Re-siding a car trailer.

[nshivgator]

A few years ago a friend painted a trailer for me. He painted the trailer with some kind of paint that didn't need buffing or sanding. It really came out nice and still looks good after all these years. Talk to G & K Customs in Pa.
By the way if you waxed your trailer once or twice a year it will stay nice. I wax my Gold Rush once before winter and once when I go to Fla. in the spring.

[Ed Fernandez]

Sell it and treat yourself to a brand new one.I'm sure there's bargains out ther now.

[Mike Gardner]

This is how you do it.

Go to your local large trailer dealer or trailer manufacturer and buy the aluminum. A previous post said it is 49" wide and he is correct but some might be 50". you also need the correct height and thickness (.030, .040.or .050). When you buy the metal make sure you buy the screws as well. Count what you need and mutiply by 1.3 because you will strip the heads out of the new ones.

Getting the old aluminum off can be a chore but done with patience can be rewarding as well. Here is why:

You need to back out each screw individually and remove each panel without bending them up or destroying them because you will want to use the old panels as templates. We have a setup in our shop where we lay the new sheet on the bottom and align the old sheet over and drill the old holes into the new sheet. You might want to screw the old one to the new one to keep it from moving. This way you can use the existing holes in the frame of the trailer and not worry about having to realign all those frigin screws.

If you can't get the screws out without stripping the head, you can take a small disc wheel on your die grinder and cut a straight slot in the head to get a large straight blade screwdriver inserted then take a hammer and help break the screw loose (which can take forever).

Do one side at a time so you dont get the panels mixed up and always remember to number the panels from front to back. We have done many of these repairs and reskins and it is a bitch but you can take an old trailer and make it look like new but you still have an old trailer.

Hope this helps.

Mike Gardner

[nshivgator]

Don't forget to change the U bolts, bolts, brakes and check spring hangers on an old trailer. Be safe see you next year.

[Tracy Robbins]

Has anyone changed the panels on an ATC trailer that has aluminum rivets instead of screws? Would you drill the rivets out or grind the head off and can you get the rivets at a hardware store or are they a specialty type rivet?
Thanks for any help.

[Mike Gardner]

You can get the rivets at Fastenal. We use a pnuematic rivet gun when installing so many rivets.

In our shop, we will drill the rivets out and try and use the old hole but remember to not oversize the hole. We also use the old panels as templates. This will work if your panel is not taped or glued on in the centers, if it is then you have to slowly pull the panel back from the trailer and take a razor knife to seperate the panel from the wall stud. If you bend the panel when removing it makes it harder to use as your template.

Mike G

[Tracy Robbins]

Thanks Mike

[RacingRicki]

Originally Posted by Mike Gardner

This is how you do it.

Go to your local large trailer dealer or trailer manufacturer and buy the aluminum. A previous post said it is 49" wide and he is correct but some might be 50". you also need the correct height and thickness (.030, .040.or .050). When you buy the metal make sure you buy the screws as well. Count what you need and mutiply by 1.3 because you will strip the heads out of the new ones.

Getting the old aluminum off can be a chore but done with patience can be rewarding as well. Here is why:

You need to back out each screw individually and remove each panel without bending them up or destroying them because you will want to use the old panels as templates. We have a setup in our shop where we lay the new sheet on the bottom and align the old sheet over and drill the old holes into the new sheet. You might want to screw the old one to the new one to keep it from moving. This way you can use the existing holes in the frame of the trailer and not worry about having to realign all those frigin screws.

If you can't get the screws out without stripping the head, you can take a small disc wheel on your die grinder and cut a straight slot in the head to get a large straight blade screwdriver inserted then take a hammer and help break the screw loose (which can take forever).

Do one side at a time so you dont get the panels mixed up and always remember to number the panels from front to back. We have done many of these repairs and reskins and it is a bitch but you can take an old trailer and make it look like new but you still have an old trailer.

Hope this helps.

Mike Gardner

I have done this a few times myself and Mike's method is pretty much exactly what I did except that I just marked the holes with a sharpie instead of drilling every hole. The screws that I used were self drilling.

[199k]

If anyone is interested. I have 42 feet worth of red trailer siding panels.
Not riveted brand new.

Thanks

[Bob Verwold]

Originally Posted by 199k

If anyone is interested. I have 42 feet worth of red trailer siding panels.
Not riveted brand new.

Thanks

How thick ? And how much ?