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Pedecanada · 02-09-2013, 12:10 AM

My trailer is missing one rivet behind driver side rock guard. It is flush with exterior do I need to worry about it leaking into trailer and should I put something over it like silcone and what type. Thanks for any help.

Colin H · 02-09-2013, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedecanada

My trailer is missing one rivet behind driver side rock guard. It is flush with exterior do I need to worry about it leaking into trailer and should I put something over it like silcone and what type. Thanks for any help.

Put an Olympic rivet in the hole. They are available through Vintage Trailer Supply dot com.
Colin

Pedecanada · 02-09-2013, 08:47 AM

There is no hole yet the top of rivet broke off even with surface. That is why wonder if it might be ok and since it behind front rock guard it not seen. Thanks for supply of rivet but I have no experience with using rivets also.

Protohyp · 02-09-2013, 09:05 AM

Structure wise its probably fine...leakwise you never know until you have a problem. You have a chance now to fix it so Colin's suggestion is the best regardless if the rivet body is there or not. Take the appropriate drill bit and CAREFULLY drill out the remaining portion of the rivit. Parabond and Olympic rivet the bastard. Since it is behind the rockguard just use a dremel or light sand paper and CAREFULLY sand the mandrel after you have cut it. Theres no need to buy a 200.00 shaver for one rivet. Although its and excellent tool to have.

batman · 02-09-2013, 09:06 AM

I have never heard of a bucked rivet shearing off like you describe. However they do make a flat head buck rivet that may have been used behind your rock guard. If it was a round head buck rivet, and it did sheer off but did not leave a hole. You can use (Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure) a clear liquid seam sealer, then top it off with a dab of (Parbond) A good silver sealant. Pickup the Cptn tolley's at West Marine and Vintage trailer supply has Parbond. Olympic rivets are a glorified pop rivet and always leek unless you use a lot of Vulkem (TempPro 635) a great polyurethane sealant . No leeks, no worries..

Lumatic · 02-09-2013, 09:26 AM

You don't need any special skill to put in an Olympic rivet, just the rivet and a blind rivet tool. I would recommend squeezing a little sealant like Vulkum on the rivet before you intall it. Just stick the bugger in the hole. And squeeze the rivet tool until the stem breaks off. You will be left with a little stem you can cut off and grind and polish down so the rivet head is pretty much indistinguishable from the surrounding rivets.

The more important thing is what caused the old rivet to shear off. Usually it is road shock from hitting something or bad axles.

dkottum · 02-09-2013, 09:41 AM

Lumatic has it right, "what caused the old rivet to shear off".

You had posted using a Ram 3500 with no weight distribution hitch. It may be a good idea to research hitch combinations, such as including an AirSafe hitch, to soften the ride for your Airstream.

doug k

blkmagikca · 02-09-2013, 10:33 AM

I know of two 34-foot wide body A/S trailers where the rivets on the front panel behind the propane tanks have sheared off. In one case the dealer had reinforced that panel using more rivets (I replaced one rivet on that one). You may want to call Jackson Center to discuss this with Chis at service, specifically how the front can be reinforced. I know it's a 2-day drive to JC from Weyburn, but it may be worth your while.

Pedecanada · 02-09-2013, 03:00 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. This trailer is a 2009 and only 3 years old. Its still has orignal tires on it and I know it was bought in Windish Colorado dealer then moved to Texas where it was not moved and used at rv park. I bought it and had it moved from Arlington Texas up to Canada so just the moves would add up to 4000.00 miles and tires wear look great and not even half wore out not what you you find with a bent axles. Could the rivet be a factory defect nobody caught since it was behind rock guard it just one rivet half way up all others look fine. I only pulled it about 200 kms so far and pulls great. Again thanks for all the help since Airstreams are new to me but hope for such a new trailer it does not have some major problem, I guess time will tell.

Pedecanada · 02-09-2013, 06:22 PM

Is it worth taking spare tire down to see if there is a frame issue. On front driver sides it covered with plastic cover on sides that might take some work to remove to expose frame on front corner where rivet head is missing. Again thanks for any help I am the type that wants to find problem sooner than later.

blkmagikca · 02-10-2013, 09:53 AM

I would suggest that you contact someone from the Alberta-Saskatchewan Unit; see http://wbcci.org/home/regions-a-unit...a-saskatchewan

They may have someone local to you who could visit you and help analyze the cause of this issue. The panel may need more rivets to the front frame (I know of at least one 34-foot that has had this done). The closest dealer in Canada who can do this (and he does have a good reputation) is Can-Am located in Lambeth, just outside London ON.

If I may, I would also caution you about the tires - check the date codes. Once the tires approach 5 years from the date of manufacture, notwithstanding the amount of wear, they are unsafe and should be replaced. Tire casings start to rot from the time they are manufactured, whether on the road or in a warehouse; by age 5 they are sufficiently weakened that they can blow out causing considerable damage to the aluminum skin of the trailer.

Pedecanada · 02-12-2013, 09:43 PM

So I found problem after looking closer and have another question. Do the rock guard usually have the stem from rivets still sticking out on the back. One of the stems that stick out had very slight rubbed on trailer front behind guard and made a black mark that looked like a hole but did not go through yet but did go through bottom silver trim in 2 spots. Not sure why they would not trim at factory. So no rivets where missing just a rub mark that looked like hole with rivet missing. Thanks for all your help and worth checking out on everybody trailer I should have checked out more closely at first I guess.

Lumatic · 02-12-2013, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedecanada

Do the rock guard usually have the stem from rivets still sticking out on the back.

There are basicly 2 types of rivets; bucked and blind. A bucked rivet needs 2 people to install one on each side. A blind rivet needs only one. A rock guard would be installed after the trailer is constructed with a blind rivet. Your descripiton sounds like an Olympic Rivet, a kind of blind rivet. Usually the stem is cut off and the rivet head ground down so it looks like a bucked rivet when finished.

Pedecanada · 02-13-2013, 07:53 AM

So can I just cut off stems and is this normal to leave stems on them long enough to rub trailer and put hole in bottom trim. I understand most people might not look behind rock guard unless to clean witch I was doing.

Lumatic · 02-13-2013, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedecanada

So can I just cut off stems and is this normal to leave stems on them long enough to rub trailer and put hole in bottom trim. I understand most people might not look behind rock guard unless to clean witch I was doing.

somebody forgot or got lazy

Pedecanada · 02-13-2013, 11:19 AM

The stems where left on both rock guards has anybody else have this happen and what is the best way to cut them off. Would a hand side cutter work.

Lumatic · 02-13-2013, 11:26 AM

Various tools will cut them off: hack saw or Dremel tool and anything that will cut a thin piece of soft aluminum.

BAB · 02-13-2013, 12:51 PM

Just don't use silicone to seal up anything that'll touch aluminum!

Pedecanada · 02-13-2013, 08:52 PM

Ok I will cut them off. Funny nobody else has seen this I guess I was just lucky? HAHA that what a $95000.00 orignal price trailer will get ya,fix it with a $20.00 dremal tool.

blkmagikca · 02-13-2013, 10:18 PM

The stem should be trimmed to about 1/64-inch and then using the shaver smoothed down to look just like a bucked rivet. Every AS dealership has to have someone capable of doing this along with the shaver. You could even ask someone who does aircraft maintenance at your local airport if he could do this for you.