aluminum trailer

[BWS29128]

visit www.trailex.com , they have bolt together Al trailers that should work for your applications.

I've seen them in real life and they look quite respectable.

Plus being a brand name, they are easier to register and resale will be higher than a home made, but you dont have the fun of creating it yourself.

if you do weld one up yourslf, remember to use Stainless for all the bolts.

I didn't even think of this aspect, since we aren't required to register trailers in SC...good point.

[welder_one]

at the plant that i work in, we build signs for all over the u.s. they are all bult from aluminum. the extrusions are all 6061-t6 and the sheeting is 5052-h38. what we do to keep the aluminum around for years of service sitting on a "stick" and blowing in the wind is this: we treat all aluminum even if it gets powder coating, paint, or scotchlite (the high reflective background on a sign)

the treating process is this, first the al goes through a caustic soda wash, then 2 rinses. next it gets put into a nitric/ sulfuric acid mix, to etch, and a rinse last it goes through a chroming process that uses zinc chromate and chromic acid, and a few polishing chemicals. it turns the al a slight golden brown kinda like anodizing but different. we have a whole lot of signs on the east and west coast and we get a 10-15 year service only because the ink from screen printing or the scotchlite fades out.

all of the signs that are on floridas toll roads booths, i made and my favorite is the one that is at jacksonville international airport in florida.

if you want to build it out of aluminum, do. it will last just as long, just use a zinc chromate primer on it and it'll be around for a while. i will post a pic of a bridge that i made out of aluminum and treated it only with zinc chromate

[shorerider16]

Noble metals?

Not totally positive on this one but I have been told that mixing stainless steel and aluminum will cause the aluminum to oxidize/corrode faster, essentially leaving you with a bunch of powder.?. Apparently it has to do with Stainless steel being a nobler metal than aluminum. Same idea as welding stainless with regular mild steel filler.

[shorerider16]

Easy way out

;Hey, why not by one of these bolt together trailers, assemble it so it fits up right, and then weld it for extra strength? Because we always need an exscuse to fire up the old welder right. Besides, it wouldn't require any fitting and you wouldn't have to hunt down any materials.