Enclosed trailer

[tommg13780]

I'm working on an enclosed trailer and have the skeleton complete and almost ready for exterior skin. The best choice I'm aware of is prefinished .030 aluminum that can be fastened with sheetmetal screws, rivets or adhesive.
Another product that would work is fiberglass that comes in 104" by any length coming off a large roll. Smooth on the inside and textured on the outside. The fiberglass is intended for roofing on over-the road trailers. This is very rugged stuff but has a translucent characteristic that would give a greenhouse effect unless painted with a UV barrier.
cost is about $1.30 for metal Vs $2.25 fiberglass per square foot picked up at the seller location.
It may be possible to get the metal with crimped seams every 48" which would come in a specified width and length then rolled for transport. At this time the additional cost for crimped seam is not yet available but my guess is it would compare with the fiberglass.
So the question is does anyone out there have suggestions for alternatives? I'm willing to spend a little more on materials if there is some savings in labor. The square footage is approximately 500 including doors.
It's not apparent from the photo but there's a trough in the floor that lets the tailwheel drop down about 8" thus allowing for the wedge shaped profile. The chassis is a single axle boat trailer with the axle moved all the way to the rear. I'm hoping to come in at + or - 2,000# empty.

[neville]

what do you caculate as the finished interior and exterior width

[Av8r3400]

Looks awesome.

For the skin, factor in for future repairs. Then you'll never need to do any. (Murphy's Law.)

[Esser]

I think the aluminium would be my choice for longevity and looks. You can get self tapping screws so there isn't much prep. Make sure you put two vents in the roof and some sort of floor intake vent because both fibreglass and alum will get very hot in there so you want a way for the air to keep moving or else you well end up with moisture problems.

[HighWing]

I think I would like the aluminum as well, but I can't help thinking about the utility of the fiberglass regarding light transmission. I sure wish I had skylights in my hangar. Maybe aluminum on the sides and most of the top with a couple of panels of the fiberglass.
Lowell

[Lion8]

I took my 'Holsclaw' twin axel boat trailer and converted it to haul my Kitfox home. It has coil springs with shocks on each axel.
I plan on framing it out and cover it with aluminum. I did a smaller trailer with coil stock. This is what I use to cap trim while doing aluminum/Vinyl siding jobs. FRP is used on the nose and any area where there is a tight turn. I also glues FRP onto 1/2" plywood for the roof, then used heavy VERY sticky black tape used for deck to building and roof edging around the edge of the roof where it meets the walls, and capped with aluminum angle.
Good luch with yours, Tom (Lion8) N.J.

[chefwarthog]

On you top you could use a Siprema membrane like the(the Resisto Aluminium)

Just prime and stick the membrane on the top it will last for décades!!

I did it on my hunting Watch 15 years ago and still watertight!!!;)

Dont know if you have this material in US.?

[ken nougaret]

i like the idea of the custom build, just not the time involved. i am considering a dealer in georgia, "Arising aircraft trailers". i'm told they will build a 9' wide trailer upon request for about $5500.

[tommg13780]

The inside door opening and inside wall is 100" and 102" outside. I must agree with Ken as far as buying a ready-to-go unit. There is no savings in custom built but the point of this exercise is minimizing the weight and drag. Also the majority of welding was done in a shop which had a big impact on cost. The boat trailer was very cheap ($200) but that savings was quickly offset by redoing a fair amount of the early work done on framing.