Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

hi guys, i am looking for source of aluminum prefinished/painted sheets that would be willing to ship. i have reached out to several places i found online but all of them are willing to only ship a minimum of 24 sheets. i am just looking for a few 5x10 sheets for my build. i am in Denver area, maybe someone here know local supplier here? i can not locate anyone.
i did find ACM sheets supplier in denver area but all they have is white. i might go this route but would probably want to paint. has anyone done diy paint on aluminum sheet?
and lastly, if going with sheet aluminum, whats the consensus on thickness, in my case it will go over 3/4" plywood so i am thinking 0.04" would do.

thanks

Are you building your box out of 3/4 ply? That's a pretty heavy route to go.

I don't know what to suggest for your thickness, but thin enough to shed water without being too thin to be easily damaged or show glue irregularities.

Some alternative options to consider for sourcing siding material - sign shops, tractor trailer repair places, and sheet metal fab shops. There's got to be somebody in the front range area that stocks or uses aluminum roll products or sheets.

If painting aluminum is a concern, consider a vinyl wrap.

so i am thinking 0.04" would do.

.040 is the standard for teardrop sheathing.



I too think you're looking at too much weight with 3/4" ply.

Tony

i am not concerned about weight too much. i prefer sturdy build and walls that i can attach to anything anywhere down the road. i toured 4x4 teardrop facility, they build their squaredrops out of 3/4" plywood and their 5x10 comes dry at about 1200lbs. it has heavy duty 30" off road tires and frame build out of 2x3 1/8" tubes. i am building 5x9 using 2x2 1/8" tubes so will come even less than 1200lbs. my tow vehicle is capable of towing 3500lbs so i am really not worried about weight.

correction: 1500lbs. still fine with me though

I'm looking for skin for my roof on a smaller 12' canned ham trailer. There are truck and trailer repair shops that sell rolled aluminum that's wide enough to allow me to use it as a continuous piece for the roof. Trouble is, the smallest roll I can find is 29'. Anyone want to split the cost on a roll and take half?

trailertrashed wrote:I'm looking for skin for my roof on a smaller 12' canned ham trailer. There are truck and trailer repair shops that sell rolled aluminum that's wide enough to allow me to use it as a continuous piece for the roof. Trouble is, the smallest roll I can find is 29'. Anyone want to split the cost on a roll and take half?

Have you resolved this yet? I would be interested in this proposition. I need 19' for my build, 70"-72" wide. However, I'm in southern California--not sure how this would work out as I assume you need yours in Detroit. What width and length are you looking for? I have seen some sources selling 20' lengths on the east coast.

I purchased my sheets here and they shipped 10' sheets. Very reasonable prices. Just note they will only ship to businesses. The pallet was hundreds of pounds so a folk lift is a must.

https://harborsales.net/Home.aspx.

tony.latham wrote:.040 is the standard for teardrop sheathing.
Tony

Tony, I am at the point in my build where I need to maker a decision on 0.040 "skins" from local sources ($$), or .023/0.024 skins from Mac's ($$$) or Hemet Valley ($$$$)...

Am I correct in thinking that if I go the 0.040 route... having breaks is more aesthetic then required? As I understand, the breaks are much more functional on the thinner material to allow for expansion/contraction... where as the 0.40 does not expand / contract as much (at least for trailer build applications.) Have I understood this correctly?

No, materials expand at an equal rate regardless of thickness. The longer the distance the more it expands. So there isn't much distance difference between .027 and .040, but over the length of either sheet, say 12 to 15 feet for typical base of front wall to hatch hinge, it's going to expand/shrink much more than the thickness direction. Every molecule expands equally in all directions, so the effect adds up the most in the longest dimension.

I need to maker a decision on 0.040 "skins" from local sources ($$), or .023/0.024 skins from Mac's ($$$) or Hemet Valley ($$$$)...

I just got out of the hills.

That .023" stuff is almost foil-like. Got hail where you live? Even with .040 I believe you need to put diamond plate on the front to protect it from road chips.

Tony

Onajourney wrote:I purchased my sheets here and they shipped 10' sheets. Very reasonable prices. Just note they will only ship to businesses. The pallet was hundreds of pounds so a folk lift is a must.

:https://harborsales.net/Home.aspx.

How can a non-business person can order that, as my husband works in a software company so how we can order ?

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How can a non-business person can order that, as my husband works in a software company so how we can order ?[/quote]

Find a friend with a commercial address you can ship to and when you create an account just say it's a commercial location that can accept truck deliveries. The whole process is online.