Hey guys, I’m working on a tiny home vintage camper rebuild. In the tear down process, some pieces have cracked and come apart…I also lost a piece to the wind while driving 
. Would anyone be willing to help me repair this guy? I have absolutely no idea what to do! I also have a new piece Of aluminum to replace the one that blew away, but I don’t know how to get it to have the same bends that the current siding has. Please reach out if you’re willing to help or coach 
Niecey
817-262-8980
Since I’m the welding guy, I’d of course say: You can weld it!
You’ll need to make sure it’s 100% free of paint and/or coatings at least 3 inches from the area you’d want to weld up, you’ll need to make some test welds with a couple different chemistries of rod types, and you’ll want to buff/sand out the welds once you’re done to make sure it looks right.
If you’re looking for the specifics, it’s going to need to be TIG and something that thin will be challenging for a beginner. I’m planning on putting up a couple TIG classes in late April. If you want to decide for yourself whether you think you can weld it back up I’d recommend you take a class on TIG welding and see.
The one caveat of welding it is we’d need to make sure that the part is not galvanized which it’s hard to tell from the photos.
You could replicate “small sections” (4 foot to 8 foot) of bead rolling pretty easily, but you’re going to have a hard time getting a continuous section in the size you’d need to make an exact replica.
You don’t weld it. You patch it. Head over to the Airstream forums and you can find what you are looking for. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.
Tools: https://www.aircraft-tool.com
Materials:
https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com
https://www.wicksaircraft.com/c/channels-angles/aircraft-aluminum-metals/aircraft-aluminum-sheet/
Agree with @SWA - look at how aircraft skins are repaired. I’ve never seen a weld on a skin as a repair and I had QA MRB (Material Review Board authority) for about 20 years, including Individual Standard Repair Authority for Sikorsky. Almost all repairs that aren’t Remove and Replace involve using doublers and straps to reinforce the area where crack is, with sealant underneath if on external skin. Standard was to maintain at least 1.5D of rivet hole from edge and at least 2D between rivet centers. Granted, that is for aircraft but it’s a good standard for something like a trailer as there is a lot dynamic stress as the trailer moves.
One thing you need to do, is at the end of each crack, use about a .125" drill and make hole that takes out the end of the crack completely, this greatly reduces the stress concentration that allows a crack to propagate. Then a rivet in inserted an driven into the hole (can be through doubler or patch).
Also, where you have dissimilar metals, like the steel screw, be sure to put them in “wet” with sealant so galvanic action is retarded and you don’t get corrosion underneath.
