Best Screws for Reinstalling Siding

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Camper Woman

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I'm rebuilding a 2001 Trail Vision travel trailer that was very rotten at the corners and ends. I had to remove most of the siding. Have gotten to the front and don't know how to rebuild the frame because so must was missing due to rot. Ugh! I think I need to put the siding back on the sides so I can tell how to shape the framing for the front. I want to use screws, not staples as were originally used.
Which screws would be best to install TT aluminum siding to wooden frame? I'm trying to reuse as much of the original siding as I can.
 
If the frame work is wood, then you need wood screws at a length that will give you sufficient penetration,, also you would want a large flat head to give you as much coverage as possible on thin sheet metal...>>>Dan
 
You will want to use aluminum screws to avoid electrolysis between unlike metals. Wood screws have a different style of thread than metal, with the wood screw designed for better grip into wood. However, you can use sheet metal screws into wood if that's what you can get (but not vice versa). The screw needs to be fully threaded - no shank without threads under the head. And the large head so it doesn't pull through the soft, thin metal. It will be a "pan head" type screw.
 
I also like a "torque" head on the flat screw
You probably mean Torx? Robertson (square) or Allen drives work well too. And "flat" is a type of head that is not suitable for fastening sheet metal unless a conical washer is also used.
This description of screw types should help with the terminology and differences.
 
I did some major work on my 90's era trailer this past year.

My advice is to go watch as many you tube videos of how these are built as you can. The walls are famed ahead of time and the interior paneling is pre-installed before the panels are screwed together. The easiest way to repair them is to build new replacement panels in a garage or woodshop and then in one day take off all of the tin, remove the rotten panels and screw on the new ones then replace the tin.

In one long day I removed all of the siding from the outside front wall, removed the window, repaired the corners and replaced the entire wall structure that consisted of three prebuilt panels, and then I put all the tin back on. When I was done the interior was already finished because when I prebuilt the panels I was able to paint them ahead of time.

Look at the pic, everything above the shelf was one panel, the middle panel contains the window and the lower panel was 90 degrees to the floor. They all screwed together and to the side frames with about a dozen long screws. I was able to reuse all of my aluminum but I used staples not screws. Make sure whatever screw you choose has a really low profile head so it doesn't interfere with the interlocking of the rows of siding.

HTH
 

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I would use a stainless steel pancake head, or wafer head or a low profile head screw. You don't have to worry about the small bevel just under the head. It will flare the thin, soft aluminum right into the wood when the screw is tightened down. Aluminum screws are soft, harder to find and have limited styles. They will probably be just as expensive as stainless steel Hope this helps.
 
Hi! it is a very large amount of work, and you are well done that you decided to do it yourself!! I think you should find similar restorations on YouTube and see how e\todelaim others.
 
I would stay with staples. Staples make small holes and the center portion provides more support than the head of any screw. Staples are also easy to remove.
 
I would use a stainless steel pancake head, or wafer head or a low profile head screw. You don't have to worry about the small bevel just under the head. It will flare the thin, soft aluminum right into the wood when the screw is tightened down. Aluminum screws are soft, harder to find and have limited styles. They will probably be just as expensive as stainless steel Hope this helps.
Stainless steel and aluminum do not like each other.
 
Hi! it is a very large amount of work, and you are well done that you decided to do it yourself!! I think you should find similar restorations on YouTube and see how e\todelaim others.
The main thing is to use high-quality fasteners and siding so that you don't have to redo everything later. You can also search for the necessary fasteners at https://www.scrooz.com.au/ I usually find similar things on this site about attractive prices. But I would never dare to do such a large-scale trailer restoration. I'm in awe!
 

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