TheGillz Explo Off-Road Trailer via Geotracker90 Build!

[Martyn]

I just wanted to share my experiences with powder coatings. I'll start off by saying that I sell and service industrial coatings (which includes powder) for PPG and have been doing so for 15 years.

In my experince the first question you want to ask is what are they doing for pretreatment. Does it include blasting, wash or a combination of both. What are they blasting with? In their wash are they degreasing, phosphating and sealing? This will have a lot to do with costing and the performance of the coatings.

As for the thickness of the coating. You can have too much paint, be it liquid or powder. It may become brittle and be susceptible to greater rock chipping. Paint can also crack if used as filler. Ask if they have a high heat caulking that they apply before powder coating to fill any seams.

Make sure you ask about those items that Martyn pointed out,

even and full coverage
no sags/runs
no cross contamination

if you really want to go high end look into a zinc rich epoxy primer under you top coat color.

Great information, thanks for sharing.

I should add that on our seams we use an automotive silicone adhesive to fill the gaps. Our panels are also phosphate washed.

The Dude's explanation shows that the quality of the finish has so much to do with the preparation work.

 

[TheGillz]

Excellent information guys, thank you so much, I would never have known. What a sweet resource this site is!

Keep it coming if anyone has more to add, I can use it.

I know they blast it before they apply, but I don't know about the seams and the washes. I will do that if they don't....I imagine you would want to apply the silicone after they are washed/blasted?

 

[the dude]

The best way to do things:

degrease: This is done with hot water and soap. before blast so as to not impinge any soils into the metal.

blast: gets you a great surface (lots of peaks and valleys) for the paint to adhere to. A great step if you can afford to do it on trailers/frames ect. Harder to do on very light gauge material.

High pressure wash: This gets rid of any blast material that gets left behind. Air works OK but washing is better.

Phosphate: Essential etches the blast profile for even better adhesion. Also acts as a cleaner to a degree. Needs to be used if no blast is present.

Rinse: VERY important after phosphate. If coating weights are to high you will run into poor adhesion. Remember you are actually painting the pre-treatment, not the steel (overly simplified but basically true)

Sealer: Very important to have the correct solution or flash rusting will occur. You do not want to paint over rust. EVER. No matter what Rustoleum or POR-15 tells you. It's a bad idea.

There are different levels and stages of each of these but that gives you the basic concepts of pretreatment before paint. It is usually the associated costs with the above that change quoted prices.

As for the paint, I can get into that as well if you like. From what would be the "best" to what is practical.

 

[TheGillz]

This is great, i will definately make sure these things are done, and see what of it I can do to cut costs a bit. I'm sure I could scrub it down at least.

 

[TheGillz]

Well I went and got the trailer this weekend as well as camped a couple nights north of the Tetons just about 30 miles from Montana and Wyoming. Found a decent spot although the perfect one was taken when we got there...can't win them all.

I can say that the trailer pulled home like a dream, and I was very please by that. Smooth as butter on the freeway and/or highway, and did very well over some washboard, and I even got to see the suspention work as I was turning as I went through some pretty decent sized ruts. Tire moved and trailer didn't much. Just as it ought to.

Any way I disasembled it and did a little work prepping for paint. I will post pics a little later when my camera charges up.

A HUUUUUGE thanks to Mike for getting me this far. I look forward to having this fully ready to go by January when we are planning another trip to Mexico!

 

[TheGillz]

Ok, some pics, nothing overly revolutionary or enlightening, but I like threads with "too many" pics as apposed to too little! :coffeedrink:

Here is why I chose the Lock n Roll, I had to park the trailer off of the FS road the first night and there was a 3 foot embankment to go down...couldn't have done this with a typical ball style....at least I wouldn't have wanted to.

Here is the trailer put away for the night tonight after dismantling for washing and other pre-paint prep. I got a grinder on clearance at Lowes so I am putting my anal retentiveness to good use touching up some of the splatter and other areas from the last day of work. I was over at Mikes and I'm sure it felt like I was standing there tapping my foot as he wrapped up.

Finally in my yard!

One of the things I did was get a 5/8 drill bit while at Lowes and make another hitch pin hole so that I had two positions in which to tow. Long for highway and short for off road.

I thought some of you would like to see the finished suspension that worked so well on the drive home. We took a combination of miles of gravel/washboard roads, county highways and the last 50 miles home was freeway.

Happy in all environments

Have another report after Thursday.

 

[TheGillz]

I didn't get much done today. Worked on it a couple hours. I got all the removable stuff fine tuned as far as grinding goes. Making sure all sides are straight and there aren't any sharp edges. I washed them all as well.

I also tested the new tongue pin holes that I drilled. And convinced a lovely spokesmodel to help with the presentation of both positions. The inward position effectively cuts 24 inches off the length of the trailer increasing off road menuverability.

I have arranged to get some shop/welder time at another members house nearby for saturday the 13th to take care of some loose ends as far as welding goes, then assuming I have everything grinded to my liking by monday, I will be taking it into the powder coater that next week!! :luxhello: :luxhello:

This weekend is my beautiful and brilliant wife and I's 12th wedding anniversary and we are not going to be home so no more work till next Thursday and Saturday.

 

[GeoTracker90]

Dang Clark!! That trailer looks naked. I can't remember when I saw the trailer like that.

It also looks like when it shed its boxes it just decided to throw them on the neighborhood cars. I thought it was tought better than that, but oh well....

Now that you've completed the big pick-up when is the big drop-off? Any chance that it will be next Monday, September 15th?

Take care,

Mike

p.s. - I'm going to have to build another off-road once I get the 10' teardrop done, I hope you know that. I'll have to match it to my Vintage S-10 Blazer so that I can go explore the hills some more.

 

[TheGillz]

I hope its dropped off at the coaters Monday, I might have to wait till Thursday though, they are letting me bring my own tools and take the axle off and what not so that I'm not paying them to do it...to save some cash. The wait is killing me...the weather has been so beautiful, I've been itching to get out again.

I have always liked those old, er... vintage Blazers, truly the original 4x4 "SUV", and having a matching offroad trailer behind one would be super cool. Can't wait to see it.

 

[bigwalton]

Awesome build guys, just found this thread. Coolest thing about it is the dimpled panels, no doubt. :bowdown:

I just found a Bantam civvy trailer to pull behind our JK and Scrambler, this thread has the ideas going fast and furious

I have always liked those old, er... vintage Blazers, truly the original 4x4 "SUV", and having a matching offroad trailer behind one would be super cool. Can't wait to see it.

Nah, that would be a Scrambler. It was just too far ahead of it's time.

Can't wait to see it coated!

 

[Funrover]

Sweet trailer!

 

[TheGillz]

Thanks guys. Almost there. I was fortunate enough to get a hand from another kind Expo member here to borrow a welder for the morning. (common theme around here...kindness/generosity) Anyway we got all the extra welding done that needed, mostly tacking the sheets to the skeleton, we filled the holes on the end of the 1x1 on the tailgate, and added a center support for it.

Here is Jess helping out. Notice the lag on his shirt! Now that's dedication!

And here is my practice welds, not bad for it having been 18 years since I last welded, if I do say so myself.

So I just need to wash down the main trailer tomorrow, and take her in for powder this week, hopefully I won't have to wait till Thursday, but its possible. I can't wait!!!

 

[stomperxj]

Nice meeting you face to face Clark... You picked up the wirefeed welding pretty quick...

Here's some shots of him in action:

Trimming:

Welding:

The rest are here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v236/stomperxj/Clark/


And here is the man in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28sA6vlsijM


Happy to help

:safari-rig:

 

[TheGillz]

Holy Crank!!! That was awesome, thanks again for the help! And the vid. lol I had no idea you were filming that.

:bowdown:

 

[GeoTracker90]

Good to see the loose ends getting tied up! You should fire you fabricator for not doing that for you. Now hurry up and get that ting to paint (powder coat). Are you going to have them coat the inside of the main box or will that get the rattle can treatment?

Jess, thanks for helping Clark with the odds and ends. One of these days we'll have to do an Idaho get together.

Mike