Welding floors in a 48' refer. trailer

[Danco]

what material is the floor made of now? if its wood, you might want to wet it down before you bring in the sheets and start welding. also, if youre doing full seem welds, make sure you leave enough gap between the plates before tacking. not doing so will cause them to "lift" at the seam. you might get to do these a lot in the future because in my opinion, aluminum's too soft a metal for a floor plate. these floors take a lot of wear and tear.

[bjdenommee]

Hey I like that idea, round stock at the ends for a nice tight fit.

[Arc Burn]

Thanks Franz.

Bill,someone used a similar fix before,only with solid square stock.This is a pretty large fleet operator who feels the plate is worth the $$ so this was the way he wanted to see it done.

[bill grooms]

floor repair

When I repair the ridged floors in the reefers, I dont plate the area. I usually find solid aluminum round that fits down in the floor,7/8 I think. I try to get a tight fit. I then tack one end, then pound down the other. Sometimes if there is a portion gone on top, I'll cut a small piece to fill it flush then weld. This repair keeps the floor nice and flat. I'll usually cut the rods to extend the damaged section by about 6 inches or so. Grinding the top flush and then wirebrushing makes the job complete.
good luck

That cleaner is real nasty stuff (Hydroflouric acid) that you absolutly can't let contact skin. About what is used to clean and pasivate stainless steel.

[Franz]

ArcBurn, the guys I was talking to say it will clean anything off aluminum from gallopin grunge to diesel smoke. I figure it does all that, it oughta be good for pre weld cleaning.

[Arc Burn]

Thanks Bill,Those are the same floors as i'm working on.I see lots of interesting patch jobs in some,hopefully this is the fix to end all fixes

[bill grooms]

reefer welding

I weld reefers from time to time. We use 4043 wire with spool gun. I prefer the cobra gun with a large roll of wire. Less down time changing those little rolls. I use 2 squirrel cage fans. One in the front and one close to the door. Usually I have an air hose with a blower to help the smoke out. The reefers we weld at our shop have ridged floors, about 1 inch wide and one inch deep. I've had small fires, but they usually go out on their own. When I weld aluminum with insulation underneath, I try to move fairly fast so the insulation wont blow through. It usually happens though. I just clean it up with a grinder because patching it seems impossible.
good luck

[Arc Burn]

Rocky D,moisture should not be an issue,they insist that the plates are fully welded for that reason.

Franz,is that product to clean prior to welding or to "shine" up old aluminum?

[Franz]

The Zep product is called ZEP A LUME E, product number 1062.
I don't think it's one of the Zep products available from Home Depot.
It's a combination of Hydroflouric, Phosphoric and Sulphuric acid.

I believe you can get by with 4043,....I think 5356 maybe too brittle, but I'm not sure. 4043 is more forgiving.

You said these are produce trailers, but you were'nt clear as to what they will be used for....I'm thinking that tacking these plates will let moisture get underneath the plates and form some sort of weird bacteria ecoli or something. You probably won't be able to get a perfect fit, which will have some gaps to allow stuff to get under the plates.

In the case of plates that long, I suggest tacking the front outboard corner, then middle outboard, then front inboard, then inspect your fit, and then tack rear outboard, (which you may have to cut later) then start from the front, and tack out board, inboard, outboard, and so on and as you travel to the rear you may have to cut your previous tacks, but they will be in line, and you won't lose your fit.

[ryanevans]

Franz

Which product is it you were talking about from ZEP that does such a great job on Aluminum? I found a SS cleaner but no Aluminum. I've got a diamond plate toolbox on my truck and it's getting a little grungy. The tread has just enough burr on it to shred anything I use to wipe/polish it.

Ryan

[Arc Burn]

1st trailer is early next week.All i can tell you is it's a refridgerated trailer,Franz mentioned that the unit should also ventilate to though.
Rock,good point on the moisture,these trailers have been sitting for a couple weeks,not sure if thats good or bad or don't matter.Still a little up in the air about wire?

All your help is greatly appreciated,anything to keep me from second guessing myself to death!

ARCBURN.......THE REASON I MENTIONED PREHEAT WAS TO CHASE THE MOISTURE OUT OF THE METAL........ KEEPING IN MIND THIS IS A REEFER AND SHE GETS DOWN BELOW FREEZING WHEN HAULING PRODUCE (FROZEN) AND ICE DOES FORM ON THE INSIDE'S........... MOISTURE IS GOING TO PLAY A ROLL........ BUT THIS IS JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH........ YOUR CALL..... BE SAFE NOW........................ROCK................... . [email protected]

[Sberry]

Is it a ventilation system or refrigeration system ?