Painted or galvanized? Salt water trailers should be galvanized.
And it's a good idea for freshwater trailers too.

Trailers are generic. Quality varies. Look at the thickness of the
metal in the beams. Shorland'r is one good brand. Calkins was,
they retired and sold the biz, and the new ones have a good rep
too, but I can't remember the new name.

Brands are mostly regional. There are a couple of national brands
(Shorland'r, EzLoader, a few more).

Could there be some electrical contact between the aluminum
boat and the trailer? That might cause some galvanic action
(mmm, but I think it would eat the boat, not the trailer).

--
Chuck Tribolet

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


"JW" wrote in message ...
I have a 1997 Princecraft 196 19.5' aluminum fishing/pleasure boat. The
trailer is showing a tremendous amount of rust. I suspect the rust may be
due to my launching it in sal****er a few times. However, every time I did
that I dumped the trailer in freshwater very soon afterwards.

Anyways... There's a lot of rust on the outside of the trailer. I can't see
inside the trailer shafts but I imagine there's rust in there as well. What
to do? Grind the rust off and use POR 15 or something? Or replace trailer?

If I replace trailer are there generic trailers for 20' boats or do I have
to get it from the manufacturer?

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.