Gelcoat Chips on a 5.0TA

[padlin]

If anyone is interested... I just cleaned and waxed the front of the trailer. After about 30k miles the lower front is getting chipped up some, not terrible but more then I care for. Some of the chips remove up to 1/8" hole in the gelcoat, most are considerably smaller. The underlying fiberglass does not looked dinged at all. If one were to try and prevent this with some sort of plastic coating the picture shows the line below which almost all of the chips are located.

The frame gets nicked up too. I had gone over it with POR-15 last summer, even that has some new chips after this winters 10k mile trip.

[CoolCampingKid]

Wow Bob that is a bummer. Sounds like your TV is kicking up rocks. I personally would make sure you had mud flaps on your truck. I have seen a clear plastic product that comes in a sheet and you can apply it to the hoods of cars. It has a tad bit of thickness to it that helps it resist the small rock strikes. I think it is called clear car bra films. You can wash and was it just like the rest of the vehicle! Let us know what you decided to do .... Bill
Paint Protection Film - 3M Paint Protection | ClearMask | Headlight Protection | Invisible Mask | Ventureshield - clearmask.com

[cpaharley2008]

Do you have mud flaps on your truck, I think they help with this issue.

[steve dunham]

Marine dealers sell tubes of gel coat repair resin for patching chips .
About $5 a tube . Have used it on the front of my trailer on several occasions . I've had mud flaps on my truck since day one , they do help prevent chips but I still get a few now and then.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by CoolCampingKid

Sounds like your TV is kicking up rocks. I personally would make sure you had mud flaps on your truck.

I have Weathertech rear mud flaps, I'm sure they stop a lot of the stones, but certainly not all, and I'm not going with one of those huge mud flaps that hangs on the receiver.

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Marine dealers sell tubes of gel coat repair resin for patching chips .
About $5 a tube . Have used it on the front of my trailer on several occasions . I've had mud flaps on my truck since day one , they do help prevent chips but I still get a few now and then.

Something like this? 9 Second Chip Fix | MagicEzy


There are compound curves on the Escape, don't know if I could use the sheet products on it. I have seen the pro's on Utube using heat guns and such but that's above my pay grade.

[Jim Bennett]

I already have an appointment to do the 3M Protection on my trailer.

Bob, did you find any gelcoat chips inside the frame? How far up would you go with the protection, not that it matters a lot, as it is transparent.

[padlin]

Yes, there are chips inside the frame tubes. If you were to have the same level done all the way across starting where the sides start to curve towards the front and go up to a couple inches above the side markers (I'm taking it the new body style have them about the same height as the old) you'd take care of almost all chips. You could skip the LP hatch itself, no chips in it, just below it where it's curved. There is only 1 chip on one side above the line I show. I can measure up from the bottom if needed.

A few other spots... the bumper ends, from the end to the frame on the forward surface, looks to get blasted with stones from the wheels.

Forward surface of the step.

Forward surface of the frame cross member just under the LP hatch.

The wheel wells are marked up but it doesn't seem to be chipped like the front. More like tar and such, you can feel them with your hand, like sand, doesn't wash off and they are too hard to get to to take the buffer to them.

[gharper]

If you use your trailer on roads with winter pea gravel on the edges or on on gravel roads it's virtually impossible to avoid gel coat chips and dings in metal frame and bumper. I have found the rock guards that connect to the hitch perhaps work best but are a pain and we only use them if travelling long distances on gravel roads with a trailer. Better mud flaps help a little bit, travelling slower also helps. I think the 3M protective film to cover exposed areas is a very good idea. West Marine sells several gel coat repair kits, after you repair a few spots it gets easier to do.https://www.westmarine.com/gelcoat-repair

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by padlin

Yes, there are chips inside the frame tubes. If you were to have the same level done all the way across starting where the sides start to curve towards the front and go up to a couple inches above the side markers (I'm taking it the new body style have them about the same height as the old) you'd take care of almost all chips. You could skip the LP hatch itself, no chips in it, just below it where it's curved. There is only 1 chip on one side above the line I show. I can measure up from the bottom if needed.

A few other spots... the bumper ends, from the end to the frame on the forward surface, looks to get blasted with stones from the wheels.

Forward surface of the step.

Forward surface of the frame cross member just under the LP hatch.

The wheel wells are marked up but it doesn't seem to be chipped like the front. More like tar and such, you can feel them with your hand, like sand, doesn't wash off and they are too hard to get to to take the buffer to them.

Thanks for the input, Bob. I had not considered going between the frame, but maybe should.