# Protecting frequently used trailer from rain



## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I'm in So Cal, and my old trailer leaks like a sieve. So far I have had no problem tarping it when it does rain, but I just was informed by another reader here that they are getting an old trailer that the seller sealed with white roof coating. I have some other posts up about this coating, and am going to try to get my trailer coated as soon as I can.


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Spend an afternoon to fix it and forget it. All you need is a tube of sealant, a gun, a big step ladder, a putty knife to scrape the old stuff off and a bottle of Goof Off to remove any residue.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

The roof isn't leaking at all- for the horse area, it's the slats (think windows that can't be closed), and in the tack room it's the door. 

The whole trailer (before the door was improved; it had 1/2" gaps on all sides of the door)









And the only picture I have showing the 'after' of the door. They fit aluminum edges along the door and lined them on the inside with weather stripping. It _seems_ like a very tight fit but water still manages to get through, particularly in heavy rain.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

That's tough. Please let us know if you are able to figure this out.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I'd do the sealant (as Left Hand mentioned) on the seams; if the tack room door is letting water in, I'd look at putting (the right sort of glue should work) rubber stripping up on the inside of the frame -- when you close the door its sealed and when you open it you see the stripping hanging over the edge. So, if I've understood you're description of what the autobody folks did, you would now have their stripping on the outside and yours on the inside.

Are there channels on the inside of the trailer by the side openings? If there are then it's a case of getting some plexiglass, cut it to size and slide it in the channels. This will stop most of the water (or snow) from coming into the interior and the plexiglass can be removed easily enough for warm weather travelling, etc. If there are not, then you may wish to consider having a welder put some in for you -- it's pretty straight forward in that the channels are basically strips of L-shaped metal stuck on running parallel to the window opening.

Otherwise, I think that's a handy looking trailer to have.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I would worry more about your floor than your roof, and I agree with the advice of resealing it. Get those rubber mats out of your trailer whenEVER there is no horse in it! You will lose your floor. Our first trailer (brand new) had a wooden floor that wasn't sealed properly and we had to replace it 3 years later. When we replaced the floor we heavily sealed it with Thompson's water seal. I have a new, steel trailer, and every time I need to seal wood I seal it OVER my trailer floor so that the excess seeps into THAT wood and isn't wasted.
I always clean my trailer after every use and remove the mats. I don't know if you board, but if your horses are in the back yard you can store your trailer mats in the barn aisles. They will suffer less wear and tear from the weather and be ready to put back in CLEAN.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Corporal said:


> I would worry more about your floor than your roof, and I agree with the advice of resealing it. Get those rubber mats out of your trailer whenEVER there is no horse in it! You will lose your floor. Our first trailer (brand new) had a wooden floor that wasn't sealed properly and we had to replace it 3 years later. When we replaced the floor we heavily sealed it with Thompson's water seal. I have a new, steel trailer, and every time I need to seal wood I seal it OVER my trailer floor so that the excess seeps into THAT wood and isn't wasted.
> I always clean my trailer after every use and remove the mats. I don't know if you board, but if your horses are in the back yard you can store your trailer mats in the barn aisles. They will suffer less wear and tear from the weather and be ready to put back in CLEAN.


I am definitely more worried about my floor than my roof  I'm just wondering if by trying to keep the floor dry I'm essentially destroying the roof in the process?

Sealing the boards sounds like a good idea. I will probably have to wait until spring to do it (I'm assuming the boards should be reasonably dry before applying any sealant to them), but will definitely get it on my to-do list.

I board and don't have anywhere to put the mats if I were to pull them out. I do roll them up with some straps and pile them in the center of the trailer anytime I don't anticipate using the trailer for more than a couple weeks, but that's not often. They're really heavy and it's very difficult to manipulate them by myself. I honestly can't see myself moving the mats in and out that often.

I also don't have a good way to thoroughly clean out my trailer after each use, which does annoy me a little bit. I remove the manure and sweep it out each time, but I can't my trailer close to the outdoor wash rack this time of year without getting my truck stuck in mud as that area isn't graveled. I've considered looking for a DIY car wash every once in a while (not sure any of these still exist!) but I'm also a bit hesitant to hose it down knowing it won't dry out in our weather, even if the mats were taken out.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Regarding the mats--did they come with the trailer? Or, did you buy them for the trailer? I use 1/4 inch mats in my trailer and I learned that rolling them as tight as humanly possible makes them stiff, and then I can grab each end with each hand and carry them out of the trailer.
When you check that floor in the Spring, buy some knee pads, use a good flashlight and REALLY go over the floor with a fine toothed comb, so to speak. It's very difficult to look underneath your trailer, but you could get a cheap mirror and do THAT, too. When the wood meets up with the metal is where the floor rots first. My roof doesn't leak, but I, too, have the slats and some weather gets in.
If you floor looks pretty good, put about 3 coats of water seal on it. Rustoleum has a new all surface water seal and you might try that. It may take you several weeks to get this done bc I have had to wait one full week at times for water seal to dry.
I'm rooting for you. My biggest trailer problem is the wiring! It never is 100%, and I have bought a pair of lights that I can hook into a Marine battery in the tack room that have strong magnets on them, so that if my lights go out--never the brakes, ALWAYS the lights!!--I can have lights on the back of my dark blue trailer. They won't show a turn signal, but they will make me visible at night in a pinch. They were $12.99 at Harbor Freight.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Corporal said:


> Regarding the mats--did they come with the trailer? Or, did you buy them for the trailer? I use 1/4 inch mats in my trailer and I learned that rolling them as tight as humanly possible makes them stiff, and then I can grab each end with each hand and carry them out of the trailer.


Yes, they came with the trailer. I bought the trailer new and the mats are very nice, very thick (3/4" I think) mats with a textured non-slip surface. There are two rectangular mats and one smaller wedge shaped piece at the front (for the slant). The wedge is easy to manage, but the large rectangular ones are probably ~75 lbs each :shock:



> When you check that floor in the Spring, buy some knee pads, use a good flashlight and REALLY go over the floor with a fine toothed comb, so to speak. It's very difficult to look underneath your trailer, but you could get a cheap mirror and do THAT, too. When the wood meets up with the metal is where the floor rots first. My roof doesn't leak, but I, too, have the slats and some weather gets in.
> If you floor looks pretty good, put about 3 coats of water seal on it. Rustoleum has a new all surface water seal and you might try that. It may take you several weeks to get this done bc I have had to wait one full week at times for water seal to dry.


Would it make sense to try taking the boards out when I go to seal them? Is that something that you can do on most trailers? TBH I haven't really looked at how they're secured in there.



> I'm rooting for you. My biggest trailer problem is the wiring! It never is 100%, and I have bought a pair of lights that I can hook into a Marine battery in the tack room that have strong magnets on them, so that if my lights go out--never the brakes, ALWAYS the lights!!--I can have lights on the back of my dark blue trailer. They won't show a turn signal, but they will make me visible at night in a pinch. They were $12.99 at Harbor Freight.


Sounds like a good thing to have handy! I had some loose wiring on one of my tail lights right after I got the trailer, but fortunately nothing has gone wrong since then :knock on wood:


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

OMGosh! IF you can take the boards out, DO SO!! I can't do this unless I hire some help to wedge the steel lips up.
*FOR THOSE READING THIS THREAD ONLY: *
You can't love your horse if you don't take care of the floor of the trailer he rides in. I know that I couldn't live with myself if I hurt my horse bc he fell through the trailer floor! It takes time to train them to trust the trailer you put them in. 
To the OP: But, I can understand that you haven't had the time, or the trailer owning experience to know exactly what to do.
YES, take the boards out, thoroughly examine them and REPLACE any that even LOOK suspicious! Give the old boards away to somebody who gardens bc raised beds are the "thing" now, and I use 2 x 8's and 2 x 10's and 2 x 12's for my many garden beds.
Did you know that you can buy wood that is encased with plastic? I think if I had to replace my whole floor I'd spend the extra money and buy those. This type of "wood" is used on boardwalks for beaches and designed to handle year around weather. 
Just a thought. =D


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