Four Tips for Minimising Damage When You Are Storing a Trailer Outside
If you have a utility trailer, but you don't have room in your garage to store it, you will have to store it outside. Unfortunately, the elements can be hard on a trailer, but with the right approach, you can minimise potential damage and store your trailer safely.
Here is what you need to keep in mind:
1. Prepare the frame for storage by painting over scratches.
If you have scratches in the frame, paint over them before putting the trailer in storage. Paint prevents moisture from getting into the scratches and causing rust.
If you already have rust on the trailer's frame, use a scraper or some fine grit sandpaper to remove as much as possible. Then consider painting over the area to stop the spread.
2. Consider tipping up the trailer.
Rust is exacerbated by water. To prevent water from sitting on your trailer, consider tipping it upright when you store it so that the rain can roll off of it. If you have a shed or a garage that you can lean your trailer against, use a winch or a pulley to hoist the trailer upright, and use a safety strap to hold it in place.
A safety strap is a heavy duty strap designed to hold heavy loads. You will need to screw two hooks into your building (one on either side of the trailer). Then, you simply loop the safety strap around the trailer and through the hooks.
3. Do not use a tarp to cover the trailer.
If you store the trailer upright against a garage, barn or shed, the eaves of the building will hang over it and provide some protection from the rain. If there are not overhanging eaves, or if you have to store your trailer sitting on the ground, do not use a tarp to cover it.
Tarps are prone to condensation. Essentially, the water from the ground turns into water vapor as it evaporates, and then, the vapor rises and hits the top of the tarp. There, it turns into droplets, and finally, the water falls onto the metal frame of your trailer, potentially causing damage.
Instead, use a piece of roofing material over the trail. You can do this by stacking up some concrete blocks at each corner of the trailer and then laying a piece of sheet metal over them so that it shields the trailer while resting on the blocks.
4. Use a concrete pad.
Instead of sitting your trailer on the moist ground, set it on a concrete pad. If you are leaning your trailer against a building, a few patio paving stones can make a great, small concrete pad for the part of the trailer that touches the ground. The concrete reduces the potential of moisture in the ground migrating up onto your trailer.