Interior Aluminum Rivets

[Riccamper]

Air Forum:

Looking for advice re: advisability of moving from aluminum to steel rivets. After each trip it seems like 2-4 interior aluminum rivets have sheared and require replacement. Please advise re: pros and cons of replacing interior sheared aluminum rivets with steal rivets.

Ric Peterson

[Belegedhel]

Welcome to the forums!

What year/size/model of trailer do you have?

Well, it seems that the general advice is always to go with aluminum mandrel rivets so that they will not rust/corrode. That being said, all/most of the interior rivets on my '73 were steel mandrels, and rust/corrosion didn't seem to be a big issue.

Regardless of the type of rivets, popping and shearing rivets is not normal. I would suggest that sheared rivets are just a symptom of a bigger problem. You might have a bad axle, out of ballance running gear, damaged frame, etc...

good luck!

[Drathaar]

I'd be looking for the reason you're shearing rivets before looking for alternative fasteners. It sounds like you're getting an extremely rough ride whether from the trailer, road or your tow vehicle setup.

There's also the possibility of galvanic action between dissimilar metals. Probably remote, but possible.

[jdalrymple]

I second Dratharr.

Shearing rivets indicates a real problem with axles and/or wheel balance.

Not the the rivets.

Steel rivets will lead to crack sheets.


Regards,

JD

[68 TWind]

I agree with JD.

[nrgtrakr]

Yep ...
Why are the rivets shearing?
Axles need replacing?
Wheels not balanced?

[AWCHIEF]

Ditto, fix the cause first before applying band aids. But to answer your actual question. Use all aluminum rivets.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by RicPeterson

Air Forum:

Looking for advice re: advisability of moving from aluminum to steel rivets. After each trip it seems like 2-4 interior aluminum rivets have sheared and require replacement. Please advise re: pros and cons of replacing interior sheared aluminum rivets with steal rivets.

Ric Peterson

Shearing rivets is caused by the shell flexing.

That flexing is caused by many thing unbalanced running gear, worn out torsion axles, excessive rated tow vehicles, and of co roads.

Fix the cause before you attempt tp modify.

Steel rivets are a no-no in aluminum. All they will do is make the holes in the aluminum larger, until you fix the flexing issue.

Andy