Aluminium trailers ... your thoughts ?

[rockman]

Anyone on here play with aluminium alot ?.
Just curious on the long-term life of a trailer built from aluminium ?.
I was just reading in another thread where someone mentioned that aluminium will end up getting fatigue cracks through it .

Cheers

[geordie4x4]

Mine has a steel frame chassis and the rest is alloy.


I have taken it on some pretty long grueling trips over 90,000 km with it now and never had a problem.
 
I have seen a few local boat builders that now only make ally trailers for pretty big boats (3 to 5 tonne).
So I suppose it would come down to how well engineered the chassis was and what sort of material it is made from. Some of the high strength ally beams are incredible if they are welded or bolted properly to limit stress points.

[kiwipete]

It will crack at some stage of it's life somewhere on the trailer...  When and where  is anyone’s guess and Offroad will just hasten the cracking...  Welding aluminium is easy but you need a TIG or MIG to do a proper job and there isn’t too many of those set up for Al welding in the Outback… 
Good example of Al verse Steel 
A mate of mine years ago went to buy a Bullbar for his little 4x4 ute and asked about a Al one and how strong they are… He was after less weight as possible… The reply he got was if he wanted an Al Bullbar to be as strong and last as long as a Steel Bull bar it will weigh nearly the same… So the same could be said for a 100% Al CT… If you were determine to go Al I’d have Steel chassis and Al other bits i.e. those bits that don’t take any stress will be fine in Al, however they must be attached to the Chassis correctly…

So Steel Chassis Aluminium everything else…  maybe  

Personally I think Aluminium can look Shithouse if left unpainted and that checker plate finish looks so cheap and nasty IMO…  Everyone has different ideas..

[Isuzumu]

The main reason for going to a gal chassis and alloy body after an all steel was rust, got sick of fixing rust spots from stone chips on the old one. But no matter what you buy the workmanship is all too important, and ours is pretty well built. After being in the boat building game for many years I know a good weld from a not so good one.

Personally I think Aluminium can look ****house if left unpainted and that checker plate finish looks so cheap and nasty
Now this one does not look to bad does it  

[Isuzumu]

Had trouble getting one photo on here now I have bloody three how do i get rid of two of them please?

[geordie4x4]

Had trouble getting one photo on here now I have bloody three how do i get rid of two of them please?

Yes it does look good.

You should be able to press the "Modify" button to edit the post then delete the URL for extra photos.

[Isuzumu]

Yes it does look good.

You should be able to press the "Modify" button to edit the post then delete the URL for extra photos.

Thank you

[Matto]

Bruce - Jimboomba? Big fan of them. Almost had one myself.

My understanding of steel vs ali is that ali is 1/3rd the weight but half the strength for a given cross-section. So to get the same strength as steel, you need to use twice as thick a piece, but you end up with only 2/3rds the weight. That's not taking into account any stress-related issues, fatigue, etc.

Personally, I'd have no porblems with a aluminium-bodied trailer on a gal chassis. Jimboomba is the one that comes to my mind - they've been making them like that for years. You'd think if they had serious issues they'd cop a lot of returns, and probably be forced to change their construction. I've certainly not heard of anything - all their customers that I've talked to seem to be very happy.

Like anything, it comes down to how hard you intend to beat on it. I've got a steel bullbar, because I want it to be able to take a few knocks and still be servicable. I'm happy with the weight and fuel-economy taxes that I need to pay to get that. My father-in-law is looking to get an alloy bar because he wants the lighter weight every day, and is happy to have it save him once and then get replaced. Horses for courses. Not saying you necessarilly need to baby an alloy trailer, but just be aware of the fact that the lightness/anti-rust benefits come with their own special sets of requirements.

All that said Rockman, no, I have no personal experience with aluminium, and I don't work with it much at all, so can't answer your original question in any way, shape or form!

Thanks!
Matto

[Alloy C/T]

Pacific trailers at Jimboomba , he built ally boats for years before getting into trailers and knows his stuff , thing is though that the weight saving in ally is a bit of a furphy , the same size trailer in steel filled with the same gear we all think we need will only weigh 50/80 kg more  on a weigh bridge , [not many c/t manufactures actually weigh their trailers bar perhaps the first prototype] ,, if your plans for the c/t include plenty of beach [ better than 50%]  go the ally  , otherwise steel is the go , as for the comments that the ally is harder to repair out scrub thats a bit of a furphy as well , migs are pretty common gear on properties nowadays.

[BigJules]

My understanding of steel vs alloy is that allow is 1/3rd the weight but half the strength for a given cross-section. So to get the same strength as steel, you need to use twice as thick a piece, but you end up with only 2/3rds the weight. That's not taking into account any stress-related issues, fatigue, etc.

That was my understanding also.

[jasonw]

i have a jimboomba excalabar. it has galvanised steel chassis and full aluminum body, im about to take it through the flinders ranges, strezlecki trk, birdsville trk, oodnadatta and then up cape york so i guess ill be able to report when i get back. dont be fooled by weight savings as ours fully loaded came in at 1630 kg with the rack fitted. as for keeping it looking shiney they told me to spray it with tyre shine.

[farmer6]

Hi rockman

We have the same trailer as Jasonw from Jimboomba Camper Trailers and we are very happy with it. It's an aluminium body on a gal chassis as matto said which I think is the key to it lasting the distance. We are also heading to the cape this Saturday for 4 weeks and I have no concerns about it's strength and ability to handle rough conditions.

We actually leaned towards aluminium for the weight advantage as I knew we would have a fairly big trailer and any savings in the weight area would be good. When we travel we carry everything in the camper as we have 4 kids and have a fridge in the wagon so there isn't much room to put stuff in there. With it fully loaded and carring 160 lts of water we come in at 1.5 ton. I'm not sure what a trailer like ours would weigh if it was fully made from steel but I guess it would be heavier, but by how much I wouldn't have a clue.

 The only disadvantage I thought of was not be able to weld it myself but once I saw the quality of the trailers I didn't see any reason for me to need to do any welding.

farmer6

[geordie4x4]

I built my own trailer from the ground up. Steel chassis has lasted well, but after trying to weld ally myself,  I had a boat builder do all the alloy welding fabrication for the top and the ally front box and it has also lasted well though some long grueling outback trips.

As far as weight, my whole trailer weighs in at about 400kg and that is with the kitchen, independant coil spring suspension and big tyres/ steel wheels from the Patrol.

It would be prety hard to have an all steel hard top/ hard floor trailer that weighed that.

I would not hesitate to have another alloy top trailer with a steel chassis and suspension particularly seeing some of the nicely built professional trailers on the market these days.

[Alloy C/T]

Geordie ,have you ever actually had your trailer on a weigh bridge ?

[geordie4x4]

Geordie ,have you ever actually had your trailer on a weigh bridge ?

Yes I have and it was 357kg.
I had to get a certificate for it when I first had it registered.

You have prompted me to go back and have a look at the notes I made when I built it, what was on when it was weighed and what I have done to it since.

I have changed from leaf springs and 45mm square (solid) axle to independant trailing arm coil spring which I worked out is almost 40 kg heavier.
I have added the bigger wheels, 60 l water tank, awnings and poles and an extra table with the kitchen. So adding all that (with water tank full) it have to admit that now it should be more like 500kg

[Rowanb]

Mine is Ally on Gal and Ive had no probs, (due to not being able to weld out scrub etc I carry a pop rivet gun and some spare small bits of ally if req, so far nil need for it) Mine is a 3 dog camper, look em up on the net im happy with mine.

[geordie4x4]

I really wonder if being able to do repairs in the bush is as big an issue as some make out.
(not having a go at you Rowanb, and the rivet gun is a prety good idea by the way).

If your chassis and suspension is steel, that is what may need repairs to get you home. Anything else breaks it is just an inconvenience, not critical.

I really think that if any of the alloy parts of my trailer breaks while I am out, I can fix with gaffa tape or wire or anything.

I have taken welding rods on several very remote outback trips and only once needed to do a repair on a panhard rod (ended up with a bandaid repair) till I could get it properly welded in Carnarvon.

So my point is, that I would not worry about having an alloy trailer (with steel chassis) for the reason of not being able to do repairs.

Mine has lasted over 90,000 km of outback bashing so far. Have replaced a few springs, wheel bearings, two shocks, a gas strut, a hinge on the main top lid. Never a repair on the alloy so I am prety happy that it is lasting just as well as a steel top would have for this sort of use.

Hell I work on an alloy boat too and we take it many hundreds of km offshore, (without needing repair patches and glue).