Aluminum for floor instead of wood?

[Jon&Sue]

Ok, I have been kicking this around in my head for a while and I decided I needed the opinions of experienced tears builders. Has anyone used aluminum skin riveted right on the frame as a floor? What are the drawbacks. I have built flatbed trailers on my job with 1/8" aluminum diamond plate and it really stiffen the frame up. My thought was to use a full 5x9 sheet of .090" for the floor and weld threaded inserts into the sides of the frame to pick up the fasteners to attach the walls. What potential problems does anyone see with this design?
Thanks for helping.
Jon&Sue

[madjack]

Jon, it would probably work but seems a lot of expense and work...as far as stiffening the floor and trailer as a whole, it is hard to beat a sheet of ply or a composite floor...also a properly constructed tear, becomes a "torsion" box and the floor is an integral part of that box...with a utility trailer, the strength is in the frame...with a teardrop, the body is many times stronger than the frame...of course one of the nicest things about these little campers is building them yourself and by doing so, you can pretty much build them the way you wish.......
madjack

[Steve_Cox]

Jon,

I think it would form condensation under the mattress if you had a sheet aluminum floor, but there is only one way to find out how it would work. Do it man.

[Dale M.]

If you use AL for floor be sure to INSULATE it... Its great conductor of heat/cold.... IF your sleeping surfaces rest sdirectly on AL floor it will transfer any cold from under trailer into sleeping compartment.

Dale

[Juneaudave]

I don't know if there are any potential problems that I can see...looks like you are gathering up the major parts and have a pretty good idea about the Jon&Sue Tear is supposed to be.....

My vote says "build it the way you want" and learn as you go through the process!!! There are a lot of us folks out here that have messed around with different materials and methods...some work out, others don't...but all of them have opened a door to creative thinking!!!!

[looped]

Jon, it would probably work but seems a lot of expense and work...as far as stiffening the floor and trailer as a whole, it is hard to beat a sheet of ply or a composite floor...also a properly constructed tear, becomes a "torsion" box and the floor is an integral part of that box...with a utility trailer, the strength is in the frame...with a teardrop, the body is many times stronger than the frame...of course one of the nicest things about these little campers is building them yourself and by doing so, you can pretty much build them the way you wish.......
madjack

hmm one way to include the torsion box design would be to make a frame of 1x1's and that way they can drill and bolt the sides to the frame.
This would alsoallow the actual frame of the trailer to retain its strength by not having a bunch of holes in it (bend points). For the insulation they could use 1" foam in there and put a layer of a cheaper metal on the bottom that would help the temp thing a bit.

One thing about this design that would be annoying to me would be the trampoline type popping thing inbetween the support beams when it flexes and pops when weight is put on and removed. the way around that would be to use a thick enough sheet to prevent it. but that would eliminate any cost advantage.

[Jon&Sue]

Thanks to everyone for all of the input. I now have more questions than answers! That was the point in asking though. The insulation is the one that concerns me the most so far. I may have to rethink my floor. Please keep the comments coming. You never know what ideas they will stimulate that will be a huge help.
Did I mention this is a great group to be a part of?