Aluminum skin questions?????

[mechmagcn]

I know it has been discussed somewhere, but I got tired of reading all of the posts that came up in my search. What gauge of aluminum is used to skin a TD? I read a few posts where it was said that the skin "floats" instead of being bonded to the sidewall, is there an issue with gluing the skin to the plywood?
I have knocked around the idea of using a 1" square tubing frame and riveting and gluing the skin to the outside, then using 1" foam board insulation and 1/8" panelling inside.
This TD is still in the planning and parts gathering stage, so any information and suggestions are gladly accepted.

[mikeschn]

I think typically, if there is such a thing, folks either glue or float the aluminum.

If you glue it, when the aluminum expands it will break the contact cement joint.

If you float it there is no joint to break, but in both cases the alum may balloon out when it gets hot.

You could use tubing and rivet the alum to it. I think Sumner did that.

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... index.html

Mike...

[madjack]

Jeff, the most common thickness is probably .032 and .040 ...after that .050 and .060...the thicker it is, the more problems you have getting the skin around the various radiuses...floating vs gluing, is probably a toss up...we float ours as do various commercial manufacturers...others glue it down...many find a waterproof, outdoor carpet adhesive to work well, others use contact cement...one thing to be aware is that if you get "oil canning" onna skin that is glued, it may not lay back properly afterwards which is why we float our skins.....
madjack

[Jester]

We used .40. It is late model race car skin used for body panels of the dirt track cars. Found it in 4'x8' and 4'x10' sheets many colors available. Also found that it could be bought in 2' widths off a roll as long as you like. this was very good for a shortage on the interior ceiling. I had used FRB and needed 16" to finsh the ceiling and did not want to buy a $32 sheet for that much.

Being very inexperienced we glued to the sides and spars and followed that up with a brad nailer along all places that the trim would cover. The trailer is black and with the weather of late has gotten very hot. I have not noticed any problem on the sides but the roof may have expanded a bit. I backed all spaces with styrofoam but should have gone a bit thicker to be sure that it was firmly sandwiched between the interior and outside skin. I am probably the only person (and others from the forum) who would notice the error. I will be correcting that on the new project to start hopefully this summer.

ADVICE FROM A BEGINNER: WARNING!!!!! This is a highly addictive "hobby" that will tax your patience and wallet beyond measure!! That being said.......Get started!!! Misery loves company!!