Forum Discussion

dodge_guy's avatar
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2015

painting trailer frame and jacks.

So I`ve been wanting to clean up the frame and jacks for the last couple years. this weekend I finally got around to it. this is a lot of work in just the prep alone! I removed everything off the front A-frame, removed any surface rust and scuffed all the weathered paint. the Jacks were the worst! but in the end everything turned out nice. It took 5 cans of gloss black.







While I was at it I flipped the Dual Cams right<>left so now I have a new surface for the cams to ride on!

These cams have approx. 15000 miles of towing on them, 11000 of them with 1200lbs of tongue weight!



Flipping them over gives me a new side for the WD bar to ride on for another 11000 miles. this time I may use a small dab of grease on them!



Now I`ll just have to recenter the cams. then I can head out on Friday morning!
  • stufarmer's avatar
    stufarmer
    Explorer
    Jul 09, 2015
    If you don't mind, did you use any metal cleaning products ? I realized you mentioned scuffing the surface's, but with so many pre-painting products & primers available I'd like mine to have a better gloss like yours other than the satin black they used. Thanks....
  • dodge_guy's avatar
    dodge_guy
    Explorer II
    Jul 01, 2015
    camping cowleys wrote:
    Looks great. I did some touch up on mine this spring but not the whole a frame nor the jacks. I'm bringing my trailer home this Sunday, want to come over and do mine? I'm not that far away.


    Ooooh! I would love to, but I'll be up in Hayward on Sunday! Maybe next time!!! ;)
  • camping_cowleys's avatar
    camping_cowleys
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2015
    Looks great. I did some touch up on mine this spring but not the whole a frame nor the jacks. I'm bringing my trailer home this Sunday, want to come over and do mine? I'm not that far away.
  • dodge_guy's avatar
    dodge_guy
    Explorer II
    Jun 29, 2015
    myredracer wrote:
    I've got to do the same to our TT and it's just over a year old. Got delivered from Indiana to the west coast during the winter and all the salt on the road is really hard on any steel under the trailer. There's rust everywhere. Pffft. The paint they put on must only be a few microns thick. I am very unimpressed to say the least about how long the original paint lasts...

    On the dual cams, note that they won't be perfectly aligned when you first install them and they eventually develop a "set". That wear pattern may be nothing to worry about. It's a good idea to mark spring bars left and right so they match up. The towing section is the place to ask about this if needed.


    Thanks, yes the spring bars have been R and L specific since 06. And yes they do wear into a "groove" after so many miles. Mine are very worn at this point. Flipping them gives me a basically new set of cams to use. The DC has always performed flawlessly and I have no complaints on it at all.

    But thanks for the advice anyway.

    Now I just need to get it to a parking lot and get the cams centered again. Then the long wait for Friday!!!!

    I may post my cam wear over in the towing section.
  • Sondy132001's avatar
    Sondy132001
    Explorer
    Jun 29, 2015
    You did a great job, looks brand new !

    We just painted our tongue and mini attached jacks also, did the rear bumper too, makes it look so much better.

  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Jun 29, 2015
    I've got to do the same to our TT and it's just over a year old. Got delivered from Indiana to the west coast during the winter and all the salt on the road is really hard on any steel under the trailer. There's rust everywhere. Pffft. The paint they put on must only be a few microns thick. I am very unimpressed to say the least about how long the original paint lasts...

    On the dual cams, note that they won't be perfectly aligned when you first install them and they eventually develop a "set". That wear pattern may be nothing to worry about. It's a good idea to mark spring bars left and right so they match up. The towing section is the place to ask about this if needed.
  • ken56's avatar
    ken56
    Explorer
    Jun 29, 2015
    Always gives you a good feeling when things look spiffy. Nice job. I used Rustoleum Rust Reformer paint on mine and its held up well. I also crawled under my rig and did the axles and backs of the brake mud shields. The part I hate about it is the prep and masking off so the overspray is contained.
  • 2012Coleman's avatar
    2012Coleman
    Explorer II
    Jun 29, 2015
    Wow! Nice job. Thanks for giving me the inspiration to do mine! I just lubed my stabilizers and was thinking how crappy they look. Plus the white film that seems to form on the original paint.

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