Thinking of buying new or used?

[Lola33]

If you are thinking of buying a new or used camping trailer (or other rig for that matter) please check under the unit. My husband and I bought a new 26 ft. 2011 Starcraft Autumn Ridge in Oct. of 2011, and later discovered that the frame is covered with rust.... it looks as though the frame had sat in an open field for years. We have "spoken" to both the dealer and Starcraft to no avail. Starcraft says that rust is not covered under their warranty. Who would have thought? We love the camper per se but are concerned about the safety. Is there no justice?

Lola33

[boosTT]

As others have said: It was likely towed over salty roads. Road salt is really hard on trailer frames. I wouldn't think it would be more then surface rust though.

[mike77leprechau]

it was probably delivered when there was salt on the roads..... I always clean mine up with a scotchbrite pad and go over it with truck bedliner spray.... works well even rustoleum would work.... the factory coating must be really thin on these.... Mine showed "rust" after it was hauled in for service one winter..... not like its structural rust through there is a difference..... either treat it with a product like someone above mentioned or sand it and coat it with something and you'll never have an issue

[gcloss]

In 1984, I purchased a new Rockwood pop-up. The first thing I did was to buy cans of automotive undercoating and sprayed the entire underneath of the trailer. When I sold the trailer 21 years later in 2005, there was not one spot of rust on the frame of the trailer. In 2007, I purchased new Jayco Jayflight and did the same exact thing. Unfortunately my current Jayco Eagle has the cold weather package and everything is covered underneath, except the outer edges of the frame. Just before this past winter I went around the entire trailer with a can of black Rustoleum and brush. I painted every exposed part of the frame, rear bumper and from frame. Small amount of work to prolong the life of my TT.

[gmw_photos]

To the OP, if the rusting steel frame is something you would like to avoid, you might want to look at LivinLite brand trailers. They have an aluminum frame.
There are potentially other issues with any and all designs, but at least that would eliminate the rust issue that is bothering you with your current trailer.

[Lola33]

I don't know for sure, a few weeks or a couple of months. What does it matter, the unit is stored during the winter months under cover and has not been driven by us through salted icy roads. It's only 2-1/2 years old, it should not look like this. I may have to get my husband on here to answer your questions. I started out just trying to warn people not to assume that because the living space may be new, the under part may not.

Lola

[Campfire_Time]

Lola33 wrote:
If you are thinking of buying a new or used camping trailer (or other rig for that matter) please check under the unit. My husband and I bought a new 26 ft. 2011 Starcraft Autumn Ridge in Oct. of 2011, and later discovered that the frame is covered with rust.... it looks as though the frame had sat in an open field for years. We have "spoken" to both the dealer and Starcraft to no avail. Starcraft says that rust is not covered under their warranty. Who would have thought? We love the camper per se but are concerned about the safety. Is there no justice?

Lola33

In re-reading this and your subsequent posts, I'm curious. When did you discover the rust? A few weeks later? Months? Or recently?

[beemerphile1]

By the time you bought that 2011 in October 2011 it might have been 18 months old already.

[westend]

Lola33 wrote:
How do I attach some photos to show you the extent of the damage?

Picture loading

The mfg did not build the frame with rusty material. Rusting frame bolts to the point of failure in three years would require a laboratory with salt immersion equipment. My Starcraft frame is a bit rusty, too. Of course, it was built 43 years ago.

Here is the most inexpensive way to remove any surface rust: At a big box or hardware store, buy a quart of liquid water softener cleaner. Put half the bottle into a one gallon garden sprayer and fill the sprayer with water. Spray steel with mixture and allow to work (usually a few hours or even overnight). Mix remaining half of softener cleaner as you did the first. Spray again and immediately rinse with clean water. The surface rust should turn white and no brown rust should be present.

CAUTION--DANGER--ALERT--This procedure involves an acidic mixture. Take all safety precautions to keep spray off your skin and away from eyes and mouth.

[Dog_Folks]

Lola33 wrote:
Well, I would have thought the manufacturer would have known about the rust.... after all, didn't they build it????

They did build it three years ago.

[Cheyenps]

As an aside, I painted the frame and bumper of my trailer with spray-can bedliner coating rather than paint.

It worked very, very well as the coating stays softer than paint does so rocks don't chip it. Thicker than spray paint too, and lots more in a typical can.

Slightly crinkly finish looks fine to me, YMMV. I've never been able to get a great finish out of a spray can anyway.

[Lola33]

How do I attach some photos to show you the extent of the damage?

[Lola33]

And... this is not just surface rust.... most of the 24 bolts holding something together were rusted off and to do an adequate job, according to my husband, the holding tanks would have to be removed first. It is badly rusted.

[Lola33]

Well, I would have thought the manufacturer would have known about the rust.... after all, didn't they build it????

[Campfire_Time]

We've owned a couple of Jaycos. It says right in the manual to inspect for rust and recommends cleaning it up and painting the frame. Starcraft is owned by Jayco so I imagine the manual has similar wording.

The reality is that your trailer may have indeed sat in an open field. If it was a lot trailer it sat at StarCraft's lot for a time, then your dealer may have an outlot somewhere where trailers are stored until they are preped. Our trailer was built 6 months before we bought it. There is some rust in a few spots and the brackets for the propane tanks are really rusty. Its clean up work.