Dry van trailers get their name from the fact that they keep cargo from spilling out of the trailer and protected from debris and unfavorable weather conditions.
Like all other machinery, these trailers are susceptible to damage and breaking down. As a business owner, you don’t have to wait for it to get to that point. Frequent dry van trailer checkups not only save you money on repair costs, but it enables them to serve you longer than expected as well.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you may try, an accident may occur and destroy some parts of the trailer. Instead of rushing to get a new one, you could put your repair skills into use and get them working again.
Here are some pointers on fixing the floor and walls of your dry van trailer:
1. Repairing the Walls of a Dry Van Trailer
Walls usually are trickier to repair than floors. They require the utmost precision and skill. If you haven’t got much experience with fixing trailers, a small hole is a task you can complete without much effort. Depending on the stain and level of damage, you’ll need to use different repair methods.
For a considerably small hole on the trailer wall:
- Use an appropriate household cleaner to wash off the grime in the damaged area
- For oil stains, remove them with isopropyl alcohol
- Cut a patch of aluminum that fits the size of the hole. Rotate the cut piece if necessary to get an accurate fit
- Fit the patch into the hole and speed up the binding process by heating it
- Should you notice any weakness in the new bind, strengthen it by inserting a block of Styrofoam between the patch and wall
- For total sealing, apply some sealant
2. Repairing a Dry Van Trailer Floor
Trailer floors are generally made of wood and metal. To fix a wooden floor:
- Remove any goods from the trailer if there are any and check the level of damage
- Have a look at the floor from beneath to confirm if any other boards require repair as well
- Put on a mask and gloves and cut the boards between cross-members using a circular saw
- Carefully lift and remove the affected sections. Ask for help if necessary to avoid injury
- Measure the vacant dimensions and install a new board that matches those measurements
- Fix the board using three screws for each cross-member
- Caulk up the butt joint
- Finally, stagger replacement boards if need be, while maintaining a limit of a butt joint for each cross-member
Fixing a dry van trailer isn’t as easy as it looks. For fast and professional repair of your trailer, Mickey’s fleet repair and maintenance services is the right choice.
At Mickey Parts, our trailer professionals have the required experience to tackle any challenge that dry van trailers may have.
We perform a thorough inspection of the finished trailer and offer you maintenance tips for the trailer upon your request.
Contact us on (877)948-7055 or email us on parts@mickeybody.com for more details and give us a try!