Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

While checking out our local surplus/salvage store I came across 3 4'X8' sheets of Omega Lusterboard. This is a signboard made of appx. 5/32nd plywood with a sheet of white painted aluminum laminated to each side. It is very solid, and very flat. The best part, is that it is only $35 per sheet, which is about what 5/32 birch plywood costs.

I called the company rep to ask how it holds up outside, and he said as long as the edges are sealed, it will last forever. The white paint should be good for at least 10 years. I told him what I might use it for (the sides of a teardrop), and he didn't see any problems.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this product? I am thinking about using it as the outer layer on a sandwich type wall. The only problem I can see, is that it might be hard to get glue to stick to the inner framing, unless I roughed up the inner aluminum with a sander or something.

making a wooden sandwuich, then screwing the ctoss braces, and such in, before applying the aluminum skin would be a little easier, but considering the cost of aluminum and plywood, this seems like it might be worth a little extra work, not to mention that it is FLAT , unlike some of the plywood I have had to work with.

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Jeff

Hey Junkman,

At first blush it sounds good, until you think about how you are going to build the teardrop body.

Typically screws are driven into the bulkhead wall, and cabinets from the outside, thru the walls. So you'll end up with a lot of screw heads showing.

And you can't just glue wood to the aluminum, with the extreme expansion rates, you'll probably break the glue joint.

You could use it on the inside as a finish skin, but aluminum feels very cold to the skin.

One way you could use it is to design a teardrop that has battens on the inside and the outside, drive your screws thru the battens, and then plug the holes with wood plugs, and sand them flush.

Sounds like you'd better think your construction through!!!

Mike...

Jeff wrote:This is a signboard made of appx. 5/32nd plywood with a sheet of white painted aluminum laminated to each side.

Mike wrote:And you can't just glue wood to the aluminum, with the extreme expansion rates, you'll probably break the glue joint.

Mike is talking about gluing aluminum just to framing, with big gaps in between, but it does raise an interesting question: if aluminum can be 'laminated' to plywood in this product, how come it can't be 'stuck' to the plywood skin of a trailer?

Andrew

A lot of people talk about the expansion of the aluminum as a reason not to glue it, but obviously this signboard works, as it it designed to be out in the weather. Of course it is probably a lot thinner than the aluminum that most people use.

Attaching the frames for the cabinets and such is where I am having trouble figuring out how to make this stuff work. I definatly would not use it inside, we want a natural wood finish there.

Although it looks like some great stuff, I think I may have to pass it up, as I just can't really figure out how to use it.

Jeff