Aluminum vs Steel Trailers

[LBrown59]

Aluminum vs Steel Trailers

Which is best?

 

[Egon]

Neither is best. Each has its own designated Niche in the trailer world.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[thcri]

Long distance travels go Aluminum. If it is just local use then go Steel.

 

[cowboydoc]

It all depends on what your uses are, where you live, and what tow vehicle you have. Fill out some answers and we'll be able to help you more.

 

[Nasty135]

LBrown59, I guess when it comes to trailers whether it a large tractor trailer with dual tandems or a smaller car(CUT)trailer , ALuminium being lighter would be my choice if money wasn't an issue ,consequently my trailer is steel /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Another issue you may get with aluminium is vibration fatigue causing it to crack somewhere ,but that could happen to steel also I suppose . Youv'e seen the cracked aluminium fenders on the BigRig trucks caused from the diesel vibration,But thats from internal source,I don't think the trailer would suffer from same effects. Aluminium=$$ VS. Steel=$

 

[jim_wilson]

One major factor to think about with steel vs aluminum is longevity. My father built a utility type trailer out of aluminum way back in 1971 that is still going strong. It has an aluminum frame that is bolted together with stainless steel bolts with a aluminum diamond plate deck with plywood sides bolted to an aluminum framework. The plywood has been replaced a couple of times and the I sandblasted the steel axle and epoxy painted it for him about 10 years ago but other than that the thing is still going strong. I don't think you are going to see a steel framed trailer lasting that long with some serious rust abatement going on somewhere along the line. If you intend on keeping the trailer for a good long time in my experience aluminum is the way to go.

 

[markct]

aluminum corrodes also, its not totaly safe from the dangers of corrosion, after a while salt will eat it away, you say its been around since early 70s, well we have trailers around here that are even older than that, all steel and they are fine also, structural steel lasts alot better than sheetmetal on cars.
and the nice thing about steel is that when ya wanna add tie downs or whatever or need to repair it you or anyone with a stick welder can weld it, aluminum requires expensive tig welding equipment to repair properly

 

[oldgrizzlybear]

A fairly recent articles on horse trailer either in Western Horseman or Equus mention that Al. trailers can develop stress cracks thus shorting its life. The impression I had that these cracks are hard to detect and that they could fail suddenly.

Up until I read this article, I thought I would like to have an AL horse trailer, but now I'm reconsidering (not that I'm currently in the market

 

[Wannafish]

"...aluminum requires expensive tig welding equipment to repair properly" /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

We have been Mig welding structural steel for years. Only use Tig for those 'hard to reach' areas. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JimR]

That is correct about mig welding aluminum. I mig welded the aluminum oil pan on my son's BMW when he hit a boulder and cracked it.