New roof skin needed. ? on S-locks

The only other way to do it is with lap joints which means a bunch of screws along the seam. The nice thing about the S Locks or Pittsburg Locks is that no fasteners are visible because the lower sections slide up in to the already fastened upper section. The other good thing is that there is less of a chance for leakage down the road. Watch more videos and read some more about skin application before you make any decisions on this. It's all been tried and done and every decision comes with consequences and the best time to find out about them is before you spend your money.

Feb 28, 2014 6:23:45 GMT -8 slider said:

I'm also on the hunt for al roofing in the SE, going to try some cargo trailer and tractor trailer body repair and parts/supply places. Ive also seen someone suggest gutter shops but the gutter installers usually have rolls about 12-14" wide, but I guess those rolls are slit from something wider.

Of course there are rv supply places on line that you can buy from and a few get very good reviews on here.

I will post on the forums if I find an alternative source.

Here's my "take" on Semi Trailer Roof material.

The GOOD. I would assume since semi trucks are used nationally, and they tend to get beat up on a regular basis, you will find truck trailer repair shops widely spread across the nation. They sell .040" aluminum roofing skin that's 103" wide from a roll "by the foot". The last time I purchased this material was about two and a half years ago. I have done two trailer's with this material. The first was a 5' by 10' "king sized" tear drop. The second trailer was a 13' Aljoa with a one piece front bumper to back bumper roof. The material cost was about $15 per foot (in 2011), pretty cheap by the foot, when you consider that it's 103" wide. The .040" thickness is just slightly thicker than the common .030" RV skin material. But it's very soft, and was very easy to "hand cut", and to bend over for edges. My stapler when right through the .040" thickness.

The BAD. Truck repair shops are not into "things looking good". They will scratch the crap out of your metal as they take it off their roll and re-roll it for you. The second time I purchased it, I talked to the counter guy and asked  if I could help cut and roll it. I brought along a roll of duck tape and "taped the first cut end" so it would not scratch the metal. It also helped to bring two "flat pad" vise grips to clamp the ends.  The other problem was they want to stab it with a fork lift and drive it out to your truck, which puts more dings into the new metal. I talked them into "hand carrying it out". The quality of the material is "cosmetically" poor and not consistent like RV skin. Not a big deal on the top of a tall semi truck, but it looks like poop on the front and rear of a canned ham roof curves. I tried to polish it out, and the poor quality just has too many pits to really shine nicely. I ended up sanding it to 220/400/600/1000 then polishing with emery, and then aluminum polish.

It's a viable alterative, likely widely available, the cost savings was not worth the extra work, and likely I would use it again ONLY AS A LAST RESORT.

John