Rivet Popping due to Tire Stiffness? Maybe not.

[xrvr]

Reading the owners manual will probably tell you correct use of the stabilizers. Never met another AS owner thst didn't know they were stabilizers and not levelers. Worn tires ride rougher than new tires whether on the tv or trailer. Dropping the trailer off the tongue jack can loosen rivits. Listening to the junk they call music today also causes the rivits to come loose and try to escape. At least that's what I've heard!

[Action]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

As mentioned earlier... concrete cannot handle this movement very well. Somehow I find that trailers are getting a pass and automobiles do get tested for quality and weak areas that need to be improved.

Unlike passenger cars and trucks, trailers are not designed nor considered a vehicle that humans will be in when traveling down the road. Passenger vehicles that are designed for that purpose have to comply and be tested for thousands governmental regulations. At considerable cost to the manufacturer to be tested and compliant.

RVs and travel trailers do not have to comply with those standards. They only have to comply with standards that apply to keeping it a safe load when on the road. The same as a over the road tractor pulling a semi-trailer. And they have to comply as a living unit when parked.

So while they get a pass as to the safety of the ride inside, not so much for being pulled and under control. The key would also be that if it isn't under control that the user will slow down. And the auto industry pumps out far more units than RVs. Shear scale drives some things. Airstream may built a couple of thousand trailers each year. The automotive industry cranks out 10 to 15 million units a year. With that kind of volume lots of accessories and features can be added for low cost that just can not be done by Airstream. Things like active suspension or back up sensors or self parking to name a few things that can be had on a car and would be greater for a top end trailer.


>>>>>Action

[paiceman]

I don't pretend to know why or how rivets pop in the AS trailers. That said, we had a 30' FC and towed it with an F250 Diesel crew. AS had stock 15" Good years. Lots of popped rivets regardless of roads etc. Switched to 16" and Michelin LTs - run at about 72 pounds. No popped rivets. Now have another 30' FC and tow with an F350 Diesel with 16" wheels and Michelin LT from the factory. 10,000 miles across the country and back on all kinds of roads, dirt to interstate and no popped rivets and I looked fairly often expecting some due to the one ton.

[cwf]

A test.
A recorder (or cell phone) and a baking pan full of dry beans.. pinto or white(navy) beans... whatever.. choose your legume...

put the pan inside over the axles. a loop of duct tape to the bottom will hold it sufficiently..put the legumes in the pan, start recording, or, call a cell phone in the TV. Go to the TV and start driving... what do you hear from inside?

I did this using cell phones before and after Centramatics... and again after new axles.. still running 15" original wheels...

Centramatics helped a LOT with noise.. the axles.. well, much quieter... the legumes barely rattled...

BTW, I have ridden inside a double Horse Trailer, an inline (5th wheel) Horse Trailer and a Stock Trailer...

I recommend washing all of them well before you start...

We had some really spirited horses when they were in a trailer.. when I was on the side of them, they relaxed... obviously they wanted me to feel better...

[Ray Eklund]

While moving tons of wet snow with an ATV with a 48" plow you tend to think of other things. Well... I did.

When camped in the mountains when it is cool outside, I try to face our door side of the trailer towards the sunrise for a quick warmup in the morning. As the outer skin warms up, you can hear "popping" of the expansion of aluminum panels, flexing.

Could that also be causing stress on interior rivets? The exterior rivets can handle the stress more than interior pop rivets. I will have to watch this a bit closer. Sometimes the solution is not even close to what everyone seems to think.

If the rivet pops when stationary... you sure can eliminate most of the other potential causes.

Pop goes the Weasel as some say.

[TheCabin]

AS should offer an additional build feature. One could either select rivets that will pop out when the trailer bounces with hard tires or have the ends of the shell tear away from the floor. The buyer selects.

[mccrosti]

Your problem is most likely due to sagged out axles.


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[Ted S.]

It's not the diesel truck, nor the LT tires or the lack of Centramatics...quite simply, the rivets pop on trailers built on Mondays and Friday's....

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/qu...-lower-quality

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by mccrosti

Your problem is most likely due to sagged out axles.
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******

You described me right down to the last detail.

[mccrosti]

Gee Ray, I thought I was describing myself !


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[BamaBill]

I have a question that is not so much geared toward the reason the rivets popped... but what should I do about it.

I have a 2003 22ft international. I had two exterior rivets pop last year for the first time during a 5000 mile trip from Alabama to South Dakota. Both were on the curb side and one was just above the top left corner of the door. I replaced both of them with olympic rivets, and shaved to look nice a smooth.

One year later the rivet by the door popped again. So my question is: Should I add another rivet (or two) on either side of the rivet that has failed twice to strengthen that area? From what I read hear, the door area is prone to higher stress. I appreciate the opinions and hearing the experiences that many of you have.

[J. Morgan]

Excess stiffness WILL pop rivets.

#JustSayin...


Superat stultitia.

[BamaBill]

J. Morgan,

So are you saying that, in your opinion, I should NOT add additional rivets on either side of rivet that has failed twice?

[CDONA]

I added two rivets on either side of the one that keeps breaking (3 times), interior doorway. I have a couple of hundred miles on them so far.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by BamaBill

J. Morgan,

So are you saying that, in your opinion, I should NOT add additional rivets on either side of rivet that has failed twice?

No. Not at all. I was just making an off the cuff comment. I don't think your addition of rivets will hurt anything and they will probably help.


Superat stultitia.

[alano]

I've lost a few rivets in my closet and a rivet in the bathroom. I noticed that where my rivets popped, the neighboring rivets are spaced relatively far apart, some as far as 6" away from the closest rivet, while in other interior areas where the rivets appear secure they are placed every 2-3" apart. So I brought the trailer to Bay Area Airstream and asked them to replace the missing rivets and to add additional reinforcements to reduce the stresses on the replacement rivets. Hope that helps.

[BamaBill]

Thanks for letting me know you experiences... I am going to add a rivet or two in the area around the door....

By-the-way, I pulled this trailer for 11 years (approx 22000 miles) with a chevy 2500, without a weight distribution hitch and never lost a rivet. The first pull with my new sierra 1500 with a Husky Centerline (with the lightest bars they make: 500lb to 800lb) and I loose 2 exterior rivets. Its easy to jump to the conclusion that the weight distro hitch caused it, but the pull was from Alabama to South Dakota over some rough roads in between.

[Ray Eklund]

All seven of my popped rivets have been secured with:

(Buildex Teks Lath Screws- #8 x 1/2" Phillips #2 bit to secure properly)

Using a hand held battery screw driver, these Lath Screws appear to be very securely attached to the frame member where pop rivets were missing. These lath screws also blend in very well with the aluminum interior. Adds.... character.

I will watch these substitutes for pop rivets closely for any problem in these high stress areas of my trailer.

I am now using 16" Michelin LTX AT2 E rated tires on the Trailer as part of this Test Period. Same Equalizer hitch.

Popped rivets is a difficult problem to solve unless something drastic was done... and traded in our 2012 Toyota Tundra for a truck with the same tires, same Equalizer Hitch being used and discovered... that with some minor hitch adjustments... a 2016 Ford F350 4x4 diesel will be my 'Popped Rivet TEST Vehicle'.

I appreciate all of your pro and con arguments. It was a tough decision to go so far as finding an appropriate 'Test Vehicle' for future use and test these Lath Screws versus Pop Rivets. Without your contributions to this Thread, I would have never suspected that a Ford truck was the 'cure' to my problem.

My heart soars like a bird... and the Snug Top has been ordered as part of this Test Period.