hotrodjim
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Post by hotrodjim on Feb 8, 2024 14:05:48 GMT -8
Hello VTT
I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with alumaweld rods that they sell at Harbor freight.
We can’t afford replacement of our camper skin and see no reason to.
We have a 2” hole that was used for the original water tank installed our camper that we had removed and now left with the hole in the original skin.
My plan is to use some aluminum sheets behind the skin and use aliumaweld to fill the hole and weld it in place.
All our skin is off the camper and stripped off the paint.
I’ve seen this product used many times and just wondered how well it holds up.
Thanks Jim
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shastatom
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I can chase women or fix campers, I choose to fix what I understand........... campers.
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Shasta 54,57 1500 58 Airflyte
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Post by shastatom on Feb 8, 2024 15:32:56 GMT -8
I used them for building my window frames. They work ok for that but for thin metal I have no experience.
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Feb 9, 2024 0:13:09 GMT -8
I also question how well alumaweld will hold up to vibration and undulating of thin skin while towing at 60 mph. I would consider putting framing behind the patch to give the alumaweld patch a solid base.
I would also consider running Rolex to the hole while the skin is off and using the hole for an outlet.
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hotrodjim
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Post by hotrodjim on Feb 9, 2024 5:16:52 GMT -8
Thanks Guys!
This is why I love this site.
Always thinking outside of the box.
I never thought about it before, but I could definitely use the hole already in the skin to put an outlet in for solar power panels.
We already have a hole for the 120v to a converter, but also been looking into solar power panels for charging the deep cell batteries.
Still learning.Jim
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Post by Teachndad on Feb 9, 2024 6:17:58 GMT -8
NCcamper's suggestion is a great one! Alumaweld, from what I have read works best on small holes. Based on that, I would assume that it would have never worked anyway on such a large hole. I have seen people use patches and they pop rivet in a patch over the hole. Not great, but will work. It should be sealed somehow to stop water penetration. Scraps of aluminum siding can be had at Hemet Valley RV. Apparently he can send you samples, but I am sure there is a nominal cost.
Cheers,
Rod
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Feb 10, 2024 18:35:28 GMT -8
Hello VTT I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with alumaweld rods that they sell at Harbor freight. We can’t afford replacement of our camper skin and see no reason to. We have a 2” hole that was used for the original water tank installed our camper that we had removed and now left with the hole in the original skin. My plan is to use some aluminum sheets behind the skin and use aliumaweld to fill the hole and weld it in place. All our skin is off the camper and stripped off the paint. I’ve seen this product used many times and just wondered how well it holds up. Thanks Jim Every product has advantages and disadvantages. The trick is to find one that has more advantages, and few disadvantages. Alumaweld is not a new product. It's been widely available at any local welding supply for years. IMO, I would call it aluminum solder, or maybe aluminum brazing because that's the way it's applied. It's not welding where you take the temperature of the base metal up and melt it together. Alumaweld melts and flows at 714 degrees. This is not very favorable for filling .025" thin RV siding. The RV siding has a lot of expansion and bowing with only sun rays that are nowhere near the 700 degrees. If you use a piece of scrap .025" behind the solder joint it will have a different rate of expansion than the original metal due to the different thicknesses. I have used alumaweld many times repairing Spartan window frames which were originally soldered in the 1940's. But they are close to 1/8" thick. I do not believe it's a good choice for your desired repair. I would use a piece of .032" sheet aluminum, shape the metal to match your existing siding brake pattern, and buck rivet it to your current skin. John Palmer |
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Happy Camper
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1963 Shasta Deluxe Airflyte
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Post by Happy Camper on Feb 10, 2024 20:40:06 GMT -8
Why not put the original part back and simply not use it so it looks more untouched outside?
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Feb 11, 2024 0:13:35 GMT -8
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Post by Teachndad on Feb 11, 2024 6:36:55 GMT -8
Why not put the original part back and simply not use it so it looks more untouched outside? Good question. Sometimes in this business, you have to cut or destroy something to get it off or out of the trailer. For example: The water inlet on my Westerner could not be threaded off the feeder pipe. There was no way to get the skin over it when I was removing the skin, so i had to cut the pipe on the inside to allow removal of the skin. I had to toss the inlet in the trash.  I was lucky to find an inlet a few years later to use. But sometimes that part you really need can't be found so you have to go to plan B. Cheers, Rod |
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jester76
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1954 Aljoa sportsman
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Post by jester76 on Feb 11, 2024 19:34:13 GMT -8
This won't do you any justice but I had a gaping hole from an after market heater, I just broke some sheet aluminum slightly and riveted in place, i didnt need so many rivets and there are better more invisible rivets out there. I like to think that if this had happened in 1958, this is how john doe would have replaced or mended his trailer and boom, history happened I figure this will mostly disappear when it's painted out.  20240128_174535 by Jesse Kunda, on Flickr  KIMG6049 by Jesse Kunda, on Flickr |
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hotrodjim
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Post by hotrodjim on Feb 12, 2024 13:05:39 GMT -8
Thanks Guys
Rod you hit it dead on the nail.
We had tried several different approaches to remove the metal pipe going into the water tank and just for the life of us we couldn’t remove it.
The way it was installed I could not get a torch into any area to heat the pipes up and the 90 degree coupling was welded together.
We were not going to use the water holding tank anyway so was left with the hole in the skin.
What I’m going to do is put a solar panel outlet in there.as we are converting all our lights to 12volts.
The only 120 volt I will have is to charge the battery if we have a 120 volt hook up.
Maybe I will invest in a solar power pack later like a Blueyeti
I’m planning on putting a hand pump for our sink water.
We’re camping not hotel ing.
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