Rusted trailer

[Duke]

What kind of sign's would a rusted trailer give you?
Would that mean the boat's been in salt water?
How much rust is too much and what are other tips on figuring out if a boat's been in salt water or not.
I forgot to ask the owner..
its an '84

[mickeyfinn]

Would probably be something like this:

If it has one of these probably better to pass on it. jawdrop

[Duke]

hey,at least you replied, thanks for the info, i'll keep an eye out for that!!!

[Jet City]

My 1978 roadrunner trailer still has the original paint on it, there are areas of light surface rust where the paint has been chipped or scratched. I would consider this typical of a boat that has had freshwater use.

[victorfb]

a boat trailer that wasnt coated with zinc or some sort of rust prevention will rust like a mother in salt water use. and no, paint is not what i am talking about. if your really worried about the boat, then check that closely. forget about the trailer at this point. look at the pump real good. feel inside to see if there is alot of roughness/ corrosion. look at the wiring, and all the connections. look at the engine hardware, bolts, headers, and such. but try and look for places that you normally wouldnt look. thats most likely the places that werent cleaned, and taken care of. look under the helm, check the back of all the guages. pull a seat out and see if it has all stainless hardware/screws. if not, they will definatly be rusted to shit.(if used in salt water). i lived right on the cliffs of san pedro a while back which is basically a mile off shore if you concider it being on a point. and i can tell ya, my stuff rusted everywere. even my guitar strings rusted from the sea air coming in the windows. the boat never touched the salt water, but the trailer was murder to keep up. so dont get an idea of the boats condition from looking at the trailer. look closely at the boat. if its all good, RUN IT!!!

[Duke]

thanks for the feedback guys.
really appreciate it. check out my other post, i need to find a place i can take the boat and have them perform a compression and leak down test. thanks
DUKE!