annealing AL or what I did today

[cracker39]

Cary, I stopped at another RV dealer today. They have a 15/16" x 9/16" in mill alum that used the plastic insert strip. They wanted $42 for a 16' piece. All of the dealers in my area seem to be high. But, they also said that shipping for 16' pieces was very expensive. If I could cut it to 8' lengths, it would come by UPS. But, with 8' lengths, I'd have too much waste and it would take more trim. They had a piece that I liked in their catalog, but it only comes in a 10 piece tube, so they wouldn't order that just to sell me 4 pieces.

I planned on cutting to bend at corners, or just use individual straight pieces mitered to fit. Only the top front curve near the front will require much bending. I have a weighted rubber mallet that might do the job.

[cracker39]

I could also use mill. After shaping, I could prime and paint it white and reinstall.

[Cary Winch]

Shipping will very likely have alot to do with it. That is why we don't sell any to anyone unless they are local. It is normally cheaper to get it from the RV center rather than to ship a few sticks. They are right about the 10 piece bundle, that is how we get them.

Our supplier is a outfit that supplies RV dealers with alot of their stuff. You would think these dealers would arrange a big order of stock items all at once along with trim so there is one truck shipping charge. That is what we do and when spread out amongst all the stuff in the order it comes out pretty cheap per trim. They should never be having to order a few sticks of trim at a time, that is just silly.

Maybe there is a builder or a restoration shop that stocks it in quantity nearby? It sounds like these dealers are not stocking it if they are charging that much for shipping.

Cary

[madjack]

Cary/Dale, that is the problem I ran into locally...the biggest RV dealer in the area didn't stock anything I wanted on a regular basis...as they needed a piece of some sort they would order a tube and what they had in stock was left overs...if we wanted something specific, they would order for us but only by the tube...shoot we can do that ourselves...shipping is definitely a killer...
madjack

[asianflava]

I used 4 different trype of extrusions on my trailer:

1X1x1/8 T-molding
1X1/2x1/8 Angle
1/2x1/2x1/8 Angle
1X1X1/8 Angle

I got all of them at the local metal supplier. Got 16foot pieces, set one end on the side view mirror and lashed the other end to the side of my truck. Try a local metal supplier first, I don't have the recipts here but I think it was like $21 for the T and $16 for the 1X1/2.

[cracker39]

I haven't tried the metal dealers yet. I wanted white trim made specifically for trailers with holes already punched at 4" intervals. That's what costs so much. It's in several RV catalogs I have from $36 to $42 per stick, but you have to buy a tube of 10. That's the same price as at the dealers. I still have a couple of dealers to check with. The metal supplier where I got my chassis metal can supply alum angle. I may just go that route and drill my own holes on my drill press. It can be annealed for bending if I can learn how to do it. The guy who runs the place never heard of annealing. Neither did an RV tech I talked to this week.

[asianflava]

I used a Roper Whitney Jr Punch to make my holes. The holes were a lot cleaner, and I think it was faster. At first I marked the centerline of the leg but after a while I noticed that if you push it all the way in, it is centered because the nose will hit the other leg.

I'm not saying to go out and get one but it is an option. It is a little spendy for the kit $50-$75 but I bought mine from work. They periodicaly sell off excess and old tools, so I got my set for $7 or $8.

[Chris C]

Punching is definately the way to go with aluminum. Bits have to be sharpened correctly and run at the recommended speed to keep aluminum from "galding". (sp?) If you have the proper tools (and Asianflava has) punching is the best way.

[greasywheats]

Asainflavor- That's a great tool! Then again, show me a tool that I don't think is great! If anyone is interested in these, they have them at HarborFreight... http://tinyurl.com/zkhep and http://tinyurl.com/fj7z3
I haven't used or seen them, so I can't attest to quality. Thanks for the heads up!

[cracker39]

With my experience with HF tools, it might last long enough to get the job done. My 4 1/2" angle grinder did....just barely. It's junk now.