying - it would help us out a lot.
the trailer was about 10 years old at that time and it had only really ever been used to haul his snowmobile and 4 wheeler around back and forth to his hunting camp. so by bo means was it ever overloaded at any time. cheers 🍻
Wow. Thanks. I'm currently trailer shopping and thought aluminum was the way to go but between this video and some other chatter I'm finding, perhaps not.
I’ve had to replace 2 piano hinges on the ramp door which is a big job as you have to take up the floor and the walls are built on the floor. 2 hinges in 12 years. And the back corners cracked and 2 beams cracked. The floor was also warped and sagging.
Not to mention all the wiring is spliced using what used to be called Scotch lock connectors, even in the main harness going to the tow vehicle. So you buy a finished trailer and have to tear it apart to find a bad connection. Like the man said, check it over.
They (or I guess you, now) should be reinforcing the aluminum tubing by putting wood inside those channels. Especially in the areas supporting the axles. A lot of RV manufacturers do it that way. Well, they use a steel chassis with an aluminum box but they do use wood inside some of the weight-bearing aluminum tubing.
Looks like maybe galvanic corrosion issue on all the steel, axle, Jack, hitch tounge, locking handles, ect... for newer trailer steel looks worse than my 40 year old utility trailer. Given the higher cost of featherlite trailers if that gets ya better build as to eliminate such issues cheaper aluminum trailers may be cutting corners on.
The legend trailers have not gotten better unfortunately.. a friend of mine bought a brand new one for his side by side and it broke on the highway the first time he used it. The deck welds broke from the frame, and the tongue bent.. scary situation,, always buy steel..
unfortunately I didn't make a video of the repair...I ended up boxing the frame in with the thicker aluminum tube and my buddy redford is still using it with no issues! 🍻
The frame was poorly designed. A tandem axil trailer terminating to a single beam encompassing the hitch allows undue torsion as the trailer rocks and flexes. The frame to the hitch should have been three element, the single in the center and two diagonals welded to the main L & R frame rails., with at least one cross brace. The main frame was inadequate gauge and alloy. The Area where the tandem axils attached needed to be structurally reinforced. This appeared to be a single axil design with the second axil tacked on, w/o any redesign. The welding was shoddy. Steel fasteners were bolted to aluminum members. BTW steel welds fail too. The failure of this trailer was NOT due to the use of aluminum. Great Dane semi truck trailers are long and have a 40k# load capacity w/o failure. Featherlite and a host of other all aluminum trailers provide reliable service. Aircraft routinely use large amounts of aluminum components, so this failure is not due to aluminum, it is due to poor design materials, and workmanship. Somebody was probably cutting corners to capture the bottom tier of aluminum trailer sales, assuming the owner didn’t exceed the load capacity. 😎
Much of what you say makes sense. I wonder about 1 point, though. "Steel fasteners were bolted to aluminum members". Yes, true. But what is your choice? Certain parts have to be steel. Ball connector, safety chain, suspension, and pretty much all bolts, at least. How would one avoid this? The only thing I can think of is to plan for the gavanitic reaction, and make anything that is going to be affected by this easily replaced;e, but that's easier said than done.
@@rednecksdirtyhands Well. Just try to built an air plane with aluminum that thick. It's gonna stay grounded, believe me. Square tubing are inappropriate - no matter the thickness, for structural on-road vehicle. These tubing are used only for convenience to work with. No car manufacturer is clueless enough to use that. Honda NSX as well as Audi uses aluminum a fraction of that thickness. Alloys, shapes, interfaces with other materials used, forming/welding processes are most of the time crazy ignorant. In this case here, increasing the thickness is the easy dumb way to fix it. All aluminum trailers are not created equal. This one was built by a lazy mind.
