The results from a salt spray test show clear potential benefits of stainless steel chassis poles for manufacturers and fleets. Likely benefits include better product quality, lower whole of life cost and less repairs and maintenance.
We have seen a growing trend for customers to make long term product decisions taking into account product quality and whole of life cost. When looking at chassis poles, the most common comparison is considering standard electroplated chassis poles or whether to upgrade to stainless steel chassis poles.
RHINO invests heavily in Research and Development to support product quality, innovation and help customers make decisions. A great product test for chassis poles is a salt spray test as it simulates a corrosive environment to test a material’s resistance to rust and corrosion. The chamber shortens the time to obtain results and does so in a controlled environment.
The results from this test were as expected – stainless steel performed considerably better than electroplated. The benefits of stainless steel are clear for manufacturers and fleets. Stainless results in better product quality, lower whole of life cost and less impact on repairs and maintenance.
The test: Salt Spray Chamber
Test: Chassis poles are placed in an salt spray chamber in an independent laboratory. The chamber simulates a corrosive environment to test a material’s resistance to rust and corrosion.
Test Conditions: both stainless and electroplated poles were placed in the same location in the salt spray machine. To replicate “on the road” real life conditions, we applied small cuts to each chassis pole to simulate wear and tear that may occur from road conditions. The chamber sprays a salt solution onto the chassis poles, with inspections undertaken periodically.
Hypothesis and Results
Hypothesis: We expected stainless steel poles to perform better by rusting less compared to electrolplated poles.
Results: Unsurprisingly, stainless steel chassis poles performed better than electroplated poles. Stainless poles showed very little signs of rust in comparison to electroplated poles.
RHINO salt spray test showing chassis poles – stainless (bottom) vs electroplated (top).
Implications for truck and trailer manufacturers and fleets
These results demonstrate what will likely happen to poles on trucks and trailers over time. You will pay less for electroplated poles but expect them to deteriorate faster than stainless. When deciding on electroplated or stainless, you will need to consider the following over the life of the truck/trailer:
Initial vs replacement cost: what is the initial cost compared to the ongoing replacement cost(s) over the life of the truck / trailer (whole of life cost).
Conditions: Is the fleet going to be in harsh environments or exposed to chemicals and need protection?
Image: How do we want our fleet to look and how does that affect health and safety, staff, customers and suppliers?
Repairs: Will a pole failure or replacement impact other on other parts on the truck / trailer?
Downtime: Do we want to minimise the cost of downtime to the business?
RHINO stainless steel chassis poles on concrete truck / agitator truck
Electroplated vs Stainless
Rhino Chassis Poles are electroplated in a high quality ultra bright zinc silver can be installed directly onto chassis or finished further with painting.
Stainless poles give a superior protection against corrosion compared to steel. See the stainless chassis poles range here.
RHINO ELECTROPLATED CHASSIS POLE – CPOL
RHINO STAINLESS STEEL CHASSIS POLE – STCPOL
NB – RHINO chooses not to manufacturer chrome plated chassis poles that look “shiny” but will rust once scratched / chipped.
Check out the full range of RHINO stainless and electroplated chassis poles here.
