# Options for Storing a Steel Trailer?



## sjharris53 (Jan 31, 2010)

DH and I had several loads of dirt brought in and leveled, topped it with gravel, and are now ready to put in a shelter for my steel horse trailer. We have had two local estimates for building a steel carport type cover and one completely out of wood, with the first estimate coming in at $7000, and the second one closer to $11,000! I just can't justify spending that much to cover up my trailer. So, I'm thinking of going with one of the steel carport companies.... 
Got a few quotes today for 14' x 24' x 10' covers with 12 gauge certified steel, in the range of $2750 - $3000. Anyone used one of these? Are there companies I should avoid like the plague? Is there another option I'm missing?


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I cover mine with a twenty foot by twenty foot tarp. I use ropes to pull the tarp in place and bungees to secure it.


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## mred (Jan 7, 2015)

I have seen a lot of the carport type building and like most of them. I have one that I am putting up now. The biggest thing is holding it to the ground in case of wind. You can use a footing, but bars driven in the ground do work. I have also known people to use mobile home anchors.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Look into the soft canopy type structures, they're essentially tarps stretched over a frame you can put up yourself. They do need to be staked down securely. Make sure you get one tall and long enough for your trailer.









You could probably put up your own metal shelter for very little cost as well, though these often don't have sides


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

The two pictures that Verona posted.......

The vinyl sided one is very reliable, lasts long.
Make sure though the cover is tightly pulled as it makes a difference in stability.
Had one for 15 years that had screw in tie-downs to the dirt with no problems. Only issue I did have was the zipper doors didn't seem to last as well. Split zippers but it was used a lot and may have just worn out the zipper in honesty.

The second picture....
A lot of people have these as well with great results.
You can have sides added to completely close it in, have a 1/2 wall or whatever you want. You pay for your choices as they are made to order and many choices...
I think side panels on the ones I've seen are 3' wide sections.
By me some install themselves, not the simplest thing to do getting the frame up and started.
I think most places will install for not much money...then it is done and you can enjoy and not worry!!

Happy shopping.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

What's wrong with just leaving it outside?

Corrosive agents (road salt being number one, but horse urine being a close number 2) are the biggest issues with steel trailers...not sun and rain.

It doesn't look like you're in the rust-belt, and if you don't pull your trailer in the winter months (if and when salt is used) that's a moot point anyways. The urine corrosion issues are remedied by rinsing the trailer after use - no amount of covering the trailer with tarps or a shelter will help that, and may actually hinder it since some won't get washed off by rainfall.

If rust remains that much of a concern you should be able to get the trailer sprayed with rustproofing on a yearly basis for perhaps $100-$200 or so. That's a LOT cheaper than building a shelter which will cost you that many, many times over.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

We leave our trailer outside (10 years now) and it has no rust.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

One of my steel trailers that I had for over 25 years sat outside the whole time and had no problems.
The one I have now is parked in a pole barn, it is over 30 years old and looks great, was repainted once.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

What Verona has shown are often sold as shelters. Because they are considered portable, no increase in property taxes. A friend secured hers to railroad ties. this raised it about10" and so far so good after 5 years.


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## sjharris53 (Jan 31, 2010)

I am really envious of those of you who don't have rust issues with your steel trailers! In the year I have had mine, rust spots are popping up in several places, and the trailer is only two years old.

We have ordered a metal carport. 



verona1016 said:


> Look into the soft canopy type structures, they're essentially tarps stretched over a frame you can put up yourself. They do need to be staked down securely. Make sure you get one tall and long enough for your trailer.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Verona, since the trailer will be parked closer to the house than the barn area, DH and decided the metal carport just looked better.



mred said:


> I have seen a lot of the carport type building and like most of them. I have one that I am putting up now. The biggest thing is holding it to the ground in case of wind. You can use a footing, but bars driven in the ground do work. I have also known people to use mobile home anchors.


Mred, I ordered mine to be installed with those anchors.





horselovinguy said:


> A lot of people have these as well with great results.
> You can have sides added to completely close it in, have a 1/2 wall or whatever you want. You pay for your choices as they are made to order and many choices...
> I think side panels on the ones I've seen are 3' wide sections.
> By me some install themselves, not the simplest thing to do getting the frame up and started.
> ...


Horselovinguy, I went with sides half way down, so that should keep a lot of the rain off.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

sjharris53 said:


> I am really envious of those of you who don't have rust issues with your steel trailers! In the year I have had mine, rust spots are popping up in several places, and the trailer is only two years old.


IMHO...that's indicative of a quality issue (bad prep, bad paint, or both), not necessarily anything to do with the fact the trailer is getting wet. If you're having rust issues with a 2 year old trailer based on rain alone there's nothing that's going to solve that - I'd be contacting the manufacturer as that's not normal and it'll continue no matter what you do.

Car body panels are made of steel as well but are heavily prepped and painted..which is why you don't see the same rust popping up everywhere on a 2 year old car like you're experiencing with your trailer.


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## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

Anybody use one like this?


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## sjharris53 (Jan 31, 2010)

PrivatePilot said:


> IMHO...that's indicative of a quality issue (bad prep, bad paint, or both), not necessarily anything to do with the fact the trailer is getting wet. If you're having rust issues with a 2 year old trailer based on rain alone there's nothing that's going to solve that - I'd be contacting the manufacturer as that's not normal and it'll continue no matter what you do.
> 
> Car body panels are made of steel as well but are heavily prepped and painted..which is why you don't see the same rust popping up everywhere on a 2 year old car like you're experiencing with your trailer.


Good point, Private Pilot! While the rust spots aren't huge, size of a nickel or smaller, there are more than there should be on a trailer this age. Time to take some pictures and contact the manufacturer.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Good luck and let us know how it goes – unfortunately I fear you might find them not so excited about dealing with the issue, like I said it's my experience that premature rust on painted steel is usually a direct result of lack of preparation or corner cutting during the paint process. When done right, short of something damaging the paint and letting rust get a foothold, or extremely corrosive agents being introduced (AKA, road salt, if you're in the rust belt and tow your trailer in he winter months) this shouldn't be happening...but it all comes back to initial quality, and unfortunately there's a lot of companies making steel trailers (and not just horse trailers but boat trailers, utility trailers, snowmobile trailers, etc etc that just skip or fast forward through a lot of the preparation and careful painting that is essential for avoiding rust...and once it's started to show up through the paint it's almost impossible to stop - it'll grow in those spots no matter how dry you try to keep the trailer (even the moisture in the air on a humid day will "feed" it) and other spots are very likely going to follow. 

The only true solution is to sandblast the trailer back to bare steel, 10000% eliminate any rust including even light surface rust (which can pop up in mere hours on bare unprotected metal even on a being sunny day) and then prime and paint again. 

Usually where things fall apart when it comes to steel trailers is in the latter half of the above paragraph – after construction is complete trailers are often left for a period of time before moving to the paint shop, and then inadequate prep is done on the steel before it is painted...and that minuscule amount of rust that they have chosen to just paint over versus remove beforehand ends up causing these problems down the road. The trailer looks great on the dealers lot but there's little time-bombs hidden under that shiny paint. 

If it's a reputable manufacturer I'm hoping that they will stand behind their product and help you out, however the Internet is littered with stories of manufacturers who will simply place the blame on you or just outright refuse to even acknowledge the problem. 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad or unwanted news, but it is what it is. I'm not suggesting that any steel trailer will still look brand-new 10 or 20 years down the road (Although that's not unheard of, look at farm implements and tractors, the manufacturers pride themselves on good paint and their equipment seldom rusts severely, much less prematurely - there's lots of 10, 20, 30+++year old steel tractors out here with original paint still) but that sort of rust on a 2 year old trailer that hasn't been exposed to a single this aside from rain...well, that's abnormal.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I hope this is not hijacking the thread but...I assume rust is a chemical reaction between moisture and steel??? So if a piece of steel never got moisture on it, it would never rust even though it wasn't painted??? Also, if a piece of steel did get moisture on it and you dried it immediately, that would also not rust??? (I'm just trying to get my head around these concepts)

If that is the case with regard to those nasty little spots that are the cause of angst, does it mean the paint is somehow holding the moisture between itself and the steel - in other words, the paint has lifted; or does it mean the paint was so thinly applied to begin with that it was not waterproof?


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## mred (Jan 7, 2015)

Moisture is in the air. An unpainted surface can develope rust in a matter of minutes. Some of the newer primers convert the light rust to a paintable surface. If any rust is under the paint, it continues to rust. It will lift the paint. My 20 year old trailer is starting to show some rust spots. It has been kept outside most of the time. With some proper cleaning, primer, and fresh paint, it should look like new and can stay out another 20 years.

If the trailer is only two years old, I agree to contact the mfg. You may get some help on it.


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