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Thread: Trailer top

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Trailer top

    Hello,

    looking for info into making corners for a sheetmetal horse trailer top, the style I'm going for is similar to a streamline camper, see picture, which has segmented corners.

    I did an attempt using sheetmetal 'pie cuts' which i then bent around the frame, unfortunately it's not working out. Probably have the geometry of the pie cuts all wrong, anybody have experience, tips/tricks about this?

    Thanks in advance, Christof.

    Streamline look i'm trying to copy:

    8e28_12.JPG

    Where I'm currently at, trying to fill in these front corners, there is still one of the 'test' pie cuts installed in these pictures.

    20190202_165301.jpg

    20190202_165305.jpg

  2. #2
    jatt's Avatar
    jatt is offline Always within 10 paces from nearest stubby holder
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    Default

    Fair chance this will get "bumped" to the trailer section.

    Unfort its not something I can provide suggestions on, but no doubt there will be others around here that can help.

    With the one I built, just used premade fibreglass section for the entire roof. Far easier.
    Frisky wife, happy life. ​Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.
    From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".

  3. #3
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    On the odd occasion that I've had to do something like what you're trying to achieve. I've laid a piece of cardboard or several taped together, and then cut with a sharp knife to get the look I've wanted, held together with masking tape or packing tape. Then cut the tape holding them and used the flat pieces as templates.
    Hopefully a sheetmetal worker will chime in with another alternative. Probably something on a mathematical scale.
    Hope this helps. Sorry, forgot to mention, Welcome to a TOP FORUM. Look forward to seeing the pics when it's finished.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  4. #4
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    Welcome to the forum.

  5. #5
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    G'day Christof
    To put it bluntly, you have one of the most awkward shapes to fill that I've seen in a long time. To start with, eat an orange, but cut the peel off in a way that would mimic the segments inside. You will notice that while they look triangular, if you flatten them out they have curved sides. They don't bow out much but it is enough to 'plump' out the shape. If you are any good with geometry and trigonometry you may be able to work it out. As Kryn suggests, making up cardboard templates will help get the shapes right.


    However, you have a couple of shapes blended in there. The pieces I have marked '1' are sections of a cylinder, so will have straight sides. The pieces marked '2' are like the orange; they need the sides to have a slight outward curve. The pieces with sections 1 and 2 could be made as a segment plus a straight tail. The nasty piece is the one marked 3. It will look very similar to the piece left on, but the top edge will need to match the segments next to it.

    tapping.jpg


    The good news is that (provided the float is symmetrical) the pieces on the other side will be mirror image, so the same pattern, flipped over, will probably be good for those pieces too.
    If you had exact measurements of your radii and heights, widths etc, a person who knew what they were doing could draw up the patterns for you, but it would be a complex job and you would still have to transfer those dimensions to either cardboard or the steel to get the pieces cut out.
    Good luck,

    Michael

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