Quote:
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
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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.