Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was at the metal recycling place the other day, and they have 5x10 sheets of Stainless Steel in the scrap area for $1.00 a pound, I had them weigh a sheet for me and it came out almost exactly 60lbs. So $60.00 per sheet +/-... I don't know what grade it is, but by playing with a weight calculator, I think that it is probably .03 or 22gauge. This seems to be an amazing deal. I priced out NEW aluminum, 5x10 sheets and came up with about $160.00 per sheet.

I realize that SS will be over twice as heavy as the Aluminum, but I have been afraid I would have to give any metal skin a pass because of the price. I am towing with a Mazda B4000 (Ford Ranger) so I am not overly concerned with the weight.

what are the pros and cons of SS vs Aluminum? Like I said, I understand the weight difference, has anyone had either good or bad experiences with either SS or Aluminum skins(mostly SS)?

HI !!

For the price you quoted, GRAB IT quick !!!!!!!!!!!!

S S won't dent as easley as aluminum will.
It can be polished if you want to and will stay brighter longer than aluminum.

To bad it isn't any closer to me, Cause I wouldent have left without as much as I needed !!!!!

Stay safe, and have fun !!

Wanna Be

Wanna Be wrote:HI !!

For the price you quoted, GRAB IT quick !!!!!!!!!!!!

S S won't dent as easley as aluminum will.
It can be polished if you want to and will stay brighter longer than aluminum.

To bad it isn't any closer to me, Cause I wouldent have left without as much as I needed !!!!!

Stay safe, and have fun !!

Wanna Be

...gotta agree with that!!!! It may be a tad harder to cut/work but shouldn't be too bad and for that price and since you are towing with a PU, I wouldn't worry about the weight penalty.....
madjack

Sounds like nice stuff. Some SSs though can be a real bear to cut and work with. I'd see if they'll let you make a test cut. I think I'd use a saber saw with a good bimetallic blade and some WD40 or even a water spray to keep the blade cool. It would be a real bummer to buy it and have it so difficult to cut that it makes your life miserable.

You may want to check out these guys: http://www.copperandbrass.com/cnb/index.htm

They are pretty competitive. There was/is a huge price break when you go over 100#. It was cheaper for me to buy five sheets of 5X12 .040 5052 than it was to buy 4 sheets. Go figure!

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

eamarquardt wrote:Sounds like nice stuff. Some SSs though can be a real bear to cut and work with. I'd see if they'll let you make a test cut. I think I'd use a saber saw with a good bimetallic blade and some WD40 or even a water spray to keep the blade cool. It would be a real bummer to buy it and have it so difficult to cut that it makes your life miserable.

You may want to check out these guys: http://www.copperandbrass.com/cnb/index.htm

They are pretty competitive. There was/is a huge price break when you go over 100#. It was cheaper for me to buy five sheets of 5X12 .040 5052 than it was to buy 4 sheets. Go figure!

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

NO DO NOT USE WD40 !!!!! On Stainless Steel !!!!!!!!!

You WILL NOT like the results!!!! Use any cheep vegatable oil as a lube.
Ask any steel shop how much to cut it with a plasma cutter first!!
If the cost is prohibitive, then use a jigsaw with as quoted from above.

I know that most of the members are not as lucky as me,, But after working arround this stuff for years, I DO remember some stuff !!

For smoothing the edges, Use A flap type sanding disk for the best results.

FWIW; WD40 caused an explosion in my shop when used to cut Stainless Steel with, The flames from the fire wern't pretty.

Lynn,, Wanna Be

I personaly think it would be a good thing to have on your trailer it can be polished up nice and shiny is a heck of a lot stronger and if you wanted to you could electroplate it...thats just my 2cents

droid_ca wrote:I personaly think it would be a good thing to have on your trailer it can be polished up nice and shiny is a heck of a lot stronger and if you wanted to you could electroplate it...thats just my 2cents

Cool! Who electroplates trailers clad in SS sheet?

I have a lot of work in mind for someone willing to take on a task of that magnitude...

Wanna Be wrote:
NO DO NOT USE WD40 !!!!! On Stainless Steel !!!!!!!!!

You WILL NOT like the results!!!!

I know that most of the members are not as lucky as me,, But after working arround this stuff for years, I DO remember some stuff !!

FWIW; WD40 caused an explosion in my shop when used to cut Stainless Steel with, The flames from the fire wern't pretty.

Lynn,, Wanna Be

Ya know, I've never had a problem with WD40. I, though, don't have to learn EVERYTHING first hand/the hard way. Water/soluble oil is a great coolant as the oil lubricates and the water is just about the best coolant out there as it vaporizes at a low 212F and carries away a lot of heat. Far more than oil as oil rarely get hot enough (in any quantity) to absorb heat by vaporizing. Thanks for the warning.

I'd still make a test cut. I wanted to install a transmission cooler in my Ford van. It must have some of that new fangled high strenght steel. A cobalt drill bit wouldn't touch it. As I remember I only had to "drill" two say 5/16" holes. I tried a solid carbide burr and it wouldn't touch it! Only a grinding stone would work and it took me a long time. I guess firefighters are having a tougher time rescuing people as they come across more of the high strength steel.

Cheers,

Gus

Yeah, I'm with Gus on this one in that I haven't managed a major conflagration with WD40 yet...

That being said, I have used it several times as a "starter-fluid" on diesel engines.
Used to spray it directly into the turbocharger intake on the 'ol family Dodge when it was feeling pesky and she'd fire up like a gasoline engine on ether...

I guess I'll stick with water-soluble oil in a squirt-bottle as well when cutting metal by hand...

Cool! Who electroplates trailers clad in SS sheet?

I have a lot of work in mind for someone willing to take on a task of that magnitude...

Why what are your ideas, as I have 3 electroplaters...Just a hobby but I couldn't pass up on buying my industrial plater. I think that it will come in handy when I do my tiny house. I will be doing all the aluminum and chrome on my truck to accent it with gold plate, but you can do many other things copper, silver, chrome, ...just to name a few

OK, I bit the proverbial bullet and went and bought the SS. Payed just over $400.00 for five sheets after taxes. Some people have nice big budgets, but that was an ouchy one for me. I am excited though. I think that it will look really good when I am done, and probably be WAY more waterproof than any other way of finishing the trailer than I could otherwise have come up with. I figure I have one sheet for each side, two for the roof, and one extra sheet for booboos and incidentals. If I manage to make no major or irreparable mistakes sheet number five will be for a nice tongue box or maybe part of the galley.

When drilling holes, try this trick: dip the bit into some sugar (plain granulated table sugar).

You will be amazed how easy stainless will drill. I know it works really well when using a holesaw in a Stainless electrical enclosure.

good luck, I am looking forward to pictures.

cpinetree wrote:When drilling holes, try this trick: dip the bit into some sugar (plain granulated table sugar).

You will be amazed how easy stainless will drill. I know it works really well when using a holesaw in a Stainless electrical enclosure.

good luck, I am looking forward to pictures.

Also something to note;
Slow the rotation,(speed) of the drill. Have PLENTY of sharp drillbits as they tend to dull quickly.

Stay safe, and have fun !!!

Wanna Be


P S Remember eye protection S.S. Is a trip to the DR's office if it happens

Re: Keeping drill bits in tip top shape, don't drill with out http://www.drilldoctor.com/

Re: Eye protection, Plus 1. Doctor using a dremel tool to remove a chip from your eye . I wear glasses all the time, including prescription safety glasses w/ side shields and I'm the only one on my street that I know of that wears a full face shield when operating the weed whacker! Still, I have at least a couple of extractions under my belt and to this day, whenever I get an eye check up, my eye doctor mumbles, "yup, there's that rust spot".

On at least two occassions I have gotten stuff in my eyes while taking a shower after dirty jobs (crud washes down from your hair and into your eyes), so I have learned to be careful until after I have washed my hair out well.