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My trailer wheels looked fine when I first received my trailer from ATC, but within 18 months the wheels developed odd markings near the hub that could not be removed with polishing. Despite my attention to maintaining it's appearance, the wheels looked to be 10 years old and were a major detraction from the appeal of the trailer. When I contacted ATC about this several years ago, their follow up reply said that the damage was caused by road debris. I knew for certain that road debris had not caused this much damage because the trailer had not been used much during this time - less than 1,000 miles perhaps. Additionally, a closer look at the random patterns clearly shows markings that do not look like road debris could have caused these odd shapes.
My trailer is stored about 20 ft from a forest line. My guess was that the damage to the hub was caused by some sort of slow moving insect such as a snail or slug. This would also explain the random patterns of damage. I'm not a biologist so I don't know if a snail could cause damage to alloy wheels. When I proposed this idea to the service rep at ATC, he still said it was definitely from road debris and there was nothing they would do about it. Pretty disappointing because even if it were road debris that caused this, and they look this bad then my opinion is that the wheels are still just poorly made.
So a few weeks ago, I bought new tires for the trailer (including tires for the spare wheels/tires that came with it). The spares are mounted on the front of the trailer box and have always been covered with vinyl covers even while on the road. These spares have never been mounted on the axles. When I uncovered the spare tires yesterday to take them in for new tires, I found the same odd markings that have destroyed the main wheels. Though this doesn't not confirm the true cause of the markings, it does show that these markings were clearly not caused by road debris. There were some old dead bugs and suck inside the vinyl covers on these wheels.
I still think it was a snail. Crazy, right?
This makes me wonder if they should have been covered under warranty. Too late now though. I sent these pictures to ATC a couple of weeks ago and I didn't get a reply.
Guess I will get them refinished or buy a new set but its still very disappointing that ATC hasn't replied.
Those marks look like areas where the clear coat has disintegrated and the underlying aluminum is oxidizing. Maybe just poor adhesion of the clear coat when it was applied at the wheel Factory.
Those marks look like areas where the clear coat has disintegrated and the underlying aluminum is oxidizing. Maybe just poor adhesion of the clear coat when it was applied at the wheel Factory.
That's what I was thinking too. Would explain why it can't be "polished out" too.
Those marks look like areas where the clear coat has disintegrated and the underlying aluminum is oxidizing. Maybe just poor adhesion of the clear coat when it was applied at the wheel Factory.
That is a clear coat failure. Fortunately, Hi Spec is a reputable wheel manufacturer and in addition to a lifetime structural warranty, they offer a two year warranty on the finish. The trailer is 18 months old, right?
I recommend you contact them and see about getting your wheels replaced.
That is a clear coat failure. Fortunately, Hi Spec is a reputable wheel manufacturer and in addition to a lifetime structural warranty, they offer a two year warranty on the finish. The trailer is 18 months old, right?
I recommend you contact them and see about getting your wheels replaced.
He said he contacted ATC about this "several years ago" and he is replacing tires, so I would assume it's well beyond a two year warranty..
Sucks that ATC left you hanging and it's too late to go directly to the wheel manufacturer.
Unfortunately, the Aluminum has corroded and will need to be diamond cut, media blasted or polished to get rid of the corrosion.
You have two choices to restore to the original finish:
1. Pay someone to do it.
2. Strip the clear coat using Permatex or TAL II paint stripper, send them out for a diamond cut (machining the surface), then re-clear.
Or if you want to save some even more money, you can strip the clear coat and powder coat the wheel to match the original bare Aluminum. This may not sound as attractive as restoring using the OE combination, but powder coat/clear coat will be more durable and if done right, will look just as good.
04-11-2018, 05:50 PM
What happened to my ATC trailer wheels?
