GrandpaKip wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
GrandpaKip wrote:
With stainless steel fittings attached with SS screws. Some have brass and copper attached, also.
Absolute NO NO!!!
If you go to the boat forums, you will find long discussions of how to isolate aluminum from stainless steel because it cause the aluminum to fail or how a DIY job turned ugly in just a couple years because the guy didn't understand this.
My 52 year old Columbia 8.7 had all SS rigging attached to anodized spars. When you drill a pilot hole, the inside is not anodized. Not one failure for probably a hundred or so screw or rivet points. Most of the couple hundred sailboats at the boat yard where I spent most of my growing up had the same.
Now, the Al in an RV isn’t the same as a boat. I have seen corroded and falling apart Al in various situations. Mainly from little or no maintenance. Electrolysis will eat Al fairly quickly if allowed to.
My original point was that Al is an excellent building material when properly maintained.
Consider yourself extremely lucky.
Perhaps you need to go tell Ford your personal "discovery" and prove them WRONG.
Ford on their aluminum body vehicles in order to interface EVERY possible point of contact with steel HAS INSULATED the contact points WITH PLASTIC INTERFACES.
I know this because I am a owner of a 2019 F250 with aluminum body.
The FEW places that there is some sort of steal screw contacting the aluminum it IS ZINC PLATED (from my searching a stainless steel screw which is ZINC PLATED coating IS RECOMMENDED OVER A PLAIN FULLY STAINLESS SCREW). There is no DIRECT steel OR STAINLESS STEEL to aluminum interface without some sort of buffer.
I am painfully aware of this because I had one heck of time figuring out how and where to mount my Ham radio antenna AND find a good grounding point. Made a 1hr-2hr turn into 5hr-6hr job to fully insure I didn't create a potential point of corrosion to the body.
Per
HERE"Galvanic Corrosion
The process of galvanic corrosion occurs when two different metals are touching each other in the presence of an electrolyte, a fluid that allows the flow of electrons from one metal to the other. As the process continues, one of the metals will deteriorate quickly as its electrons flow steadily to the other metal. When you fasten aluminum using screws made from a different metal, especially in situations where the metal is exposed to salt water, galvanic corrosion may cause significant deterioration of the aluminum base metal.
Aluminum Screws
Because galvanic corrosion happens when dissimilar metals come into contact with each other, the simplest way to prevent the process is to use screws made from the same metal as the metal you're fastening. Aluminum screws will not cause corrosion in aluminum base metal, even if the screws aren't plated or treated with any corrosion-resistant material.
Carbon Steel Screws
Unplated steel screws will cause corrosion in aluminum in a wet environment. They'll rust quickly themselves, as well, so they're not a good choice for fastening aluminum. Galvanized steel screws, however, are plated with a corrosion-resistant coating, usually consisting of zinc, that is not nearly as reactive with aluminum. The zinc plating prevents the underlying steel from coming into contact with the aluminum, and the risk of corrosion of the aluminum is reduced significantly.
Stainless Steel Screws
Stainless steel is an alloy of carbon steel that is, itself, resistant to corrosion. However, stainless steel is reactive with aluminum, and when a stainless steel screw is in contact with an aluminum base metal, the aluminum is likely to corrode. As is the case with carbon steel screws, a plated stainless steel screw is less likely to corrode aluminum; screws treated with a high-quality coating consisting of zinc and aluminum flakes are especially resistant to corrosion.
Brass Screws
Brass is very reactive with aluminum, and brass screws will cause substantial corrosion of an aluminum base metal in a wet environment. The process of galvanic corrosion depends on the presence of an electrolyte, though, so in a totally dry environment the risk of corrosion is low, even if you use uncoated brass screws."
That is just ONE of the websites/resources which say you are wrong, I would highly recommend that you go do some searching and reading..
HERE is a search link that will get you started in the right direction..
To folks who think that aluminum trailers will last longer or are superior to wood stick framed, THINK AGAIN.
Aluminum framing only means they were able to save some weight in the final product, does not mean it is better or superior.
Example, my 2019 F250 "Aluminaduty" weighs 300 lbs LESS than my 2013 F250 steel body truck..
