Trailer builds go through steel by the bundle: tube for frames, channel for crossmembers, sheet for fenders, tread plate and expanded metal for decks and ramps. We source it for trailer and truck-body builders across Texas, cut to your frame lengths, so the build starts on welding instead of sawing.
What slows trailer shops down
A trailer shop building a few units a week buys a lot of steel but rarely enough to be a priority at a large service center. Quotes lag, minimums push you into buying more than the build schedule needs, and aluminum tread and steel tube come from different places. Every length of 20 ft tube that comes in full has to be cut, and the short drops pile up.
We quote your frame cut list, arrange the saw cuts and plasma parts, and put steel and aluminum on one quote. Most quotes come back the same business day.
What trailer and truck-body builders buy
Frames are usually A500 rectangular and square tube: 2x3, 2x4 and 2x6 in 3/16" or 11ga wall for utility and car haulers, heavier for equipment trailers. Main rails on heavier builds move to channel or I-beam in structural steel, with 3" and 4" channel common for crossmembers and 8" to 12" beam on goosenecks.
Fenders, noses and toolboxes run hot rolled sheet in 10ga, 11ga and 12ga. Hot rolled pickled and oiled is worth asking for if the part gets painted, because the mill scale is already removed. Truck bodies and toolboxes use aluminum sheet in 5052, which bends clean and resists road salt.
Deck and step surfaces call for aluminum diamond tread plate, commonly 3003-H22 in .063, .100 and .125. Ramps and landscape trailer floors take expanded metal, with 3/4" #9 standard (raised) as the usual pick because the raised strands give traction.
Aluminum truck bodies and trailer side panels also use 6061 extrusions for posts and rails. If you're joining aluminum to a steel frame, plan for isolation between the two, such as a rubber strip or coated fasteners, or the aluminum will corrode where they touch. For a full list of sheet thicknesses by gauge number, see the sheet metal gauge chart.
How we help
- Tube, channel and beam saw cut to your frame lengths and miter angles
- Gussets, spring hangers and brackets plasma cut from your DXF
- Steel and aluminum on one quote, from one contact
- Most quotes answered the same business day, and delivered across Texas