Where to purchase alum. siding for homemade RV?

[scottyboy28422]

My 7' X 12' homemade camper is now ready for alum. siding,
have done some searches and there is an alum. siding factory
in Calif. but prices w shipping are crazy high. Surely there is
someone here along the east coast that makes this type siding
that installs just like vinyl siding on a house. I have found
4 ft x 10 ft smooth alum. sheets locally that are affordable.
Only $73 per sheet. Why not use the smooth sheets if I lap it
correctly and use plenty of caulking. Scott in NC

[Ex-Tech]

All-Rite has a branch in Georgia. They custom make siding for RVs. Have been using them here in Calif for close to 30 years.

Address:
All-Rite California
1500 Shelton Drive
Hollister, CA 95023

Phone: 5am-5pm PST
Shop: 8am-5pm PST

Both Shops are closed from 12pm-1pm for lunch

All-Rite Georgia
2580 Jeremiah Ind. Way
Conyers, GA 30012

Shop: 8am-5pm EST

Phone: (831) 636-9566
FAX: (831) 636-9464
E-mail: sales@all-rite.com
Comments/ Suggestions: jcezar@all-rite.com

[BoonHauler]

Watch out, All-Rite Mfg has a very bad habbit of digging deeply into your wallet!

[BobsYourUncle]

I replaced all the siding on my rebuild project a number of years back.

I sourced it from an RV dealership with service dept. They had a siding line in their shop. I was able to choose from several different profiles and styles.

If you call around to the dealer/service places and ask, they should be able to direct you to someone with a siding line.

The RV style siding is by far your best choice. It is designed for the purpose. It has an "S" lock on it. You start at the top, working your way down. The very top gets stapled tot he framing, the bottom lip of the S lock gets stapled to the studs. Then the next piece gets inserted up from the bottom into the previous one etc. until you reach the bottom. The bottom one can be bent in a 90 to go under the bottom of the trailer, to be stapled up against the framing.
Then you put the appropriate corner moldings on, being sure to seal them properly.

Residential siding is a no no. It is not designed for the movement your trailer will experience. It will be all over the highway when you travel. Wind will tear it right off in no time. And its ugly on a trailer.

The aforementioned sheets are difficult because of the flexing a trailer takes when going down the road. Big sheets have to be fastened in various places in the middle of the sheet. These fasteners will soon elongate the holes from vibration and expansion /contraction and come loose, causing leaks and likely loss of holding power. The joints will move, causing a break in the seal. And it will ripple in temperature fluctuations.

I have been working with aluminum for nearly 40 years now so I've had lots of experience with all I have stated.

I bought all the siding to redo a 25 foot TT for around $1200. Might have been 1300, I forget exactly now.

Check out http://www.all-rite.com/

They have an awesome line of products and do supply siding as well.

But be careful! Their prices are nothing short of absolutely ridiculous!

[dbbls]

See the "mobilefleet" post above. Don't know where he is located but he has a unit for salvage.

[donn0128]

Personally i would go with the smooth aluminum sheet goods. Start at the bottom and work up using lots of quality caulking between the sheets. Think Airstream!

[JaxDad]

When we build site office trailers we use shallow ridge steel roofing, available at almost any lumber yard. At the top we use the same metal trim used for capping the parapet on a flat roof building, but in 4" size.

Be careful using residential vinyl siding, it needs to nailed loosely in order to be able to expand and contract with changing temperatures. This means it's easy for it to blow off in transit.

[Bumpyroad]

why not use vinyl siding? but the smooth sheets sound like an option.
bumpy

[Scottiemom]

You might try Bontragers. I don't know if they would have exterior siding, but it is worth a try. Also, Johnson's is another place to try.

Dale