ROUGH CUT: Boeshield T-9 from Sean Michael on TheLongLongHoneymoon.com.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Inherent in this time honored wisdom (originally uttered by English jurist Henry de Bracton some 800 years ago) is the notion that smart folks spend a little money to avoid spending a LOT of money. As applied to RVs: it’s cheaper to properly maintain your equipment than to replace it.
Judge Bracton’s centuries-old advice crossed my mind when considering Boeshield T-9, an advanced lubricant developed by the Boeing Company.
Boeshield was originally created by Boeing engineers for the purpose of aircraft maintenance. It promises both corrosion protection and waterproof lubrication. When you consider the environmental extremes to which aircraft are subjected, you know this stuff has to be good.
One fateful day, someone at Boeing had an epiphany. “This lubricant works so well on airplanes, why not spray it on something else?”
Lo and behold, Boeshield T-9 was born. Now folks are spraying the product on anything and everything that’s exposed to the elements and subject to corrosion. Boeshield T-9 is used on cars, motorcycles, bicycles, tools, guns, and (you guessed it) RVs.
Boeshield T-9 is a little different from most over-the-counter lubricants in that it dries to a thin waxy finish. This leaves the protection and lubrication in place for several months.
Boeshield T-9 is available in drip, aerosol spray, or bulk applications. It’s safe to spray on plastics and vinyl, so you don’t need to be overly precise about its application. We have used the 12-ounce aerosol can (which, by the way, is worth a whopping 12 pounds of cure) on our Airstream travel trailer. We have sprayed our stabilizer jacks, awning arms, step mechanism, door hinges, and hitch.
On our RV, the steel stabilizer jacks are particularly subject to rust. With every camping season, they are subject to increased corrosion. Without lubrication, they emit an annoying sound not unlike a pack of screaming, rabid dingoes. After a quality dose of Boeshield, however, the jacks loosened and began moving more smoothly than the winning waltz on Dancing with the Stars. In the future, we plan to apply several “ounces of prevention” to these parts on an ongoing basis.
As winter approaches, some of us are placing our RVs into storage. Others are just wondering how to best maintain our rigs over time. Boeshield T-9 is “the good stuff” – a long-lasting lubricant that’s simply a cut above what you might typically find in stores. That said, it’s now available in brick-and-mortar shops like Sears, and on the Internet via Amazon.
For more information about Boeshield T-9, check out the company website: boeshield.com. The website has some interesting technical data on the product that you gearheads will enjoy.
Quite simply, if you own an RV, it makes a lot of sense to keep a can of this around.
For more deep thoughts about lubrication and duct tape engineering, check out our website: TheLongLongHoneymoon.com.