Amazing Aluminium: The Advantages Of Choosing Aluminium For Your Sheet Metal Trailer

Sheet metal is a wonderfull versatile and practical material, and sheet metal fabrication workshops can produce a dizzying array of objects and contraptions with just a few sheets on it. However, one of the most popular products turned out by sheet metal fabricators is the humble towing trailer, and many motorists who need an inexpensive, reliable and eminently durable trailer have theirs created to order by sheet metal specialists.

However, if you intend to order a custom trailer in this way, you will have to choose the specific type of sheet metal your trailer will be made from. Traditionally, this role has been filled by sheet steel, but in recent years aluminium sheeting has proved itself an excellent material for trailer construction. This unique metal has a number of benefits when it comes to trailer fabrication, especially when compared with conventional sheet steel.

Rustproof

Probably the most well-known property of aluminium, the layer of protective oxide created by aluminium when exposed to air protects it from the rust and corrosion that can fatally undermine the strength of steel and other ferrous metals. As such, a sheet aluminium trailer will have no problems to speak of regarding rust, leaving you free to check on smaller steel components (such as wheel nuts) which are vulnerable to rust but often neglected.

As you can imagine, this immunity to rust makes aluminium a particularly tempting choice for marine trailers. Steel trailers used to launch boats and other watercraft will suffer from significant rust problems, even if you only launch into freshwater, while aluminium trailers suffer no issues.

Lightweight

Aluminium also differs from steel in that it is much lighter, and a trailer made from sheet aluminium will be considerably lighter than an equivalent model made of sheet steel. This decrease in has a number of practical benefits when it comes to towing; it reduces wear on the trailer's suspension and brakes (if any are installed), improves your towing vehicle's fuel economy, and enables the trailer to travel across rough terrain more easily. 

Low maintenance

If you opt to have your trailer made from sheet steel, you will invariably have to take the time to inspect it for rust, as well as make sure that any protective coatings applied to prevent rust and other damage are renewed. Aluminium trailers have none of these needs, and a cursory inspection of important moving parts is generally all that is required to keep your trailer in proper working order.

Resale value

If you no longer require your trailer, selling it on can be a good way to recoup some of your initial costs; however, used steel trailers may suffer from rust problems, and tend to fetch less on the open market. Rust-free aluminium models can usually be sold for considerably more. Aluminium is even worth something even if your trailer is damaged or destroyed in an accident; the metal itself is valued by scrap merchants, and components of a disused aluminium trailer can often be sold separately. 

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