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Galvanneal Horse Trailers [Texas] 

November 14, 2007

I am a aerospace engineer in the process of retiring in the next few years. My plans are to buy a light weight yet durable horse trailer with living quarters and start seeing parts of this great country by horse and mule. What are the pros and cons of buying a horse trailer made of galvanneal as opposed to aluminum? Weight? Corrosion Risistance? longivity? The galvanneal horse trailers that I have looked at have a five year warranty on the galvanneal material. What is the guarantee span for aluminum trailers? It is not clear in the specs for trailers that advertise galvanneal skins what the framework is made of. My concern is for dissimilar metal induced corrosion if the frames were made of steel or aluminum. I recently built a metal barn. I had the option of using galvanneal sheeting or galvanized. I opted for galvanized since I knew very little about galvanneal. Any comments or comparisons on this application would be appreciated.

Bill Peters
Aeronautical Engineer - Azle, Texas

Some people are aware of the problems of paint adhesion on galvanized surfaces, Bill. Galvanneal is essentially galvanized metal that has been heated and treated to optimize it for subsequent painting. Please visit finishing.com on your road trip, although our local roads are not exactly optimized for mule traffic except during rush hour :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ