Rebuilding Trailer Question

[NetMatrix]

I'm going to be redoing my trailer for my Tom Sawyer. Now what I'm wondering is since I have an enclosed hollow frame on it where my wires run through the frame. Would it be a smart idea after I have repainted the trailer where I have the holes drilled at for wires to run through would it be a good idea to use some marine sealant to squirt into those holes to seal the inside of the trailer to keep water from going in there? Or just don't worry about doing that?

 

[JimMH]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

Seal it up and water will get in and stay. Then it will rust out from the inside.
Bad Idea to seal up the frame.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

2nd on what he said ^^^^^

Leave it open so it can breathe .

 

[Proselect]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

Ditto. You want the holes in it for drainage.

 

[NetMatrix]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

Thank you for the opinions, and after reading I decided to go ahead and leave the holes open for the water to drain out. It does make perfect sense and everything. I honestly didn't think that the water would still find a way in there and would stay in there.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

I currently own a 00 Dodge Neon, which when I first bought it would gather a good two inches of water on the rear floorboards after each rain. I was constantly vacuuming out this car with a wet vac and sealing up a new spot I was sure was the leak point. Come to find out after about the 50th wet vac the leak spot was all the way in the corner of a foam gasket for one of the break lights. The water managed to drain off the rood, across the trunk seam into a tiny crimp in the tail light gasket, across the inside of the trunk, down into the spare tire mount, under the rear seat frame and finally onto the rear floor.

Water finds a way... and the internet rules for finding easy fixes for mind-boggling issues.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Rebuilding Trailer Question

....I honestly didn't think that the water would still find a way in there and would stay in there.

I have a snowmobile trailer with enclosed, square tubes as a frame. Funny thing is, all the corners are swelled oval where water got in, froze and did its thing. Closed tubes can be bad. but that trailer has seen a lot of salt from winter roads.

On the other hand, when I rebuilt my 1964 Sea King trailer for the Niagara, I used 2x4 tube for the main rails, and in the course of installing them, I welded them completely shut. I was going to drill drains in the corners and I thought about it... I figured the insides weren't painted or protected- I would wait until the welds showed rust or some other evidence that water had gotten in, and then drill the weep holes. Funny thing is its been almost ten years and there is no rust or any evidence of leakage. But this trailer has never seen a salted road, either.

A long post to say that merely using sealers at wire access holes is a bad idea- I wouldn't do it.