Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

What Flboy said, and where did you get the fenders?

Roger

flboy wrote:That is one fine looking retro teardrop. Did you build that?

Thank you, Don. Yes, I built this teardrop. We've had a lot of fun with it.

My wife and I are nearing retirement age, and my hope is to convert a cargo trailer for extended vacations. Thanks to you and everyone else for your cargo trailer build journals and for putting up with my rookie questions. This knowledge will be invaluable if I ever get to build out a cargo trailer.

Howdy All;

Here is the manual that I worked from in the Navy,
Short download, scroll down into Chapter 3 take what you wish
from it. This is only the first of a series of 5 manuals solely about
Aircraft corrosion and the basic aircraft is aluminum and various fasteners.
file:///C:/Users/SWC%601806141/Downloads/NAVAIR_01-1A-509-1%20(1).pdf

hank

>>> So, you removed the screws with a protective coating that help prevent the formation of Galvanic corrosion.....

"that help" in my opinion is understood to be something that "helps" a STEEL fastener..... And without any doubt, a STEEL fastener needs all the "help" it can get when it is used with aluminum.

>>> and replaced them with un-coated screws of steel.....

STAINLESS Steel. A perfect match in heaven ? Certainly not. But, I have spent years working on Aluminum bodied class 8 trucks, a few years around aluminum hulled multi-million dollar yachts and numerous fully aluminum bodied step vans. There is a reason why they use Stainless over some "coated" product. Pull the curtain back on a 10-15 year old Utili-master or Brothertown bodied Step Van where they used a lot of steel structure and "coated steel" bolts, then do the same with a 35-40 year old Grumman body where they used stainless for structural fasteners and no steel inside and you will see quite the difference.

Sure, there is a galvanic reaction between Stainless and Aluminum no matter what, even more so in saltier environments. But some in depth study will point out that it is primarily a notable problem when stainless is the major mass and aluminum is the minor.

I've seen the "coated screws" on CT's a few years down the road.... I don't want what they offer. I doubt I have them laying around anymore.

For what little it is worth, all the screws I replaced that are holding on my 3" wide trim have had the holes sprayed with Fluid Film, had their threads dipped into thickened FF (I am a hands down BELIEVER in FF because of my years with coast to coast, privately owned class 8 trucks), AND have a UHMW thin washer under their heads... in some cases where a washer has been used, a buna-n bonded (to stainless) washer has been used.

The one regret I have is not taking the time to fully mist the inside of each and every aluminum tube cavity with FF.

>>> Otherwise the integrity of your totally sealed up trailer will be compromised within a year or less.

Huh... She just turned 1-1/2 ! Still here, still looks new. I keep it washed and under a cover when not in use.

Please understand that any reference to "Totally Sealed Up" along the way was and still is... that I AM NOT going to allow holes, gaps or cracks to let any water IN from the outside. I'm not sure why anyone would. If someone has that much WATER in their trailer, they may as well put those basement wall perimeter drains in when they are building (or just do what I did and figure out how to manage condensation). It's not rocket science.

Grummy, Howdy;

I can see that you've got your mind made up and it ain't gonna change. Your choice .

These are the Grumman bodys that I dealt with;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Gruman+ ... e&ie=UTF-8
Slightly more critical to get your corrosion control right.

hank

hankaye wrote:Grummy, Howdy;

I can see that you've got your mind made up and it ain't gonna change. Your choice .

These are the Grumman bodys that I dealt with;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Gruman+ ... e&ie=UTF-8
Slightly more critical to get your corrosion control right.

hank

I replaced as many galvanized screws as I could in my aluminum featherlite with stainless. And after 5 years sitting outside, they looked like the day I installed them. The steel screws would have left rust steaks after that time. And most of them wanted to break off removing where as the stainless screws came right out if I needed.

Hi Al,

In case you have not figured it out, it is the steel screws that are rusting.

I built a cedar fence awhile back and used aluminum nails. They suck but where ever I happened to use a zinc coated steel nail, a black streak eventually ran down the board from rust.

Electroplated zinc is silver and can be quite shiney but will corrode. Zinc-chromate is a gold color and is better. Hot dipped galvanized steel is dull silver grey and quite corrosion resistant. And, of course, stainless steel screws are never going to rust for our purpose. I like rebar's idea of removing and replacing the screws with stainless. You might as well seal each as you put them in.

Tt

hankaye wrote:
These are the Grumman bodys that I dealt with;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Gruman+ ... e&ie=UTF-8
Slightly more critical to get your corrosion control right.

No doubt! I bet they use some radical hardware outside of the aluminum rivet world.... of course they have more money than I got......

Grummy, Howdy;

Grummy wrote:

hankaye wrote:
These are the Grumman bodys that I dealt with;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Gruman+ ... e&ie=UTF-8
Slightly more critical to get your corrosion control right.

No doubt! I bet they use some radical hardware outside of the aluminum rivet world.... of course they have more money than I got......

yup,

hank

thanks guys

time to get on the roof and replace those screws with SS. It cleaned up nicely only to show streaks the next big rain we had.

I found a trailer manufacturer who agreed to build me my narrow track, but talks ended when I asked if they could use the stainless fasteners I was willing to pay extra for.