I’ve found a good deal on a local 2006 Adams 2+1. How do I know if the aluminum floors are in good shape?
Pull up the mats and look at them. You’ll see the corrosion if there is any.
Thanks for the response! My current trailer is wood floor, never had aluminum before. Do folks really pull up mats and hose down the floor after every use even if shavings in the horses area to soak up the urine are removed after every haul?
Some do, some don’t. Ask the owner what they do, then look and see how it has worked out.
I would recommend regular inspections and/or I suggest if you’re up for it, get a sprayed lining like LineX etc on it if you have concerns.
Duplicate post
My 2004 Merhow 2 horse straight load (awesome trailer!) has an aluminum floor. The mats are laid such that the straight load has horizontal mats —there are three mats laid edge to edge --one at the back by the doors that extends to the middle, then the next one ends at the manger, and the third one at the tack area wall —so 3 mats 4’ wide to take up the 12’ horse compartment --so what, you say --well, to hose out the trailer after use, I need only “flip” over the back mat one side to the other, hose, and flip back. If at all possible I do that after each use (and I did that with my wooden floored trailer too --to keep it clean for horse! --but it was tons harder because the mats were vertical and one had to struggle to lift them up). FYI you don’t need to hose --a bucket of water will be enough to “flush” the trailer.
I check my floor each time I use it --well the back 1/3 anyway. The guys who service the brakes and bearings yearly, also pull out all the mats, check the floor, and power wash the inside -but then I live in the trailer capital of the world (Elkhart IN) where there’s a trailer service/repair place on every corner (really --six with in a mile of my house). So getting that kind of service is pretty easy for me.
If I could pick, I’d have a RUMBLER floor (I think that’s what it is called --kind of a rubber composite.) I do like a wood floor —but the aluminum is safe, too. OH, it took my easy-loading horses a few minutes to decide the trailer was not a microwave set to cook horse —when they put the first foot in, the aluminum floor made a “boom” sound —unlike wood. They are fine now, but took a little to get them use to it.
I have a 1997 Sooner with aluminum floors. You’ll want to pull up the mats and have a close look at floor for discoloration or pitting. Any irregularities in floor should be pretty obvious. Make sure you walk and jump inside trailer to make sure floor feels secure.
I don’t pull out mats every time but I will flip up back mat and rinse underneath it. Invest in a good pair of C clamps. That’s what I use to move my mats. I also liberally sprinkle baking soda under the mats. This helps to neutralize the acid in the urine so if you don’t get around to cleaning trailer out right away, it’s not as critical. I’ve found my trailer smells much better since I started using the baking soda.
I have a 1999 C&C with an aluminum floor that I’ve cared for its whole life.
It has those three mats like Foxglove’s trailer has (i think). I haven’t had lots of pee in there, but I do put shavings in the back part to soak that up if I think a horse will pee. I have had a flood or two. I try to spray the trailer out after this happens. I have the mats taken out and everything pressure washed once a year. I look at the floors then,
I have seen some discoloration, but nothing significant. I will say that just this past year, I found a spot up front where the glue/seal that attached the aluminum to the cross member up by where the horses’ front feet are had failed. And that meant that I could feel a sip in the aluminum where the horses’ front feet were. I lost my mind and crawled underneath, with an aluminum welder and expert to make sure the metal wasn’t failing. He riveted the aluminum on to that crossmember and the problem was solved. There as no sign of the metal’s beginning to fail when we looked at it. But my goal was to not have the sheet of metal continue to flex. I think that would cause a failure.
This is a well-built trailer and I think it’s safe now. But I just wanted to let you know that you might look for a different kind of problem somewhere other than the pee section. I think that walking around on the floor and feeling for spongy spots and taking the mats out so that you can look directly at the metal will tell you what you need to know. And my problem was in a trailer that was an honest 19 years old at the time.
Hard to tell from your photo if the discoloration is just stains. I bought a 1995 aluminum trailer when it was about 15 years old. Took the mats out and poked a screwdriver all over that floor, crawled underneath to look at welds, etc. No issues, I still do that every year, it’s going strong. My horse never has peed in there, I use shavings for manure and clean it out each time (1 or 2 times a week).
There is a clear coating you can paint on the floor, a friend did that, some sort of epoxy sealant maybe? I’ve never felt the need. Hope the trailer looked good when you visited!
also if the Adams is a coated steel frame/aluminum floor, you want to get UNDER the trailer and look for corrosion where they meet (not a bad idea regardless).
Just to clarify, I have NO idea if that was a feature of Adams trailers, but it was a feature not just limited to Sundowners at that time, so better safe than sorry. Also, if you are wondering IF it is a steel frame trailer, a magnet will help, If it sticks to the frame (in the DR), there’s your answer.
In general, corrosion in aluminum won’t be orange - it will be white or grey. You’ll usually also see a texture difference - ie the corroded areas are grainy compared to the smooth uncorroded areas.
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