Chequer Plate

sorry typo
i dont think it has much to do with the macho thing

chequer plate is made of exactly the same ally as smooth sheet. If anything its a little heavier due to the surface. But it hides scratches, looks heaps better, reflects sun a bit different than a piece which is the same as a mirror.

hi fisho64, might need to mention what grade of chequer plate you are talking about as flat sheet comes in different grades

hi keith
when i said the checker plate is tougher and stronger and more scratch and dent resistent
i failed to say that i ment when compared to the ordinary aluminuim cladding that is generally used on the sides of vans which is very thin
i didnt expect and probably you didnt either expect this thread to turn into a bun fight on technicalities as is the case but then it does happen quiet often on here
oh well never mind you got a smorgasboard of opinions lol
cheers
barry

no Maz I didnt expect what I see below either, I think I was about the second post or so!
Leave em to it...

I would have to agree and why do they use it..... they don't have to use skilled tradespeople in the manufacture of their camper trailers and as said it covers up defect better.

what fact is there to state that it is not tougher? A 3mm chequer plate has a flat plate of 3mm but due to the "texture" it raises to 4.5ishmm. How does that not make it tougher? I would assume a brake press will use more force to fold a sheet of chequer plate than flat sheet. Also you didnt mention the grade of flat sheet when you did your price comparison or its country of origin and did you buy wholesale or retail, stainless, mild or ALI sheet? Lots of holes in your post for someone with alot to say.

Based on the fact that I have just brought 3mm tread plate, I don't think that's correct in that the texture raises it to 4.5mm. The sheets I brought are 3mm overall including the height of the 5 bar pattern.

What fact is there to make it tougher?

mild steel is mild steel, nothing you can do to it will make it stronger or tougher.

The chequering process does not add any material, make the metal harder, nor does it make the material thicker in real terms.

The fact that chequer plate may require more bending force in a press, can easily be put down to that fact that the material is thicker between the jaws and thus the press has less leverage or advantage over the metal.

yes I did mention the grade....read and understand.....and yes compare apples with apples.
I have never seen stanless chequer plate...and if it was made it would probably be imbossed sheet metal and not plate.

My brother used to work for one of the trailer manufactuers at one stage, they definitely used chequerplate for floors because it was significantly cheaper at the time.

THE fact remains that chequer plate is significantly chepaer to manufacturer in becuase it is rough as guts in its best form and thus far less care is required to work with it and far less effort to finnish it.

No holes on my post at all......the relative prices may have changed.......as they always do....supply and demand....you can bett your boots almost all trailer manufacturers will be using what ever is cheapest for them to buy and work with.

If they can get floor sheets in 1220 x 2440 cheapest that is the size the trailer will be if 1200 x 2400 sheets are cheaper that is the size the trailer will be.

Trailer manufacture is possibly the cheapest and lowest level of engineering in the metal trades.

cheers

much apologies Bantam, I was under the impression that mild steel came in a number of different grades that contributed to its strength. 250, 350, 450 grade then bisalloys 360, 400 and 500, k1083 a few that spring to mind. So sorry if I did not see the grade of mild steel you mentioned. Yes you can get s/s chequer plate in 304 or 316 (maybe other grades as well but I only know of those 2) Embossed? Does it matter? I will agree that it is rubbish steel as 15years of laser cutting it will give you an idea of quality. Why dont trailer builders make the whole thing out of chequer if its cheeper? As for less leverage when folding? Your a douche, go have a look at a Trumpf or Amada brake press and see what a poofteenth of a difference that will make.

Current price for me ( on an account ) as follows.
3 mm floor plate gr 250 $ 119.24 ea
3 mm sheet gr 250 $ 98.89 ea
price for Rod in Ally $ 205.00
Sorry but you may lose your boots as ALL the trailer manufacturers that I know use floor/ Chequer plate,except tippers, and it ain't because it is cheaper !!!
And by the way sheet sizes are 1.2 x 2.4 and I am still in the industry and not relying on Me mates brothers inlaws for info.
"trailer manufacture is possibly the cheapest and lowest level of engineering in the metal trades"
That is a true fallacy and insult to the metal trade, Have a good look at the requirements these guys go through, to try and design something new for the transport industry.
This I know cos I am still in it !!!
Cheers
Flighty

Gday Bantam,

Youve made some fairly big statements there........

"Chequer plate is no harder, no stronger and no tougher than the same grade of flat sheet....in fact because it is not as regular it may in fact be weaker in some ways.
Is that right?
There is so much more too it than that.....are you talking about Propellor Plate? Tread Plate? or what?.....they all have different properties and Im not sure you can even compare apples to apples as there are so many grades of alloy with different tempers, and I doubt you can get them all, in all profiles. As for no stronger, what sort of strength are you talking? Tensile strength, shear, fatigue,compressive? How can it be weaker? It has a larger mass.......try draw a straight line through a piece of floor plate sticking to the 3mm section....cant do it? doesnt that mean it has thicker ribs running across it?

"ALSO, last time I looked Steel chequer plate was cheaper than the same grade and thickness of flat sheet."
Wasnt last time I looked?

"There is also a common perception that it is stronger and tougher.......this is nothing more than a perception."
Depending on type and use it could be pure fact!

"Another is that it provides better load traction when used on the bed of a truck......the current load restraint guide specificaly states that it does not. "
Can you show me a link to this guide? It sounds interesting. Have you ever walked on a wet sheet of mill finish and a wet sheet of floor plate? I know what I prefer.

"This brings another question....why are so many trailers sooo heavy?....because the manufacturers choose to use sheet metal that is thick enough to be easily welded."
Absolute bollocks!!! LOL............They would go broke with that attitude!

Any way back to the original question......Yes it is generally there to protect your van from scratches and stone chips. Its usually a heavier gauge than the rest of the sheeting on your van, and scratches and chips dont stand out so much. And yes....without a propper buff its a bitch to clean.

Cheers

the rest of the matters will have to wait but.

Google "load restraint guide"..that should find it.

The full naem is'

"Guidelines and performance standards for the safe carrage of loads on road vehicles." or the "Load restraint guide".

published by the National Transport Commission.

Available for download from their web site or in book form from the QLD government book shop for arround $12.

If you work in the transport industry you should have a coppy and have read it.

cheers

Gee,
there are a lot of checker plate flat beds running around out there.
Image Could Not Be Found

Keith,
as others have said. The Ali plate doesn't show up dings as much and it is tough when it comes to rock dents. It also can be buffed with a machine due to it's thickness.

RA.

If we follow the thread and read and comprehend previous posts and follow consistent reasoning.

The thread is about caravans and campers, and that logiclay extends into light trailers because that is what they are......there is a world of difference between light trailers and heavy transport.

In light trailers I doubt very much that anybody would know or care what grade of mild steel they are using, even if they had a choice.

For the most part, when people purchase steel for light fabrication, ya get what ya get and there is pretty much no choice and no discussion about the grade of steel........

Ceratinly it would be exceptional to find any light trailer, camper or caravan built using higher order specificaly chosen steel grades




As for the strenght, hardness and toughness of chequerplate in comparison to the same thickness and grade of flat plate.

Hardness, defined as the ability of a material to withstand indentation, because the base material is the same thus the hardness will also be the same.

Toughness, defined as the material's ability to resist crack growth, because the material is the same thickness and the same base metal AND the sheet is covered in irreglarities and stress points that may assist the starting and propogation of cracks, checkeplate my well be less tough than regular flat sheet of the same thickness and grade of material.

Strenght, defined as the materials ability to resist being pulled apart, the argument is much the same as toughness.

No matter what you do to MILD steel in the way of processes or heat treatment, you will not significatly improve any of its properties.

A smooth flat flawless material of the same grade and thickness will always be tougher and stronger.

I am sure there are many grades of chequerplate available and some of them may be made from harder grades of material, particularly the better brands.......If a given chequer plate is harder stronger or more durable, that will be because it is a better grade of steel..............but back to comparing apples with apples.

Same grade and thickness of material, chequerplate has little or no structrual or durability advantage over regular flat sheet.






As for the use in truck decks.....no doubt that the majority of steel truck decks are done in chequerplate.....that does not mean it has any 'LOAD TRACTION" advantage over regular flat steel, testing has proven it does not.

In heavy transport, in particular "load restraint" there are many long standing preconcieved ideas that are simply incorrect.
Two areas that are consistenty mis-understood are methods of improving load traction and how much tiedown is required.

When the current "load restraint guidelines" were being put together they did extensive testing and research to establish the facts and recomendations.




The bottom line is that chequerplate is an old outdated product that suppliers and users continue to cling to because of preconcieved ideas and astetic desires.

cheers

If we follow the thread I think you will find it relates to checker plate on the outside of the van or camper. I believe you started the bit about floors and load restraint.

All the heavy trailer manufactures build with both checker plate and flat or even timber . Timber pallets seem to grip better on a flat steel floor as you have said and is fact but when it is raining I know which deck I like to be working on and it sure ain't a flat steel deck.

The manufactures build to the customer spec and I don't believe for one moment checker plate is outdated. As for hardness where did I say anything about hardness.

As for load restraint and tiedown I think I know enough about that subject. Don't seem to hard to understand the regs.

Nuff said

"I am sure there are many grades of chequerplate available and some of them may be made from harder grades of material, particularly the better brands.......If a given chequer plate is harder stronger or more durable, that will be because it is a better grade of steel..............but back to comparing apples with apples." massive DOUCHE! Below is copied from Bluescope's website. Grade is not determined by the supplier but by the make up of the material. Diifferent quantities of materials used will change its characteristics or its "grade". Forget the analogy of of "comparing apples" and start learning from other people rather than arguing your point like a stubborn mule! And slow down when you type as your errors too frequent to give you any credibility on any argument.



Which is better" That depends on the intended end use of the material, and it is more a question of which is more suitable, rather than which is "better". In some cases there will be no particular issues with the end use when selecting between AS/NZS 3678-250 XLERPLATE® from the Plate Mill and AS/NZS 1594-HA250 XLER® coil plate. In these cases the choice will come down to choosing a size (width) that will allow for better nesting of components and hence less yield loss.

But there are times when the differences will make a significant difference to the end result. The two types of plate can differ in such characteristics as surface scale, flatness, silicon content, grain structure and even dimensional tolerances. Where any of these characteristics is critical to the application, it becomes important to know which plate is which.

Peachy,

due to your language and attitude, I give everything you say absoluttly no regard what so ever.

The most foul mouthed workers are always the least competent.

Thanks All. I think we've reached a point where it's becoming circular. Lets all try and play in the sandpit without the name calling thanks. Totally unnecessary.

The Modsquad

5 bar chequer alum plate is generally used in construction applications what you see on caravans mostly is propeller plate --very different in tensile strength and because of the finish (bright) scratched more easily

Sorry flighty chequer plate aint thin.

the thinnest steel chequer plate plate I have seen is 2mm, easy to weld, but far from thin and light weight.

As for the aluminium
chequer plate and propellor plate don't both come in a full range of sizes and grades.

From memory propellor plate comes in lighter guages and is softer compositions than real chequer plate and comes in brighter fi ishes.

Aluminium propellor plate is most definitely a cosmetic product.

cheers.

Bantam.
Nothing mentioned about thickness, but as a reference bright propellor starts at 1.58 thick,and 5 bar Aluminium starts at 2 mm, and 5 bar starts at 2.1 mm in (mild steel).
My reply is only a personal opinion of my perception to answer a question asked by Keith, you don' have to be sorry about anything, because I haven't stated that chequer plate is thin or light in weight.
Try reading the questions asked before firing the bullets
Regards
Paul

This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Trolling Rule .

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I know with my Kedron, that if it didn't have chequer plate & the country I have travelled over the light aluminum cladding would look like swiss cheese!!

2.5mm or 3.2mm chequer plate is a hell of a lot thicker and more penetration resistant than the +/-0.5mm wall cladding of caravan siding. Just think how easy it is to mark into the surface of an empty aluminium drink container. I know it is a hell of a lot thinner then the 0.9mm I have used

Yes, I have used callipers on the plate siding on ours, though not the upper siding, but I do know it marks easily having seen what happens with branches on other vans cladding. Chequer plate seems stiffer whenever I have used it, especially the thicker stuff. Propeller plate seems thinner and has a more mirrored finish usually of the plate I have used.

propellor plate use on the sides of vans may also help when you tip your beloved caravan on its side and its screeching along the road lol ????

Hi

Good work Keith. Loved the 3rd paragraph. Public forums undoubtedly provide psychologists with a heap of free data :)

Happy travels.

Cheers
Greg