Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I read a suggestion by MadJack of using metal roof material directly over the spars, with no plywood to back it up. This is great to read, because I had wanted to try this. I have one problem: All the material I have looked at (metal roofing, etc.) that would have the right "sturdy-ness" is sold locally in 4-foot widths. I'm guessing a french seam down the center would be impossible to bend over the radius of the roof, so I'm wondering what others have done about this.

Try a local/ nearest semi-trailer repair shop. They will have 103" material (aluminum) on the roll. Much less expensive than pre cut sheets, at least that's been my experience with it, .040 thickness. Doug

There's a place in Richmond that has it. They offered free shipping to our shop in Roanoke when I was asking about 3 5x10's. I guess you are looking in Charleston?

You can get 4 x 10 sheets of aluminum, cut these in half and lay them across sideways. You would have a seam every four feet. Overlap the sheets a little and cover with a trim. It looks very nice when done.

I've come across an rv salvage/surpluss yard in Elkhart. They sell 103 inch widths of 0.03 at $15 a running foot with, I think, a 15 foot minimum...$225 to cover a typical 8 footer.

I'm curious about others' experience with finding 0.04 and cost.

bfitz wrote:I've come across an rv salvage/surpluss yard in Elkhart. They sell 103 inch widths of 0.03 at $15 a running foot with, I think, a 15 foot minimum...$225 to cover a typical 8 footer.

I'm curious about others' experience with finding 0.04 and cost.

What is the name?

Check with your local steel supplier. Mine got me 5x12 sheets of aluminum covered on one side with a plastic sheet. They had to special order but it will be delivered to my door.

I got my .040 5x10 aluminum from a local supplier that supplies aluminum for building facias and signs. There have to be similar places all over.

LINK

dmckruit wrote:You can get 4 x 10 sheets of aluminum, cut these in half and lay them across sideways. You would have a seam every four feet. Overlap the sheets a little and cover with a trim. It looks very nice when done.

...this is what I have done...overlap a couple of inches over a spar, predrill holes about 2" apart...use stainless screws(FASTENAL is a good source)...put a heavy bead of sealer/adhesive between sheets and a dab in each predrilled hole...

...one problem with getting wider AL off of a roll at the 18wheeler repair shop, is a tendency for it to get VERY scratched up in handling...both at the supplier and your end of things...it does work pretty good if you are going to paint or are willing to put the work in to get a mirrored surface and it is usually thicker...around 50-60mils, which is good for applying directly over the spars...we use .040 for this application but nothing wrong with the thicker AL for this...thicker than .060 and you will start having problems bending around curves...........
madjack