Aluminum Welding in Ames, Iowa — TIG & MIG, Trailers, Boats, Tanks

Searching aluminum welding near me usually means you’ve already learned the hard way that most welding shops only do steel. Aluminum is a different animal — different machines, different filler, different technique — and a bad aluminum weld cracks in weeks. Ames Hydraulics does aluminum welding every week in Ames, Iowa: trailers, boats, fuel tanks, truck bodies, reefer floors, castings, and broken parts of every description. TIG for the clean structural work, MIG with spool gun for production and thicker sections. Free pickup within 60 miles.

Why Aluminum Welding Is Its Own Skill

Aluminum conducts heat five times faster than steel, forms an oxide layer that melts at three times the temperature of the metal underneath, and gives almost no visual warning before it collapses into a hole. Welders who learned on steel and dabble in aluminum leave porous, brittle welds that look fine and fail early. The aluminum welding that comes out of our shop is done on dedicated AC TIG equipment with the right filler for the alloy — 4043, 5356, or specialty rod depending on what the part actually is — and it holds because the metallurgy is right, not just the appearance.

What We Weld

• Aluminum trailers — frames, floors, ramps, and skin on stock, utility, and enclosed trailers
• Boats and pontoons — cracked hulls, transoms, leaking rivets converted to welded seams
• Fuel and hydraulic tanks — cracked seams and fittings on trucks and equipment (properly purged and prepped)
• Truck bodies and beds — flatbeds, service bodies, headache racks, and toolboxes
• Reefer trailer duct floors — see the reefer floor page
• Castings and machine parts — brackets, housings, and one-off broken pieces
• Railings, ladders, and fabrication — new work built from sheet and extrusion

TIG or MIG — and When Each Is Right

TIG (AC, with a foot pedal and a steady hand) is the choice for thin material, cosmetic work, tanks that have to seal, and structural joints where penetration control matters. MIG with a spool gun runs faster on thicker sections and long production seams — trailer floors, bed rails, frame doublers. Good aluminum welding means picking the process for the job, and we run both daily. If a part is heat-treated alloy that loses strength when welded, we’ll tell you that up front too — sometimes the honest answer is a bolted or riveted repair, and we’d rather tell you than sell you.

What Aluminum Welding Costs

Small crack repairs and brackets typically run $75–$200. Trailer repairs — cracked frames, torn floors, ramp rebuilds — usually land between $150 and $800 depending on how much material and prep is involved. Boat hull and transom work is quoted after we see how far a crack actually runs (they always run farther than they look; dye-check tells the truth). Tank repair is priced with the safety prep included — a fuel tank is never welded without proper purging, period. Every job gets a written quote before we strike an arc.

The Prep Is Half the Weld

Aluminum that fails to weld cleanly almost always failed at the prep. Oxide has to be mechanically removed with a dedicated stainless brush, oil and trailer grime have to come off completely, and cracked material has to be vee’d out to sound metal. That’s why a proper aluminum welding job on a dirty old trailer takes longer than the welding itself — and why the cheap quote that skips prep gives you a weld that looks like a caterpillar and cracks beside the bead. We prep like the weld depends on it, because it does.

Serving Ames and Central Iowa

We’re at 210 Freel Dr in Ames, and aluminum welding customers come from Ankeny, Boone, Nevada, Story City, Des Moines, and the whole 60-mile circle we serve with free pickup. Small parts can be dropped off and picked up same-week; trailers and boats get scheduled and turned quickly. If you’re not sure whether your part is weldable — some castings and heat-treated parts are marginal — text a photo to 515-292-2599 and we’ll give you a straight answer the same day before you drive over. Open Monday through Friday, 7AM to 5PM.

Boats, Trailers, and the Repair That Outlives the Rivets

Half the aluminum welding we do in summer is boats and the trailers under them. Jon boats and duck boats come in with rivets that seep no matter how much sealer gets smeared on them — the permanent fix is welding the seam, done cold enough not to warp the hull. Pontoon logs get gashed on rocks and ramps; those weld up cleanly when they’re prepped right. And aluminum stock and utility trailers crack where the crossmembers meet the rails — a welded and gusseted repair there outlasts the factory joint. If it’s aluminum and it’s cracked, leaking, or broken, it’s in scope.

Common Aluminum Welding Questions

Can you weld my cracked aluminum rim? Usually yes for cracks in the barrel or a gouged lip, with the honest caveat that a wheel repair is only as safe as the crack location — some cracks in load-critical zones mean the wheel is done, and we’ll say so. Can you weld cast aluminum? Most of the time — cast aluminum housings, brackets, and covers weld well when they’re clean; oil-soaked castings need extra prep and occasionally refuse to cooperate. Do you weld aluminum tanks that held fuel? Yes, with proper purging and prep — and never without it, no matter how much of a hurry the job is in. How thick or thin can you go? From 1/16-inch sheet up through heavy plate; below that, thin-wall aluminum welding is TIG work with a delicate touch, which is exactly the work we like.