Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am looking into molding for the trailer I am building. I'm told "L" molding is what you use on the sides.........I went to Home Depot and found some aluminum L molding. I realized quickly the molding was not going to follow the side panel radius I have. A little investigation revealed the process to anneal aluminum, which I followed (sooting the aluminum with an acetylene rich flame, then sweep heating the aluminum with a neutral flame on a rose bud, burning the acetylene off. Apparently burning off the soot occurs at 800 degrees f, which is the right temp to anneal aluminum) This definitely softened the aluminum, but that vertical leg of the L molding still didn't like sweeping the radius of my side panel (buckling). I figure I am grossly misinformed about using "L" molding on the side panels, I'm buying the wrong grade of aluminum, or there is something pretty much everyone knows except me. This is the first time I have really been stopped on the trailer and it's frusterating. I sure would appreciate a little advice on this subject.

Thanks

John

John

Generally a good whoopin' with a rubber mallet will convince it to do what you want.

John, spend the extra buck and get the correct stuff. Talk to Grant of Li'l Bear. He's located in Redding and has exactly what you need. No annealing required. And you can form the molding by hand. All my side/edge molding, I rolled it in place by hand. Just a little massaging with a rubber mallet so as to make it look good.

Like that, when working on or building a house. You go to Home Depot for the main stuff. But when working on or building a Teardrop, you go to the parts supplier that specializes in parts for teardrop trailers.

Try these:
Li'l Bear @ http://www.lilbear.teardrops.net/index.html
Teardrop Fix-it-Shop @ http://www.teardropparts.com/index.htm

After I annealed and bent mine I used two hardwood blocks to work out the buckles. I sandwiched it between the blocks so I didn't have hammer marks. Some of it I used a hardwood block and a anvil.

Another option that I always use is an RV industry insert corner molding.



Bends real easy by hand, no exposed screw heads and it can be found locally in long lengths.

Most RV dealers (that do repairs) have it or can get it. You can order it direct from www.all-rite.com but the shipping on a few long lengths will kill ya.

Happy Trails

Len

len19070 wrote:Another option that I always use is an RV industry insert corner molding.

I've got this, too ... mill finish, 12' lengths (can only ship 8', though) ...

... You can order it direct from www.all-rite.com but the shipping on a few long lengths will kill ya ...

The last couple of times I talked with the folks at All-Rite (I buy a lot of stuff from them) they were complaining about retail customers trying to buy direct from them ... depending on how busy they are at any given time, you'll probably get a somewhat cold shoulder if you're not a bona fide dealer or repair facility ... so give 'em a break and go to your local dealer or repair facility and get it from them ... or from me ... ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Go With Grant. He is the man!!

Harbor Freight sells stretchers and shrinkers that grip the al and can bend it perfectly to down to a 3" radius. You have to sand the score marks that to tools leave on the face of one edge. There have been lots of comments (mostly positive) about them on the forum. See my album for a piece that I bent.

Hope this helps.


Cheers,

Gus

grant whipp wrote:

len19070 wrote:Another option that I always use is an RV industry insert corner molding.

I've got this, too ... mill finish, 12' lengths (can only ship 8', though) ...



CHEERS!

Grant

Yes! go with Grant.

Happy Trails

Len

eamarquardt wrote:Harbor Freight sells stretchers and shrinkers that grip the al and can bend it perfectly to down to a 3" radius. You have to sand the score marks that to tools leave on the face of one edge. There have been lots of comments (mostly positive) about them on the forum. See my album for a piece that I bent.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gus

Sounds like a lot of extra work to me. Is it really time & cost effective?

I used the trim that Len posted. It was cheaper for me to get it from a repair shop than it was to drive and get it from all-right.

I'll soon need to make some molding decisions on my own build. I'm going to really show my ignorance here and ask, exactly where would you use this "RV insert corner molding" and how does it work. What is the insert?

Toytaco2 , the molding is used where the side meets the top , the corner is sealed with butyl tape under the molding then the molding is screwed down to the top. A roll of vinyl stripping gets inserted in the grooves on the top of the molding. The vinyl is about 3/4 inch in width & comes in black or white. Hope this helps, I got my molding at an RV place here in town, 32.00 for a 16 ft piece . It does bend very easy, I have had mine off at least 3 times & even modified it & it still looks good. I even painted it a flat black . Good luck!

Toytaco2 wrote:I'll soon need to make some molding decisions on my own build. I'm going to really show my ignorance here and ask, exactly where would you use this "RV insert corner molding" and how does it work. What is the insert?

1 pic = 1000 words

I love this web sight. Thanks everyone. My first approach will be to try it on my own mostly because I enjoy it....I will hit Harbor freight tomorrow and check on the cost of the forming tools. I'll see if I can turn my disaster into an acceptable piece of L molding. Thanks again everyone.

John