Rivet Alert--trim bands

[Zeppelinium]

I got a nasty little surprise yesterday when I started to work on a couple of the banana skins. The lower trim strip covering the top edge of the banana skin, the one from the door forward to the propane tanks, was almost totally disconnected. The bad thing was, it looked tight and ALL the pop rivet heads were in place and looked tight.

However, when I started to drill out the rivets, the two near the door were intact, but the next five in a row were all sheared, then one intact, two sheared, and then the last two were intact. No telling how soon it could have sheared the reaminder and fallen off.

[crowbar68]

it's good timing for this thread. i was inspecting my trim and noticed my rear trim piece is about the same as your front. i have to replace my hot water heater and this will need removed to do so. that is how i noticed it. it did look well attached until a further look! i only thought there were pop rivets until i bought my rig. i'll have to chase some threads and get an education.

do rivets pop often? i9 have already re-popped two access doors and have noticed more loosening ones around different areas. maybe i shoudn't look to close. i'll have to do a full resto! not.

crowbar

[gsoter]

Hey guys
Pop rivets are what you call mechanical rivets, meaning it has several parts to make them work, body,stem and lockig collor, in time they do work loose. and spin ( aircraft terms " working rivets" ) so it is common to see them spin and shear. just be careful drilling them out, because they want to spin, easiest way to drill head off and then take a punch and knocjk the rest of the rivet thru. be careful when hitting the stem thru, you might have to touch it with the drill again to knock off any burr.there is another side where you dont see, dont want to damage the hole and what is behind it,

[A-Merry-Can]

when i put my trim back on my '59 i was planning on using stainless screws, not that i'll be removing them or anything, but it seems like they'd hold better, especially if they hit the "C" channel. my trim may be different that yours, though. it's really thick (1/4"+).

jp

[Over59]

I think you will find your stainless screws rusting in short order. Marine grade may hold up but I'll defer to others on this.

[RVnDixie]

Hey Y'all,
I have the same problem with alot of my trim bands. Even have some loose in the cabin areas (Wall covering and cabinets etc.). Where and what size are needed to replace? I have the rivet gun but no rivets. Looks like there are different colors too. I would need the white ones for my wall covering, brown for the cabinets an some kind of a copper or antique brass color? (I really don't know what the color is but as close a description as I can get) Any help appreciated!!!

[A-Merry-Can]

take a look at Lowes or Home Depot. they have everything you need.

jp

[RVnDixie]

Thanks jp. I still don't know the sizes I need for each app...please adv.

[uwe]

Most of the interior rivets are 1/8in. HDepot has the white ones.

[Shacksman]

Look where they sell eavtrough in Lowes or Home Depot. They have the colored ones there

[RVnDixie]

Thanks for the info Uwe & Shacksman...I will go tomorrow and look. Much appreciated!

[rebel beck]

Joseph Ace Hardware here in Oxford has them to. OOps I just noticed yall have moved.

[RVnDixie]

Hey Becky!

My wife is actually in Homewood right now. I am still in the area (Water Valley). Sorry we did not get to meet before Amy moved over there. I would still like to see your trailer and improvements! I haven't transferred over there yet since there are so many jobs being shuffled around right now, I can't seem to get transferred. Anyway, I am still working on the Argosy as I live in it! Good to hear from you!

[InsideOut]

If you are continually shearing rivets, even a few every trip, it may be time for a new axle or shocks.

Shari

[RVnDixie]

Thanks Shari,

I really don't travel with it yet as I am renovating it for now, I just noticed that every where I look there are loose rivets and missing ones. The axle & shock suggestion seems a logical solution to that problem. Are there any inspection tips I can use to find out if I REALLY need to replace those? The wheels seem to sit nice and straight and the shocks did not seem to have any leakage that i could notice when I re-packed the wheel bearings before I brought her home. I DID notice that the outside of the shocks and the frame had a bunch of surface rust, but nothing as far as I could tell that would suggest weak structure on those areas.

Thanks Again,

"T"

[Zeppelinium]

Well, you'd think that after I discovered all the broken rivets I'd have looked around for other non-obvious but important places where loss of rivets could be a real problem. Like maybe the hinge on the battery door?

For all of you with outside battery doors that are down in the banana skins, be advised that if that hinge lets go, the door moves downward, releasing the lock and totally departing [and opening] the compartment. Luckily the door is restrained by steel cables that provide support when the door is down and acting as a shelf. These cables will retain the door for miles, just a couple inches above the pavement.

But they don't do anything for the battery, which will waltz right out the side, disconnect, and not even say goodbye. Somewhere between Fallon and Gerlach there is a pile of battery parts...

There was no skin or door damage--took about 5 minutes to grab seven rivets and put it back on. Thanks to Buttercup, I got a loaner for a couple days before I got back to civilization and bought one.

As far as I know, this is the only door that is attached in this fashion. The floor-level battery boxes have a strong piano hinge and the rivets are more visible. I know there are provisions for a restraining strap for the battery inside the compartment, but I didn't see the need for it--I mean, the door is closed and locked, right? Besides, the original strap was long gone when I bought the Sovereign. duh.

Zep

[Royce]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

Well, you'd think that after I discovered all the broken rivets I'd have looked around for other non-obvious but important places where loss of rivets could be a real problem. Like maybe the hinge on the battery door?
...

Zep

Zep,

Thanks for the info. Lots of stuff to watch out for and it is easy to miss something.