Bulldog Coupler- what's underneath ?

[TonyT]

Just had a new Bulldog coupler welded on and noticed the ends of the a-frame are open underneath it. I don't recall looking under the old one so don't know if it looked similar or something covered the ends of the frame so they were not exposed? Not sure if this is an issue or not ... any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

[John in Santa Cruz]

my stock coupler is exactly the same way.

[TonyT]

Thanks John. Appreciate the reply and the picture. Now I'm not concerned I'm missing something! I drove through a campground nearby and did an informal survey ... most of the trailers I saw appeared to have some sort of a plate covering the openings, although some did not so wasn't sure.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by TonyT

Just had a new Bulldog coupler welded on and noticed the ends of the a-frame are open underneath it. I don't recall looking under the old one so don't know if it looked similar or something covered the ends of the frame so they were not exposed? Not sure if this is an issue or not ... any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

Interesting. I guess I'll block mine up, (once I know it dry). as I see it as rust looking to happen. Maybe spray some oil down in there first.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Chasing Trials

Interesting. I guess I'll block mine up, (once I know it dry). as I see it as rust looking to happen. Maybe spray some oil down in there first.

Fluid Film!

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

Fluid Film!

First thing I did when I brought my trailer home from a winter crossing was fluid film it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I'm from coastal california where 25-30 year old cars with 250000+ miles have virtually no rust unless you live within a couple blocks of the surf., so I'd never heard of the stuff until I was watching a mechanic's youtube vids from upstate new york and 5 year old cars are completrely rusted out underneath. he did an episode where he fluid filmed a customers recent acquisition, and I've also seen him use a aerosol can of it on smaller bits before assembly/install. my wife has bought a small car for her Massachussets little sister, which we'll be delivering next month, and I've already identified a shop close to her that does fluid film and seemed like good folks when I called to inquire, so this California Prius will get a full treatment as soon as it gets there. Its a 2016 Prius with 75000 miles that looks like a new car inside and out, top and bottom, spent its life in Monterey commuting to the SF Bay 'Peninsula' area, so lots of easy highway miles.

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I'm from coastal california where 25-30 year old cars with 250000+ miles have virtually no rust unless you live within a couple blocks of the surf., so I'd never heard of the stuff until I was watching a mechanic's youtube vids from upstate new york and 5 year old cars are completrely rusted out underneath. he did an episode where he fluid filmed a customers recent acquisition, and I've also seen him use a aerosol can of it on smaller bits before assembly/install. my wife has bought a small car for her Massachussets little sister, which we'll be delivering next month, and I've already identified a shop close to her that does fluid film and seemed like good folks when I called to inquire, so this California Prius will get a full treatment as soon as it gets there. Its a 2016 Prius with 75000 miles that looks like a new car inside and out, top and bottom, spent its life in Monterey commuting to the SF Bay 'Peninsula' area, so lots of easy highway miles.

It works great on trailer frames. Needs reapplied once a year or two. When I bought my escape in 2017 I found a 2004 f150 with 37000 miles on it without a spec of rust. It had been a garage queen and was perfect tow for the 21c. I fluid filmed it every year, I live in Ohio the land of salted roads. I sold it last fall with 90,000miles on it and still not a spec of rust underneath. Fluid film or wool wax is used heavily on farm equipment. I believe it is lanolin based. I bought a gallon and a cheap sprayer for my trailer.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by oldwave

It works great on trailer frames. Needs reapplied once a year or two. When I bought my escape in 2017 I found a 2004 f150 with 37000 miles on it without a spec of rust. It had been a garage queen and was perfect tow for the 21c. I fluid filmed it every year, I live in Ohio the land of salted roads. I sold it last fall with 90,000miles on it and still not a spec of rust underneath. Fluid film or wool wax is used heavily on farm equipment. I believe it is lanolin based. I bought a gallon and a cheap sprayer for my trailer.

the trailer in my hitch photo is a 2014, and hasn't been properly cleaned in years, and has been driven all over the west, trips to Utah, Washington/Oregon, and all over California.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

my wife has bought a small car for her Massachussets little sister, which we'll be delivering next month, and I've already identified a shop close to her that does fluid film and seemed like good folks when I called to inquire, so this California Prius will get a full treatment as soon as it gets there. Its a 2016 Prius with 75000 miles that looks like a new car inside and out, top and bottom, spent its life in Monterey commuting to the SF Bay 'Peninsula' area, so lots of easy highway miles.

I just found a 2016 Prius V (dogs) 35,000 miles on it!? Looks like new too, The proverbial, little old Lady who drove it to Church on Sundays! I've never bought such a "old" used vehicle. But it's a Toyota. I've covered it all up for the dogs. 1st car since 1988, when I sold my 62 Falcon.

[John in Santa Cruz]

hah, ours is a 'V too. turns out a replacement nicad HV battery pack is only about $2000 for these, and not /that/ hard to DIY. If you bring it by a toyota-competent indie mechanic, they can test the life of the batteries. ours, afaik original, still has 80%, the mechanic said that was probably because it was from mild weathered Pacific Grove. Getting 45 MPG on these requires driving it very mellow, its pretty easy to be in the low 30s if you push it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

btw, speaking of buying old cars, I've had a pretty long run of decent luck with older cars... in the early 2010s I was driving a 1992 Volvo 740 that had 270,000 when I sold it to my son's GF circa 2015.


We had a 1990, 1993, and 1994 Mercedes, all with 250K+ miles, the 94 wagon had 280K+ when we sold it still in excellent running condition, and pretty good cosmetic.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

btw, speaking of buying old cars, I've had a pretty long run of decent luck with older cars... in the early 2010s I was driving a 1992 Volvo 740 that had 270,000 when I sold it to my son's GF circa 2015.


We had a 1990, 1993, and 1994 Mercedes, all with 250K+ miles, the 94 wagon had 280K+ when we sold it still in excellent running condition, and pretty good cosmetic.

Old vehicles have character.
The Falcon, was a odd buy(my other vehicle was a company Van FULL of construction tools & supplies living/driving on a mile long dirt road, the noise!!!). My Brother fixed it up when living with me. Then asked if he could buy a 1966 Mustang to fix up. He did it once, I said OK. I then offered to buy the Falcon with "life time" repairs, as I knew he needed cash for Mustang parts. Photo for Mustang Magazine, with my homebred "mustang".

[ericbirk]

Fluidfilm works good but I found it too thin to really last. For external applications CRC SP-400 works really well. Its akin to Cosmoline. Any guy who has purchased an older Russian rifle understands the durability of that stuff!!
CRC SP-400 Corrosion Inhibitor, 284 Grams - 73282

For internal tube applications Pro Form Wax Based Rustproofing is another option. Sprays well, runs into crevices, then partially dries to stay in place. I found out about this stuff from a body shop supply store, I figured if it was good enough for them. There are multiple companies that make similar stuff.

[Ron in BC]

As far as the open tube end on an Escape frame goes, I have zero concerns. It's heavy wall and I don't recall anyone having a internal rust issue to deal with. Surface exterior cosmetic rust, yes, but internal and structural, no.

I'd leave it ventilated. Undo a bolt in your spare tire holder and see what pours out from the sealed rear bumper.

I was more concerned about the space frame that I made. It's thin metal and some folks that have made space frames like this have put film protection inside. I didn't and the cars been on the road now for 12 years and there's no indication of any rust problem.

Ron