Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

We were speaking of stainless sheeting with our neighbor this evening.
And we found out that stainless is readily available here and in different widths and even up to 5 feet wide.

I know that Mr. Ed Ester was it in Washington uses stainless for his tears and has built many beautiful tears at that.

Does anyone know what thickness Ed Ester uses for his tears?






What in your opinion is the minimum thickness a person can go if stainless was to be used being that it is is heavier than aluminum? And will aluminum trim used on stainless have any kind of chemical reaction?

There are a few places that we know of that have old stock of stainless that is a nice mirror finish as well as brushed

Classic Finn

If you have a choice in thickness, wouldn't you go thinner on the sides (save weight and usually supported/backed by 3/4 inch plywood) and thicker on the roof (where it is less supported)?

Just thinking of dents.

Gary

The 301-304 series stainless have an annealed tensile strength of 73 Ksi which is around 3 times that of the common grades of aluminum sheet (you CAN get aluminum that strong, but it’s expensive) that is typically used for tear building (20-25 Ksi).

Most folks use .040 to .050 thick aluminum so equivalent thickness stainless would be around .025-.032 (21-23 gage). The density of aluminum is .101 Lb/cu in and steel has a density of .28 Lb/cu in (almost 3)

Checking at discount steel shows $161 for a 4’x10’ sheet. Not exactly cheap…

Finn
I used brushed stainless on my current TD.
It is aprox. .050 as Kenny stated previous post.
The radius took a little more time, I also used aluminum trim & I have not noticed any chemical reaction, I have dealt with using stainless steel bolts in the past & if you put a regular steel bolt on them they would weld together over time so we always used stainless nuts & lock washers.



I also used mirror finished stainless on my last TD.



Stanless does clean up real nice & easy.

I just picked up 10- 10' sheets of mirrored stainless & around 40-10' sheets of white sheet metal.
So it looks like I may be building a mirror finished TD in the near future, & maybe a few mirror finished battery boxes.

Ken F.
http://www.vegasteardrop.com/TD_and_Misc_Const_.html

ME AND BUDDY BUILDED A TRIKE OUT OF SS A FEW YEAR BACK. WE HAD TO HAVE ALL CURES CUT OUT WITH A PLASMA CUTTER . THEN IT TOOK SS DRILL BITS . BUT THE BIG THING WAS THE WEIGHT . GOOD LUCK

Hello Everyone. Thank You for your replies. Very nice of you.

Here the thickness that is available for us in stainless is from 0.6mm to 1.5 mm. Right now I have the 0.07 mm handy. Which is the best Ive been told today.

The length I can get is 3 meters without any problem. Up to 1.5 & 2.5 meters in width. So it looks like I wouldnt have to splice or double anywheres.

There,s a company here that can cut was it with a cnc or laser or. Cant remember which it was but the profile can easily be done mechanically by them.

I just dont understand as to why this is easier found than 1.5 meters wide aluminum.

The material that I can get is from old stock and they are happy just to see it go. Tough to sell or what Im not sure exactly but ok its to my benefit.

I just think a newly built or renovated tear would look real sweet with stainless.

Best regards

Classic Finn

Ken Fincher wrote:Finn
I used brushed stainless on my current TD.
It is aprox. .050 as Kenny stated previous post.
The radius took a little more time, I also used aluminum trim & I have not noticed any chemical reaction, I have dealt with using stainless steel bolts in the past & if you put a regular steel bolt on them they would weld together over time so we always used stainless nuts & lock washers.



I also used mirror finished stainless on my last TD.



Stanless does clean up real nice & easy.

I just picked up 10- 10' sheets of mirrored stainless & around 40-10' sheets of white sheet metal.
So it looks like I may be building a mirror finished TD in the near future, & maybe a few mirror finished battery boxes.

Ken F.
http://www.vegasteardrop.com/TD_and_Misc_Const_.html

Hello Ken

You really have a magnificent tear there. That stainless has me real interested ever since I saw Ed Esters tears also.

And now that you are using it Im hooked. And since aluminum in that width isnt easily found.

Classic Finn

halfdome, Danny wrote:Heikki, I don't know how thick Ed uses but it's thick enough that he overlaps seams and stitches them together with exposed pan head screws and you can see where it dimples from the screws. From memory his S.S. looks like 3/64" thick to me. Danny

Hello Danny

If you see Ed maybe you can ask him for me? I have talked to him a few years back however this topic never did come up with him. But he sure has some immaculate lil tears. I havent seen any recent photos of his trailers though.

Hope youve been doing fine and enjoying camping there in the USA.

Classic Finn

MARVIN THOMPSON wrote:ME AND BUDDY BUILDED A TRIKE OUT OF SS A FEW YEAR BACK. WE HAD TO HAVE ALL CURES CUT OUT WITH A PLASMA CUTTER . THEN IT TOOK SS DRILL BITS . BUT THE BIG THING WAS THE WEIGHT . GOOD LUCK

Thank You Marvin.

Ive also been looking around for the ss screws. And bits as well.
Havent tried to drill ss yet but I shall give it a try.

When I do I,ll post photos.

Classic Finn

Just to clarify. .05 in (1.27 mm) aluminum is plenty thick and .040 (1 mm) aluminum would also work and be a bit lighter.

Equivalent stainless doesn't need to be as thick. You could go down to nearly .025 in (.6 mm) and certainly no more than .032 in (.8 mm). That assuming that you are looking for some kind of equivalent strength comparison. The .050 in (1.27 mm) steel will be much stronger than .050 in. aluminum, but it also weighs 3 times (nearly) as much. I don't know anybody that had problems with the aluminum -- even at .040 in. thick, so if you are using stainless that thick you're getting fat for not much benefit. Now if you get a deal on it, and don't care about the weight, hey go for it. Generally though, you pretty much buy everything by the pound. The thicker stuff generally (though not always) costs more.

kennyrayandersen wrote:Just to clarify. .05 in (1.27 mm) aluminum is plenty thick and .040 (1 mm) aluminum would also work and be a bit lighter.

Equivalent stainless doesn't need to be as thick. You could go down to nearly .025 in (.6 mm) and certainly no more than .032 in (.8 mm). That assuming that you are looking for some kind of equivalent strength comparison. The .050 in (1.27 mm) steel will be much stronger than .050 in. aluminum, but it also weighs 3 times (nearly) as much. I don't know anybody that had problems with the aluminum -- even at .040 in. thick, so if you are using stainless that thick you're getting fat for not much benefit. Now if you get a deal on it, and don't care about the weight, hey go for it. Generally though, you pretty much buy everything by the pound. The thicker stuff generally (though not always) costs more.

So I reckon I wasnt too far off them since I have 0.07mm And I still call myself a rookie after one tear Thank You Ken. I learned somthing new again from this thread

Classic Finn

Thanks Finn

As Marvin stated it is a lot harder to drill.
A good regular drill bit will work but be sure theat you drill it alot slower so you do'nt burn up your bit and a little oil will help, I also use a whitney punch.
And when placing your scews into & threw stainless be sure not to over tighten them,(nothing worse then breaking a screw)


Ken F.