Skin Thickness - Exterior

[lisaslists20]

Were the skins on the old trailers thicker than newer? is there a specific year when it changed, if it did change?
Thanks.
Lisa

[Belegedhel]

Just the opposite. Back in the day, AS used a higher quality/strength of aluminum alloy (2024 T3 Alclad), and the skin was .032" thick. In '93-'94, AS widened the body, and increased the skin thickness to .040. This change in thickness is attributed to the widening of the body rather than the alloy itself, as that alloy had been in use since '83. But if you are wondering why you see vintage trailers from the 60's with hardly a mark on them, and you see more modern trailers that are dimpled like golf balls, its is because of the alloy, not the thickness. The alloy that is currently in use (3003 or 3005 H18) has been around since '83.

[lisaslists20]

Belegedhel Well, the AS I'm going to look at today is a 72 ambassador. So, you talked about the 60's and the 80's but does that mean that the 70's were high quality alloy and thinner as well since it was before '83?
Thanks!
Lisa

[Belegedhel]

The 70's were transition years. In the early 70's, AS started experimenting with an alloy called 6061 T6, which is a tough alloy, but not as polish-able as 2024 t3 Alclad. My '73 is made of 6061-T6, and I was quite surprised to get confirmation from the factory that this was the case, as I was among the folks that thought all vintage trailers were made of 2024 T3 Alclad. In the late 70's, they switched to the 3004 H16 "brite" panels. So the '72 you are looking at is likely to be 6061-T6.

Nothing wrong with the 6061-T6, it is still pretty tough, but doesn't have that Alclad layer that will allow you to shine it to a mirror finish and keep it that way.

Good luck!