Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I've been pricing construction materials and such, looks like the popup that I bought for the frame and stove will be the cheapest thing about this build. With the prices of steel and lumber going through the roof, this little rig will cost a bundle to build.
What is the general price range for .040 aluminum (4X10) around the country? I got a quote today at a local sheet metal fabricator that sounded a little off. But if it is the deal that I think it is, I'll buy several sheets.

Milled or anodized? That can make a big difference.

Jeff, last summer we paid 65 bucks a sheet of 4x10x.040...that was an exceedingly good price at the time.......

madjack wrote:Jeff, last summer we paid 65 bucks a sheet of 4x10x.040...that was an exceedingly good price at the time.......

The quote that I got today was $62.50, so I guess with the price increases on everything, I should but several sheets.
Still in the decision making and parts gathering stage, but the other half says we need it campable by the end of Oct. for an out of town car show. I had better get busy.

I guess I'm lucky! The price of lumber in my area is dropping. So much that I decided to rebuild my mothers kitchen cabinets.
I'm paying the same or less than I was six years ago!
One good thing thats come out of the poor housing market!
Aaron

That's about what I paid for the 4x10 sheet. I bought mine at a race car shop (dirt track cars) and they had a variety of colors. Bought Black. Eliminated the need for a heater but if there ain't no shade ther's gonna be need for a fan!!

We're paying about $2.65/lb. for aluminum right now. Therefore, my .032" 5052 in a 4 x 10 sheet is about $44 right now. Your .040" would be about $56/sheet. You could save some $$$ by going .008" thinner. That's the thickness of 2 sheets of notebook paper BTW.

chorizon wrote:We're paying about $2.65/lb. for aluminum right now. Therefore, my .032" 5052 in a 4 x 10 sheet is about $44 right now. Your .040" would be about $56/sheet. You could save some $$$ by going .008" thinner. That's the thickness of 2 sheets of notebook paper BTW.

That's less than what I paid back in 2005!!

Metal is traded as a commodity and fluctuates quite a bit. We have to "lock in" prices roughly every quarter with our metal suppliers. They are willing to do this because we use a lot of material. We are a medium sized precision sheetmetal fabrication/machining plant with about a hundred employees. We scrap (recycle) TONS of metal per week. Be happy we aren't skinning these things with stainless steel, it has doubled in the last 18 months (thanks to demand from Asia, sound familiar?).