# Ramlin trailer issues



## TheAdamsProject (Oct 29, 2007)

Mine started doing the same thing at 6mo. Dry launched only, garage kept and I take very good care of my stuff. It is frustrating.


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## Bryson Turner (May 3, 2017)

It will keep happening. The only way you will ever get away from that is powdercoating your wheels. The reason its doing that is because of your stianless lug nuts. Stainless and Aluminium dont mix and causes corrosion issues.


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## TwitchAO (Feb 18, 2019)

Bryson Turner said:


> It will keep happening. The only way you will ever get away from that is powdercoating your wheels. The reason its doing that is because of your stianless lug nuts. Stainless and Aluminium dont mix and causes corrosion issues.


I will be buying a new boat soon and getting the Ramlin trailer. I was going to get the alloy wheels. I thought this would be a nice upgrade as I put quite a few miles on the trailer in a year(mostly pulling on the interstate). Will Corrosion x help with this or would steel wheels be a better long term choice?


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## csnaspuck (Apr 2, 2013)

Same here but they still look better than galvanized wheels so I live with it. I am surprised Ramlin has offered to replace them. Maybe I should call.


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

This is BS excuse my language. We pay for a “quality” product as advertised that is defective. Ram-Lin says they will only replace your wheels once but can’t guarantee it won’t happen again.


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## TwitchAO (Feb 18, 2019)

I have heard anti seize can help this quite a bit


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## Finsleft258 (Oct 7, 2018)

It's filiform corrosion. It has nothing to do with the lug nuts. Water has migrated through a holiday in the coating (there is a clear coat on all cast aluminum wheels), and is now tracking back. (edited for typo)


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

Finsleft258 said:


> It's filiform corrosion. It has nothing to do with the lug nuts. Water has migrated through a holiday in the coating (there is a clear coat on all cast aluminum wheels), and is not tracking back.


This is the explanation they gave - not lugs


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## Finsleft258 (Oct 7, 2018)

Coatings, when applied, will build in valleys and flat surfaces but will naturally thin out on edges. The wheels have edges in the lug locations and also, the machine marks you see constitute edges as well--a perpetual peak-and-valley. Those things are set up for failure before Ramlin ever gets their hands on them.


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## Swe (Apr 19, 2017)

See it on most alloy rims for trailers eventually. I don’t waste money on them now cause it’s frustrating. Got my last Ramlin with basic galvanized rims screw it !!


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

So these wheels are inevitably going to corrode under the clear coat. Makes sense for bad design.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

I would think that Ramlin would take care of that for you if you call and talk with them.


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

My current RamLin has the full black out package. It is a galvanized trailer with galvanized wheels, all coated in an industrial strength black urethane coating. 5 years old, no noticeable corrosion. My new skiff will have the same thing for sure.


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

I’ve had two aluminum ramlins on two different skiffs. Both of them had the same thing happen on the wheels. Not Ramlin fault. My current Ramlin is galvanized and coated black so the wheels are now protected. Though it is heavier than my previous trailers, it pulls a lot better IMO.


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## State fish rob (Jan 25, 2017)

Remove clear coat before it gets worse. Moisture getting trapped underneath. It will etch the wheel before long . if you ease the edge ( 45°) of lug hole it will hold the clear coat.radius edge holds it even better,the clear coat thins out on sharp edges .not much clear coat on the peak of a 90° corner


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## Half Shell (Jul 19, 2016)

Frustrating but new wheels are like $35 each on etrailer. You could replace both with labor for $100 which about what dinner cost tonight. It's not worth spending the time, money, or energy to fight it.


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

State fish rob said:


> Remove clear coat before it gets worse. Moisture getting trapped underneath. It will etch the wheel before long . if you ease the edge ( 45°) of lug hole it will hold the clear coat.radius edge holds it even better,the clear coat thins out on sharp edges .not much clear coat on the peak of a 90° corner


when I spoke to ram-lin they said they would replace the wheels with shallower edges like you are describing but they can’t guarantee it will not happen again. It’s all about moisture not saltwater contact. My spare sitting on the front of the trailer is even getting the corrosion!


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

Alonso I think this is ram-lins fault. They continue to use the defective wheels they know about this issue.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Read through this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry... Anyone that buys one of these very nice looking trailers - is actually sacrificing looks for durability (serious understatement...). Anyone that does a lot trailering (me, I'm in the 20,000+ miles per year category - year after year...) is well aware of the limits of aluminum around a salt environment - particularly when you add galvanic corrosion by having dis-similar metals in close contact (stainless lugs against aluminum...). Aluminum trailer frames work quite well (as long as you keep thin plastic washers between any dis-similar metals - something you can't do with lug nuts....). Aluminum wheels? not for me - not under any circumstances... Structurally they'll hold up - but forget about appearance once that first tiny bit of corrosion gets started... 

To put it mildly that's what you get using aluminum wheels around the salt, period. No, it's not likely to cause breakage - but yes, it doesn't look very nice... On top of it all I see folks perfectly willing to "hold Ramlin accountable" .... As you can guess I'm not allowed on any juries - under most circumstances... but the thought of some young legal type suing the maker of an aluminum trailer for not holding up to saltwater corrosion is just laughable....


Your choices - go to galvanized steel (a bit heavier - but much stronger, and problems with rust are predictable - but treatable...) and find out that it's actually a cheaper alternative to the much prettier, lighter weight aluminum...

For those that choose aluminum you can greatly delay the onset of any corrosion issues by carefully spraying the area around any lug nuts with Corrosion Block (or something similar) from day one -and every time you wash that trailer re-apply once the wheels are dry...


In comparison my old beat up galvanized trailer will go another 100 or 200,000 miles (it already has more than 250,000 miles on it) without me worrying in the slightest about how it looks... We replaced the axle at around 200,000 miles, and one cross member at about 150,000 miles... but that's the extent of any major parts worry for me.... One other minor point is that when we replaced that axle - it still had the original bearings working just fine (oil bath hubs -very carefully never dunked, launching or retrieving...).

Like most I greatly admire Hells Bay skiffs - and the carefully crafted trailers they sit on... but for durability towing an average 200 miles a day commuting back and forth to Flamingo or Chokoloskee from my home (a measured 93 miles one way from Broward down to either location...)... I'm just not a fan of those pretty trailers.


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## csefiroth0 (Mar 25, 2011)

Thank you for the (long) lesson. The wheels are corroding in 5 months with proper care because of the sharp edges design around the lug nuts not just because they are aluminum. If the design is rust prone why sell on your product is all I’m saying. Nobody said anything about suing.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Sorry if I jumped the gun a bit about lawsuits (but then, living and working in south Florida, lawsuits are usually what follows when someone says "hold them accountable"....). 

Hope you're able to sort out your problem.


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## Finsleft258 (Oct 7, 2018)

Early-to-mid '90s Ford Ranger alloy wheels. 14" and fit trailer hubs. All aluminum, no clear coat. 

OR

Galvanized wheels.


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## Barbs_deep (Jul 4, 2010)

I don't think it is the wheels. My last HB had an aluminum Ramlin trailer and these exact wheels with zero problems.

The only difference was that I had hubs that you get from the hardware store with non stainless lugnuts. Ramlin uses an aluminum backing plate and stainless lugs/lugnuts on new trailers. 

On this HB/ Ramlin. My wheels started showing corrosion a few months in, including the spare.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Dissimilar metals and saltwater don’t work very well together unless you use TefGel on the surfaces to create a barrier.


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