Across the broad spectrum of maintenance issues facing fleets, vehicle corrosion is one of the more bothersome, requiring persistent effort and a considerable amount of money to control and correct.
Corrosion is a catchall term that covers a range of problems, including rust, tarnish, pitting, chalking and scaling. Technically, corrosion is decay resulting from a chemical or electromagnetic reaction between a metal and its environment. The process cannot be eliminated, but it can be minimized with proper equipment spec’ing and preventative maintenance practices.
The biggest contributors to corrosion are the three varieties of chloride commonly used to deice roads. Sodium chloride (salt), the original melting agent, was first tried during the 1930s, and it became the treatment of choice for highway crews within a decade. In the mid ‘90s, however, snow-belt states were looking for environmentally friendlier—and cheaper —alternatives, and they started switching to calcium chloride and magnesium chloride after early studies indicated that the pair was less harmful to roadside vegetation, offered better low-temperature performance and extended longevity on road surfaces. The popularity of these newcomers grew quickly, and they’re now the standard deicing agents where such products are needed. Unfortunately, as truckers learned soon after the products’ introduction, they are as brutal on trucks and trailers as they are on ice and snow.
Complaints about the corrosive effects of the newer chloride treatments have flooded state and local departments of transportation almost from the start. Stories of widespread and unprecedented trouble abound: Chrome and painted surfaces are stained; aluminum is pitted, electrical wiring and fixtures dissolve; and large structural bolts and braces crumble.
Various agencies and organizations have worked hard during the past decade to combat the issue. In 1999, the Colorado Department of Transportation commissioned one of the first in-depth studies, which was conducted by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Foundation. Since then, the ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council has focused a great deal of attention on the matter, setting up a study group, aptly titled the Corrosion Abatement Task Force, to come up with solutions.
Manufacturers are also active on this front, working individually and in concert with industry associations to develop new corrosion-resistant products and testing procedures. Results of these efforts include (in alphabetical order):
Alcoa Wheel Products—The company’s Dura-Bright wheels, introduced in 1999, were updated with “XBR technology” in 2006. According to company information, these wheels are more corrosion resistant than their standard-issue counterparts because the surface is sealed, preventing the introduction of outside contaminants. Better yet, they don’t require polishing.
ArvinMeritor—PlatinumShield, announced last year, is an advanced coating for the company’s remanufactured brake shoes. It’s designed to prevent “rust jacking,” a persistent corrosion-related problem in which rust builds up between the metal shoes and their attached brake linings, causing the latter to deform or crack.
East Manufacturing—As of 2008, a moisture-barrier lighting system has been standard equipment on all of the company’s aluminum flatbed, dump and transfer trailers. It’s a return ground system (versus the traditional chassis-ground system) eliminating the poor connections that can occur between body, chassis and tractor fifth wheel.
Great Dane Trailers—CorroGuard, introduced in 2007, is designed to fully protect the underbody components of trailers. This is a thermoplastic coating that’s sprayed on suspensions and support gear. It’s said to be extremely durable, air tight and resistant to deicing chemicals, road debris, climate fluctuations and prolonged UV exposure.
SAF Holland—Black Armour is the company’s answer to corrosion resistance for trailer landing gear. Available since 2005, this coating is reportedly much more durable, flexible and protective than paint. According to the company, Black Armour provides a skin that’s 10 times more impervious to water than a swimming pool coating.
PACCAR—RoadLeveler, a PACCAR parts brand, announced in November a manufacturing technique for its new and relined brake shoes. The process starts with precision stamping, or “coining” of shoes to ensure an exact radius and depth. A special anti-corrosion enamel is then applied and baked at 200 degrees for several cycles.
Truck-Lite—The Super 50 junction box for trailers, launched in 2008, is made from chemical and impact resistant ABS plastic. It features a clear lid that allows easy inspection of wiring inside the box. The assembly is sealed from exterior contaminants. Four mounting holes on the base are eyelet-reinforced for increased durability.
Vanguard National Trailer—All three Vanguard models were upgraded with several anti-corrosion features in 2007: galvanized supports for Black Armour coated Holland landing gear (standard equipment) and anodized aluminum gladhands. The company also uses galvanized steel in door headers, sills, threshold plates, mud-flap brackets, front wall posts, bulkheads, logistics posts and roof bows.
Obviously, this list is just a sample of some of the more recent industrial efforts to quell road chemical-induced corrosion. It’s probably accurate to say that nearly all vehicular-
related manufacturers are refining their products in some way to deal with the issue. In doing so, of course, they must balance the cost and benefit of each improvement. There is a limit to the amount of money buyers are willing to spend for trucks, trailers and parts, no matter how well they’re made.
Absent something like a completely corrosion-resistant reefer van trailer—or intensified global warming that eliminates the need for deicing chemicals—owners must also play a role: washing equipment as often as possible, avoiding maintenance procedures that exacerbate the problems, spec’ing quality components and properly covering bare steel and iron with paint soon after it’s exposed. Anything short of these basic practices is akin to welcoming much bigger, and more expensive problems.