Water relief holes in crossmembers - The Hull Truth

thundra · 09-28-2009, 01:35 PM

I have an aluminum bunk trailer and for the 2 crossmembers that are aluminum and have the same bend in them as the axles, I drilled a small hole in each one for water to drain out of when in storage.

What about the axles that are galvanized and of the torsion variety?

Can water get in these?

Should I worry about it at all since they are galvanized and will rust from the inside out anyway?

rwidman · 09-28-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thundra

I have an aluminum bunk trailer and for the 2 crossmembers that are aluminum and have the same bend in them as the axles, I drilled a small hole in each one for water to drain out of when in storage.

What about the axles that are galvanized and of the torsion variety?

Can water get in these?

Should I worry about it at all since they are galvanized and will rust from the inside out anyway?

If it was a good idea to have holes in the axles, the manufacturer would have provided holes. I suggest leaving them as they were designed.

Kevin Desselle · 09-28-2009, 03:04 PM

Yes water does get inside your axles. Your axles should have a drain hole in the bottom of the bend. If yours does not, I wouldn’t drill a hole now because that hole will cause another rust problem. The hole should have been there before it was galvanized.

thundra · 09-28-2009, 06:34 PM

Great pics Kevin, thanks for those and I'll admit that I have never really looked underneath to check for a hole.

I know the aluminum crossmembers did not have a hole so I drilled a small one for the water that gets in to evacuate.

Now that I think of it, I know that the crossmembers in the galvanized roller trailer I have did have a hole in them like the ones in the pics above.

I'll have to look next time and "prick" them out if they might be clogged.