Maintenance when hauling salt The Trout River trailer is designed for hauling many different materials, some of which have corrosive properties. These can drastically reduce life, and increase maintenance needed on the trailer, and conveyor. This page outlines relatively cheap, and simple maintenance that can be done to increase the longevity of your trailer, and conveyor, when hauling salt. • • •
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Trout Rivers live bottoms all have seals on the sides, and front of the belt, as well as the tailgate These seals work well for keeping coarse materials, such as sand, dirt, etc. out of the conveyor The seals are not waterproof, and small dust particles may make their way through o This means that if salt, whether damp, or dry and dusty, will migrate through the seals to some extent, and will be much worse if seals are in bad condition o For this reason, we recommend that the belt seals be inspected regularly, and replaced when necessary Because some salt can make it through the seals to the conveyor chain, we recommend washing the conveyor chain every 1-2 weeks of steady hauling, each time being followed by a heavy oiling of the chain (chain should still be oiled daily besides this oiling) o Washing the chain is done with a pressure washer, through the inspection doors, with the conveyor on o While pressure washing it wouldn’t hurt to wash any other areas of the trailer where salt may be sitting Regularly apply a rust inhibiting grease/spray on electrical, and hydraulic connections to resist corrosion of these components At the end of each “salt hauling season” we recommend thoroughly washing the trailer and conveyor, inside and out. Once water from washing is dry, a heavy undercoating should be applied to prevent rust and corrosion
The following of these few simple steps could easily double the life of your trailer and conveyor, and cut down on maintenance.
Luke Hierlihy luke@troutriverindustries.ca