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10th May 2014, 10:53 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Replace box-trailer floor with aluminium checkerplate?
Gents,
I have a 10y.o. steel 7' x 4'6" box-trailer with a rusted floor. Is it feasible to replace the floor with aluminium checkerplate? If so, what thickness please?
I read elsewhere on this forum that you can use Sikaflex with rivets or tek screws to secure the floor to the subframe. Would this be OK for my purposes?
Any advice appreciated.
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11th May 2014, 01:57 AM #2
No. Unless you are very, very careful with how you put it together, the aluminium will be just waiting for galvanic corrosion to set in. Just use some checkerplate steel in an easy-to-replace way. Or possibly some of the Coreten weathering steel, as it's rust is self stabilising.
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11th May 2014, 10:23 AM #3
Interesting to see what thickness one can buy corten in, and of course pricing.
How would one pick if steel merchant is actually selling one corten over a sheet of standard mild?www.lockwoodcanvas.com.au
I will never be the person who has everything, not when someone keeps inventing so much cool new stuff to buy.
From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".
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11th May 2014, 11:35 AM #4
Locally, I can get a sheet of 2.5 x 1200 x 2400 coreten for just over $200; 2.1mm checkerplate for $160 or hot rolled 3mm for $200.
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12th May 2014, 09:35 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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Thanks. Would pop rivets be suitable? I reckon I would want checkerplate for grip and to protect the rivet heads being damaged by a shovel. Given the trailer is about 1350 x 2100, a single 2400x1200 sheet isn't going to do it. Two sheets is going to leave a lot of wastage. Does checkerplate come wider than 1200?
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12th May 2014, 09:55 PM #6
Welding would be my first option, followed by some tek screws. Chat to your local metal place, they may be able to cut and MIG the new steel in for you.
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12th May 2014, 10:07 PM #7GOLD MEMBER
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OK, I have a mate who has a MIG and is very handy with it too. He also has a plasma cutter.
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13th May 2014, 06:23 PM #8Senior Member
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Place I get steel from does 1800 x ? sheets but you pay for them. If you don't really need a single sheet I'd be inclined to get two with a single seam and choose the sheets to minimise wastage.
http://www.midaliasteel.com/products/floor-plate/
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1st June 2014, 11:34 AM #9
As for the aluminium..I wouldn't.
If you are concerned about corrosion.....there is no problem with steel as long as it is painted properly and looked after moderately well....the vast majority of trailers are not prepared or painted very well at all...hence the rust evry easily.
now back to this trailer.
how is it constructed.
Is it a frame & sheet trailer, with an actual frame around the out side or is it a folded sheet construction trailer with only a minimal frame.
If it is a frame traler the replacement should be fairly straight forward.
It is very veray easy to build or modify a trailer so it becomes so heavy it is neither use nor ornament.
putting 3mm sheet steel in a light trailer will add a lot of weight very fast and add unnecessay cost.
better to look considerably lighter.....1.8 or 2mm I recon would be sufficient.
as to methods of fixing...forget pop rivets.....particularly aluminium rivets.....they will either corrode or sheer off in fairly short order.
If you can not or do not want to weld, the best option I think is drill tip wafer head screws.
I put a trailer deck dowm with these over 30 years ago.....it is still down good and firm.
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Most powertools have sharp teeth.
People are made of meat.
Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.
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14th June 2014, 12:32 AM #10
Go galvanised steel sheet. Im going to use sikaflex to hold the sheet down.
Aluminium needs to be the same weight approx for same strength in theoryc2=a2+b2;
When buildings made with lime are subjected to small movements thay are more likely to develop many fine cracks than the individual large cracks which occur in stiffer cement-bound buildings. Water penetration can dissolve the 'free' lime and transport it. As the water evaporates, this lime is deposited and begins to heal the cracks. This process is called autogenous healing.
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