Aluminum composite teardrop

[bobwhite215]

Cool! Only disadvantage to acm i have seen is that it seems to dent easily. Is that going to be an issue for you? If you have really good mudflaps and maybe that diamond plating on the front it should be ok.
Not sure if it would work for how your planning to assemble it but there is really good structural double sided tape now as well as glue. Some trailer manufacturers use it on their trailers to hold basically everything together now. Stronger than mechanical fasteners. Look at 3m and loctite products


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I do plan on diamond plating the front. Thanks for the heads up.

I have used the 3m vhb tape before to join metal to metal. Not sure how it will work going to wood.

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[dancam]

Cool! Only disadvantage to acm i have seen is that it seems to dent easily. Is that going to be an issue for you? If you have really good mudflaps and maybe that diamond plating on the front it should be ok.
Not sure if it would work for how your planning to assemble it but there is really good structural double sided tape now as well as glue. Some trailer manufacturers use it on their trailers to hold basically everything together now. Stronger than mechanical fasteners. Look at 3m and loctite products


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I do plan on diamond plating the front. Thanks for the heads up.

I have used the 3m vhb tape before to join metal to metal. Not sure how it will work going to wood.

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Im not sure about it bonding to wood either. Both those companies have sales reps you could call and find out pretty quick!
When we bonded a dibond sign to plywood we used contact cement which worked well, but may be difficult to do on a trailer. Also i think contact cement weakens with heat.
I like pl premium for bonding stuff to wood, long open time and strong bond. I dont know if it bonds to the aluminum and it does not flex.

[saywhatthat]

Nice looking profile . I would like to use as infield. Do you think it would work With support just around the outside edges . My trailer has 1.5 to 2 inch tab. The frame is like a picture frame.

[Sheddie]

2014-12-28 10.56.28 (560x315).jpg (71.88 KiB) Viewed 3654 times

http://www.holdfast.co.nz/pages/product ... psid=20303
This is the one that Ullrich Aluminium recommended for the job. I don't know if it is available in your part of the world, but I have put the websites here so you can check the details. You may be able to finde something the same by a different manufacturer.

[Breytie]

2014-12-28 10.56.28 (560x315).jpg

http://www.holdfast.co.nz/pages/product ... psid=20303
This is the one that Ullrich Aluminium recommended for the job. I don't know if it is available in your part of the world, but I have put the websites here so you can check the details. You may be able to finde something the same by a different manufacturer.

I can vouch for FixAll - I use the Hi-Tack (red tube) to fix and seal - that stuff is phenomenal and will even set under water. Fixall does not give off solvents or acid when curing so it can be used on most metals and plastics.

[bobwhite215]

Major step accomplished today. Cleared out a build area in the back of the shop. Now I can pull the trailer frame in to get started.



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[Jack Olsen]

I did some tests with different adhesives and aluminum composite panels. Some of it (from page 2 and on) might be useful to you.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63776&start=15

[bobwhite215]

I did some tests with different adhesives and aluminum composite panels. Some of it (from page 2 and on) might be useful to you.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63776&start=15

Thanks. Read thru the thread. Some interesting stuff. Did you do any testing with adhering the ACM to wood? I am going to be using a plywood skeleton with cutouts for foam insulation as the core for my walls.

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[bobwhite215]

And today we built a worktable. Should have everything in place now to get started on the floor.

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[bobwhite215]

Made some progress today. Cut the profile shape out of a piece of foam board. Now need to transfer it to something more durable that I can use as a template.

Also trimmed the floor to size, and cut some 2" strips that are being glued up to cover the frame.

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[bobwhite215]

Attached 1-1/2" plywood cleats around the bottom of the floor tonight. These will hide the frame and give me something to attach the walls too.





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[bobwhite215]

Well, the floor is basically done. Put a coat of asphalt paint on the bottom today to seal it. Should be able to attach it to the trailer frame now.

Progress has been a little slow because we are building at work, and the table saw is at home. Made it tough to accomplish much at any one time. So, got the saw torn apart, cleaned up, and moved down this weekend. Should be able to start knocking some things out now.




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[bobwhite215]

Had a few minutes tonight, so I skinned the rear bumper area with the ACM.




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[bobwhite215]

Starting to make some real progress. Floor is attached to trailer frame and side walls are cut out. Didn't get any pics this weekend as I forgot my phone at home.

We have made some substantial design changes as we've gotten going. The original plan called for a false floor with storage underneath. Scratched that idea for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is that it just made everything a little too high. My wife is only 4'-11", so keeping the work surface in the galley as low as possible is a big issue.

Second change is the wall construction. Started with the idea of doing a foam sandwich, with hollowed out 3/4" ply, skinned with ACM on the outside and tongue and groove paneling on the inside. This was primarily for weight savings. However, after laying everything out, and seeing just where I was willing to cut out pockets for foam, I decided it just isn't worth the extra effort. Going to keep the walls solid plywood. Will still skin the outside with ACM.

With 4 days off for Thanksgiving next weekend, we should make some pretty substantial progress.

[bobwhite215]

Here is one pic from the other day with the foam profile template clamped to the frame while we worked on layout.

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