Diamondplate...
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Clarksburg WV
Diamondplate...
So I've thought about this recently and just had to ask about it.
Everyone knows that aluminum diamondplate has been used to construct all sorts of things...toolboxes, bed rail caps, tailgate caps, battery boxes, transfer tanks, you name it.
But I have two questions about that.
#1. Why is aluminum diamondplate so often used to protect steel surfaces (such as in bed rail caps or tailgate protectors) when it is inherently thin aluminum, which gets all fubared very easily?
#2. Diamondplate is also called "treadplate"...which is misleading. Diamondplate is usually polished, and when diamondplate gets wet that stuff is slipperier than dog snot!
I assume the diamond shapes lend strength to the aluminum, and it looks cool.
Everyone knows that aluminum diamondplate has been used to construct all sorts of things...toolboxes, bed rail caps, tailgate caps, battery boxes, transfer tanks, you name it.
But I have two questions about that.
#1. Why is aluminum diamondplate so often used to protect steel surfaces (such as in bed rail caps or tailgate protectors) when it is inherently thin aluminum, which gets all fubared very easily?
#2. Diamondplate is also called "treadplate"...which is misleading. Diamondplate is usually polished, and when diamondplate gets wet that stuff is slipperier than dog snot!
I assume the diamond shapes lend strength to the aluminum, and it looks cool.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
Aluminum diamond plate/ Bright tread is a decorative item. Treadplate is steel, has much taller and more aggressively molded "diamonds" and is generally found in industrial settings as a flooring. I have installed diamond tread plates in ships and factories, even used some of the leftover on my trailer.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 978
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From: darrington wash
i think the protection offered from aluminum diamond plate is more of a paint protector when used on the trucks and stuff(toss a chain over the side of your bed, and watch how it scratches the paint off the bed rails... or load your truck full of something metal stacked like they stack hay on the back of pick ups... and it will scratch the hell out of your trucks bed rails...) thats about all i can think of...
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2006
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Diamond plate is a easy to work with, lightweight material, especially when only using it for trim pieces or tool boxes. It does offer some protection and it does look good all polished up. But for a nursery a few years ago, they kept smashing the tailgate on their 96 F250. They kept dropping tree ***** on it and bent it up. First they had us use alum diamond plate due to weight. I got a pice that was about 3/8" thick custom cut and bent to fit over a new tailgate. Well that only lasted one summer. Following fall, they asked this time what would work, short of a lift gate. I had a piece of 1/4" steel diamond plate custom cut and bent for the new tailgate, plus I had some custom cables made for the gate out of aircraft cable. Well lets just say that it is one heavy tailgate (the reason for the new cables) but it has survived for the last 6 years.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
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From: Atlanta GA
> #1. Why is aluminum diamondplate so often used
It does not rust, does not need to be painted, it can be tooled and formed easily, and is light weight. Light weight is a big deal when trucking or shipping a product to sell.
The real stuff found on tractor trailers offers much more traction then the smoother aluminum found on consumer tool boxes and running boards.
Steel diamond plate tool boxes are some of the toughest boxes you can buy compared to aluminum, unfortunately they rust like crazy if you do not paint them on a regular basis and weigh a ton.
It does not rust, does not need to be painted, it can be tooled and formed easily, and is light weight. Light weight is a big deal when trucking or shipping a product to sell.
The real stuff found on tractor trailers offers much more traction then the smoother aluminum found on consumer tool boxes and running boards.
Steel diamond plate tool boxes are some of the toughest boxes you can buy compared to aluminum, unfortunately they rust like crazy if you do not paint them on a regular basis and weigh a ton.
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