It belly pan dropping time for me to assess my frame. Its a 1966 Safari Twin I’m working on, and have opened up the belly a couple of times before. This time I am thinking about replacing the metals as its pretty far gone, and was wondering about sources for belly pan replacement sheet metal that those of you who have been down this path might suggest.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions at all!
Alex & Charon Kensington
(now appearing at the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire Wentzville. MO Weekends thru June 8th)
I used .040 5052-H34, but most sane people use .025 or .032. I bought mine locally from an surplas aluminum supplier.
I was looking into what grade Al to buy for my belly pan replacement...I like your choice in grade. I am a materials geek and this is a good grade. The use of 2024 alclad has the obvious benefits of good corrosion resistance on the alclad side (which you would place down facing the rode) but the inside, 2024 (with marginal corrosion resistance) will be exposed to any and all road spray that leaks inside the belly. Depending on the cost benefit analysis I will be likely to use 5052. My belief is that it will hold up the longest and possibly be cheaper than the alclad product.
__________________ "This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption... Beer!"-Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, Friar Tuck
. . Depending on the cost benefit analysis I will be likely to use 5052. My belief is that it will hold up the longest and possibly be cheaper than the alclad product.
I used 5052 for the belly also. I agree with your reasoning, the only reason to use AlClad on the belly would be if you wanted to polish it.
I used .032" and it was pretty tough to roll the edges. Doable though.
I consider the belly skin a consumable item if you will. Just like a windshield on an automobile. It serves to protect any subfloor framing and systems from impact damage, and to some extent the weather. If it gets dinged from road debris, no one knows unless they crawl under the trailer, or it starts dragging the ground. As such, choosing to use the economical (aka cheapest) material for this application is appropriate for my application (JMHO). If it happens to be more corrosion resistant...Even Better!
As for the inside,
"but the inside, 2024 (with marginal corrosion resistance) will be exposed to any and all road spray that leaks inside the belly."
When the water gets in through the seams (it always does) I'd worry more about the steel framing being attacked than the aluminum. There is some concern over dissimilar metal corrosion if 2000 series alloys are used as opposed to say a 5000 series, but the difference in AI (anodic index) values for 2000 series aluminum and mild steel are still minimal. Of course if road salts are added to the equation...All bets are off.
Funny thing is that most of the time a belly skin drops is when the steel framing let's loose. I've seen many belly skins removed only to expose steel frames that have rusted away.
Regards All,
Kevin
(A former Metairie resident - Corner of Avenue B and Beverly Garden Drive)
__________________ Experience isn't always the best way to learn...You usually get the lesson first...And the instruction afterwards...
Underbelly metal comes loose for a number of reasons.
Rough roads, vibration due to unbalanced running gear, worn out rubber in the axles, excessive rated hitches and excessive rated tow vehicles, all can play a heavy part in loose underbelly.
Reinstalling the underbelly using large head 3/16" pop rivets, is much superior than the original installation.
I need to replace most of the belly skin on my rig. So that project is looming in the future. Thanks Alex and Charon for asking this question. So I'm taking Kip's suggestion and will begin looking around for salvage aluminum in my area. Kip, why did you insanely choose to use the .40 5052-h-34? Surely you had some rational reasons as well?!
__________________
Todd
“Complications arose, ensued, were overcome...savvy?”
Diane usually answers when I call, she is super nice and can answer any question you have. I like doing business with small family businesses like them. Is your belly split down the center? Is the sheet 4' wide? My old belly skin was 51" wide for each half so I had to create a double seam down the middle to be able to use the 48" sheets. I also used .025 5052 instead .032 2024. I could have gotten wider had I used 2024, but then it would have gone out truck instead of UPS and the price was more than double. Hope that didn't confuse you. If so, they will straighten you out, just let them know what you are doing and they know what's up. I think they now deal with a lot of us Airstreamers.
Oh, one more thing, my first attempt at a new belly pan resulted in failure. We tried to force it. I found you need to kind of massage it into place, gently and slowly. The skin is bending in two directions in the front and in the back, so it takes a bit of fuddling to make that work. Clecos were very helpful in acting as extra hands. I do not recommend you do this solo, it requires a lot of hands. You might want to look at my blog. I think I did this in January or February. I hope you have a friend like Monty to help, he was a total asset not only in his abilities mechanically, but in his positive attitude.
Diane usually answers when I call, she is super nice and can answer any question you have. I like doing business with small family businesses like them. Is your belly split down the center? Is the sheet 4' wide? My old belly skin was 51" wide for each half so I had to create a double seam down the middle to be able to use the 48" sheets. I also used .025 5052 instead .032 2024. I could have gotten wider had I used 2024, but then it would have gone out truck instead of UPS and the price was more than double. Hope that didn't confuse you. If so, they will straighten you out, just let them know what you are doing and they know what's up. I think they now deal with a lot of us Airstreamers.
Oh, one more thing, my first attempt at a new belly pan resulted in failure. We tried to force it. I found you need to kind of massage it into place, gently and slowly. The skin is bending in two directions in the front and in the back, so it takes a bit of fuddling to make that work. Clecos were very helpful in acting as extra hands. I do not recommend you do this solo, it requires a lot of hands. You might want to look at my blog. I think I did this in January or February. I hope you have a friend like Monty to help, he was a total asset not only in his abilities mechanically, but in his positive attitude.
62O,
You are absolutely correct in your above statements, except you forgot to add one thing: Re-hanging belly skin is just about the worst job to do on an Airstream. I did my '74 a year ago and it was tuff. On my '56 they were made a little differently than the '70s in that the belly skin runs cross-ways under the trailer. This allows you to use the 4 x 8 sheets like the factory did.
__________________
Dave
Operation "Save Rudy" Strike Team (charter member)
You mess with the Strike Team,... you mess with the whole trailer park!!
Kip, why did you insanely choose to use the .40 5052-h-34? Surely you had some rational reasons as well?!
MONEY, I was able to pick it up for 45 bucks for 4X8 sheets, and believe it or not I find it easier to work with when working by myself as it does not sag and go floppy when I'm under the trailer.
MONEY, I was able to pick it up for 45 bucks for 4X8 sheets, and believe it or not I find it easier to work with when working by myself as it does not sag and go floppy when I'm under the trailer.
I want to say that Aerowood is one of the finest craftsman out there. He helped guide me in the right direction on so many aspects of my belly pan replacement. I was clueless and he broke it all down for me. He steered me right with the proper size and type rivets, the best gun to buy for solid rivets, and the right grade of aluminum. I owe him a great deal of praise. Thank you, I hope someday I can repay my debt to you.
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and this is a good grade. The use of 2024 alclad has the obvious benefits of good corrosion resistance on the alclad side (which you would place down facing the rode) but the inside, 2024 (with marginal corrosion resistance) will be exposed to any and all road spray that leaks inside the belly. Depending on the cost benefit analysis I will be likely to use 5052. My belief is that it will hold up the longest and possibly be cheaper than the alclad product.
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