Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Ok I made a lil excursion today at a German owned company called Bauhaus which is basically a Home Builders Store or outlet...

Well I,ll be there was a huge section of all kinds of material for fixin up a teardrop.. along with it I found some nice Diamond Plate...I didnt buy it yet.. as I was wondering about the thickness.

To me it seemed a lil thick but sure was durable at the same time..

Its wide enough to use for making the skirting and doing some towbox
trimming..ect.

On the skirting Id like to make it from the diamond plating however from the front of the Kit Fenders to the front lower radius Id like to have it also as a step up the same width as the fender itself and then it tapers off to the front...

How can I make it so it would be from one section..? Now I even lost the english word for that step up ... What actually is that called in English?

Ok I guess its called a running board? Correct me if Im wrong..

Is that stuff difficult to bend as it looks like its 1.5 mm in thickness...the diamond plate is wide enough and also in length its about 2 meters..

So a skirting about 5 inches wide across with the exception of the running board being at 10 or 11" in width in front of the fenders.. Would that be possible to make it from one section?

Does it need to be heated in order for it to be bendable? Also one of you drawing experts on the puter could I ask someone to draw it up for me
so you could imagine it on the Voyager?

I just think it would look awesome with it...Id also have the diamond plate on the lower portion of the hatch maybe 5 or 8 inches in height and front would be about the same as on the tongue box...

Classic Finn

Hah! I remember Bauhaus! I lived in Germany for 9 years (6 of which I was in the Army).

That place was incredible.

SaGR wrote:Hah! I remember Bauhaus! I lived in Germany for 9 years (6 of which I was in the Army).

That place was incredible.

Cool ... That place is awsome isnt it.. Presawn and presanded shelfing material of almost any wood you can think of ...

All kinds of goodies for teardrop building... Wife dont let me stay there too long when I do go.. wonder why?

The only thing they lack is 5 foot nice aluminum... geeeeeeee.

Classic Finn

Where,s all the folks that have worked with Diamond Plate? There has to be someone...

Classic Finn

Bending diamond plate would require a sheet metal break (sp?) that was rated to bend whatever thickness you are interested in using. Unlike steel, heating aluminum won't help.

Check with shops that do sheet metal work, such as heating and air conditioning shops. They usually have a break, but they will need to know the exact thickness of the diamond plate to know if their break can bend it. Also, many welding/fabrication shops may have a break.

Finn....like Jeff says....you're going to need to get to someone with a brake to bend it up at least so that it looks good. And if they have a brake, check to see if they can do any TIG welding that it may need. I have a bunch leftover from some tool boxes and trim I did on firetrucks. I've only decked the front A section on the trailer with it (all flat) .125" thick. Some leaf brakes especially if tired, won't give you a clean sharp edge, and the dimensions are harder to control but in the thickness you are wanting to use, it ought to be fine. Press brakes give a perfect sharp edge and 90 degree angle...at least that is my experience.. Doug

Sorry Heikki, didn't see your post 'til now; guess I'm still too 'relaxed' from calling mine done .

The diamond plate that I used is .063" (about 1.6mm) thick, & the 'raised' diamonds add about another mm or so to that. Dunno what strength break would be required to 'bend' it but my home built break did the job OK. If the length of bend you need is 2meters I'm sure you'd need a pretty heavy duty break. I can make a bend in a 35/36" piece with mine. I did anneal the diamond plate at the bend line but I'm not absolutely sure it was necessary. I've since bent some shorter pieces without annealing & achieved a nice clean, sharp bend. If you read my post to halfdome, Danny & Critter you'll notice that the key to obtaining a crisp, clean bend is placement of the 'anvil/clamp' piece that the metal bends against. If you're gonna do it yourself with a homemade break, do considerable experimenting with scrap before attempting the actual work. If it's just a simple, single 90 degree bend in a couple of pieces, any sheet metal working shop with a medium duty break should be able to do it for you at minimal cost, assuming they'd be willing to do a small job in the first place .

Jim and Doug

Thank you ever so much for the inportant info.. Im greatful to you.
I went back to the Home Store and did some more rechecking on the Diamond Plate.. they do have a plate thats precut to about the length I need for the skirting and width wise it will be about 4 or 5 inches...whew..
However the end and front lower radius I still will need to have cut so ..
I did call a company that said they will do it for me if I bring the pieces over..

You are absolutely correct in what you say too that it may be easiest in my case since I dont have a brake...

Thanks again...
Classic Finn

Nobody wrote:Sorry Heikki, didn't see your post 'til now; guess I'm still too 'relaxed' from calling mine done .

The diamond plate that I used is .063" (about 1.6mm) thick, & the 'raised' diamonds add about another mm or so to that. Dunno what strength break would be required to 'bend' it but my home built break did the job OK. If the length of bend you need is 2meters I'm sure you'd need a pretty heavy duty break. I can make a bend in a 35/36" piece with mine. I did anneal the diamond plate at the bend line but I'm not absolutely sure it was necessary. I've since bent some shorter pieces without annealing & achieved a nice clean, sharp bend. If you read my post to halfdome, Danny & Critter you'll notice that the key to obtaining a crisp, clean bend is placement of the 'anvil/clamp' piece that the metal bends against. If you're gonna do it yourself with a homemade break, do considerable experimenting with scrap before attempting the actual work. If it's just a simple, single 90 degree bend in a couple of pieces, any sheet metal working shop with a medium duty break should be able to do it for you at minimal cost, assuming they'd be willing to do a small job in the first place .

Greetings Harvey
1st Congratulations again on finishing your tear.. its immaculate.. I did reread your interesting post on your homemade brake. I certainly thought it would be much easier but I found to be wrong..

The bends are only 90 degree bends mostly on the lil running boards.
then of course the pieces on the lower portion of my hatch and front box for a rock protection sort of speak..

Harvey what screws did you use to install the plating? The thickness you used is about the same thickness I have looked at..then maybe a lil thicker due to the diamonds protruding out.

Harvey thank you again for your reply and Congratulations again on your Nicely done Tear..

Again as I mentioned that I will bring these pieces over to the shop..and see how much they will charge.. I need to do this by next week since Finland will basically be closed due to summer vacations around the corner..

I,ll keep you posted and I,ll show some photos asap..

Best regards
Heikki

Hey Guys,
I saw some plans on ebay a wile back for building a brake.Anyone have ant experince with them?Would be a handy thing to have in my shop.I saw one at northern but it was out of my price range and it wasent real wide!

critter wrote:Hey Guys,
I saw some plans on ebay a wile back for building a brake.Anyone have ant experince with them?Would be a handy thing to have in my shop.I saw one at northern but it was out of my price range and it wasent real wide!

Critter - What do you think of Harveys cool device he made.. Now Im contemplating in having one of those made here if I continue to have the teardrop fever as much as I do...

Classic Finn

Heikki/Critter...we have a 30" brake that was purchased at HF and a 4' brake that we built ourselves...the small one has only been used once but the big has been used quite a bit...they both work well for what they were designed for...bending soft/thin AL/sheetmetal....
madjack

Hey Madjack,
PICS?

...hate to admit it but I don't have any and the shop is 20mi away...not gonna spend 6 bucks just to take a pic...next time I am there, I will snap a few...BUT it will take 4' material, was built out of a couple of pieces of 1.5" bed rail, reinforced with some 1.5" square tube, the hinges are just some steel 3" door hinges all mounted onna board with some bench clamps from HF....
madjack

p.s. found this on my PC...it shows one end of the brake hangin' on the wall......MJ

Heikki - I don't know how screw sizes might translate from standard US to metric but I used stainless, pan head sheet metal screws in size #6 & #8, 3/4 inch length for attaching all the diamond plate on my TD. I did use 1/2 inch length in places where I was only attaching metal to metal with no wood backing. I used the #8 screws in places where there is likely to be more stress, & the #6 for all the rest