For dry van trailers, the power side is the main concern of most people during maintenance, and little attention is paid to the dry van trailer itself. But in fact, dry van trailers are also very important. If it is maintained in a good condition, dry van trailers can be used for 15-20 years and even have a longer lifespan. Therefore, maintaining dry van trailers is saving costs. If you find damage, not all places need to be repaired by professionals, and repairs can be done well by yourself.
Parts that can be repaired by yourself
Floor repair
The main purpose of a dry van trailer is to transport pallet goods. However, when lifting and moving the pallet, it is likely to cause the goods to fall accidentally, or even the whole pallet to fall. This will break the floor. But don’t worry, repairing the broken floor will be easier than you think, and you can even repair it yourself.
Repair steps:
- Empty the dry van trailer and inspect the floor damage from above.
- Cross-check the floor from below to identify if there are surrounding boards around that need to be replaced.
- Wear a mask and cut the board between the cross-members with a circular saw.
- Remove the damaged part.
- Install new boards of appropriate size.
- Attach the board using three screws per cross-member.
- Caulk the butt joint.
- Correctly stagger replacement boards, if necessary, with a limit of one butt joint per cross-member.
Trailer wall repair
If you want to completely repair the trailer wall, you may have some difficulties and need the help of professionals. But if you just want to repair the small hole in the trailer wall, you can do it yourself.
Repair steps:
- Clean the dirt and grime in the affected area with detergent.
- Remove traces of oil with isopropanol alcohol.
- Cut aluminum equivalent slightly larger than the small hole.
- Crop every corner at a 45-degree angle to eliminate any weakness.
- Heat the surface with a hot-air gun to accelerate the bonding.
- For extra support, insert a block of Styrofoam at an appropriate thickness between the inner wall and the aluminum patch.
- If a complete seal is not obtained, apply a sealant.
Find a professional to repair
The above are minor structural damage problems, which can be solved by yourself. However, other problems require more professional maintenance. And in this case, it’s best not to try to repair by yourself first, because it won’t cause more trouble in the future.
The following are the parts that are not suitable for us to repair the dry van trailer by ourselves:
- Suspension overhauls and rebuilds
- Gearwork, including rebuilds
- Roof repair & replacement
- Van bottom rail repair & replacement
- Laser axle alignments
- Welding & fabricating
- Wreck repair
- Water pumps
- Liftgate repair & installation
