Aluminum Tongue

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Aluminum Tongue

The Chevy Vega received the 1971 Car of the Year and 1973 Car of the Year in the Economy Class from Motor Trend; Best Economy Sedan in 1971, 1972 and 1973 from Car and Driver and the 1971 award for Excellence in design in transportation equipment from American Iron and Steel Institute.

They sold thousands of Chevy Vegas too. :facepalm:

I actually liked the Vegas, and the H-body cars that followed. much better than the ford Pinto

Aluminum is more corrosion resistant but to what end? The average boater keeps a trailer for 1/3 of the expectancy of a galvanized steel trailer. Where is the value?

Again, ultra conservatism in design costs money. Where is the value?

steel trailers rust to death in a year in salt water. Galvanized or aluminum will last the life time (with proper maintenance) in salt. since fully dipped galvanized trailers requires dip tanks, EPA licensing and a large manufacturing capital, where specialty aluminum trailers can be done with an iron worker, a break press, a horizontal band saw, and a tig welder. the value is in the right trailer for the application, and in the profit margin for the manufacturer.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Aluminum Tongue

Very misleading information and not appropriate for the discussion at hand.

In dealing with a tongue you’re concerned with the modulus of elasticity of the material. Google "Young's modulus" for an explaination.

Aluminum has a very poor fatigue limit under cyclic load which precludes its use as a structural component in a cyclic application and thus, aluminum trailers with steel tongues.

As someone who participated in a joint research project with Alcan and GM back in the mid-80’s, I don’t think I’d be using an aluminum tongue on a trailer anytime too soon, or any othere structural componet on a trailer.

I completely agree. In this case, the aluminum is extruded and heat tempered. .025" al is sold in architectural grade and that would not withstand the cyclic rate of a trailer tounge. The question then is that tube arch or struct and since I don't know, my answer is to use 3x3 thick wall galvinized steel instead.