How to attach cabinets to aluminum body

[RunningMaryland]

One side of my bus/van is just aluminum without windows and I want to attach cabinets to the side (I'm using this as a headquarters for a race management company). What is the best methods for attaching the cabinets through the aluminum wall of the bus/van. Thanks

[RunningMaryland]

Did you pre-drill the holes? How large a screw? and you 've had no issue with them crashing down.

[chev49]

Self tappers you don't pre drill the holes.. Use at least medium size fasteners, and the regular screws actually hold better if you use a small enough drill bit to just start the screws nicely. Self tappers usually have a fairly large drill bit end, which makes them not tighten quite as much.
I use both, and for things i want tight, i use the regular screws and pre drill the holes.
Be sure to put in lots of fasteners...

[lapeer20m]

i recently discoverd the best tool ever for putting in fasteners!

it's an impact driver. Looks like a regular cordless drill, but it uses the magic of an impact driver to do all the work. This tends to strip fewer heads, and also does not twist the arm of the person using the tool, unlike a standard drill, and it has about 10 times the torque of a standard drill.

when i say magic, i'm not kidding! How did i ever live without one of these! It's my new favorite tool.

[chev49]

i have an 18v one.. and you can get drill bits for it at lowes that snap in to the bit chuck, and use the 1/4 drive adaptor to run your sockets...

[dirtygoat]

I use self tapers on everything, I have been in construction for a number of years and built a lot of steel buildings with them... The impact drivers are a must when using them... Another tip, if you can get a c-clamp vise grip in the area to squeeze the materials together it helps a lot... And if you're using a regular drill to screw them in, speed is not your friend... Just like using a dill bit on metal, speed will heat up the bit and material... The tip of your bit, be it a self taper screw or drill bit will get trashed from heat... A lot of the time heat will temper the material and make it harder to drill thru...