Interior RIVET failures....

[Ray Eklund]

Found a couple odd round nail head sized pieces of aluminum on the trailer's floor. Looked in the general area where they were laying and were the interior rivet heads.

This trailer is new and highway driven most of its life to this point. One rivet head is the twelfth from the bottom at the curved section, just right of the door side of the trailer.

The second is just to the right of the pantry wall and the first rivet, just above the framed in "box" possible covering the wheel well. Nothing else seems to be out of the ordinary, except for the owner of the trailer.

I did notice when the sunlight is just right that a wide panel on the door side of the trailer, the last flat section before the rear curve begins, has a bit of a wave in the center portion. Appears that when it was riveted to the frame that there was more "skin" between the two ribs it was riveted. Almost like someone put their "butt" into the center of the panel holding the trailer from falling over... or riveted with just a bit too much aluminum surface that flexed.

I will watch these rivets for any movement and keep tabs on the outside part of the rivet for any looseness causing water issues.

[blkmagikca]

Over the past 3 years I have found a couple of rivet heads. When I was at JC I bought the AS rivet kit, which came with an assortment of rivets used on AS's. Not a big deal to replace the failed rivets.

[Wayne&Sam]

It happens once in a while. No big deal.

[daveswenson]

It's easy to replace them with 1/8 x 1/8 pop rivets. You may have to carefully drill out the old rivets.

[AStreamNerds]

I found a rivet on top of one of the twin beds the other day. I have it on the punch list of warranty items (not a big list) I plan to have taken care of at some point.

[Not Done]

It's my understanding that missing rivet heads CAN be a symptom of the AS not having a soft enough ride. That scenario would be attributed to either the trailer tires/suspension and/or the "hitch point" being too stiff. I'll loosely define the hitch point in this context as the WD spring bars and/or the rear suspension of the truck. Example: An F150 would be soft at the hitch compared to an F350 which by comparison would be stiff at the hitch. I think that stepping on the occasional rivet head at night in your bare feet is all part of the fun though.

[A W Warn]

The rivet is not a problem, but the cause of sheared rivet can be. If you have not hit a pothole or ridden on rough roads, I would suspect out of balance wheels & tires.

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

The rivet is not a problem, but the cause of sheared rivet can be. If you have not hit a pothole or ridden on rough roads, I would suspect out of balance wheels & tires.

Which is why I use Tire Balancers, Tire Balancing, Wheel Balancer and Wheel Balancing from Centramatic. The vibration of out-of-balance wheels can loosen up rivets.

[Cannonball]

If you are replacing the rivets yourself I strongly recommend putting blue painter's tape over the hole in a liberal amount in all directions and then riveting through the tape. When your rivet gun cuts off the rivet it will skid across the panel and leave a mark.


Cannonball, Deep in the Heart of Texas!

WBCCI #4387, Air #84080

Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[blkmagikca]

Maybe it's just me, but I've never had an issue with my rivet tool skidding across any panel. I do know that for exterior rivets (Olympic rivets), you definitely do not want to have tape over the hole. In fact, the currently supplied Olympic rivets have a neoprene washer which can decompose over time causing a leak; the washer should be removed and Vulkem used around the base of the head of the rivet to ensure a lasting seal.

[Cannonball]

My riveting skills are lacking. For me it is better safe than sorry. Your mileage may vary!

[hshovic]

I have 75,000 miles on a 2007 Safari. I have replaced over the years probably three dozen interior rivets. Generally the same ones. I think the internal shell (which is exposed in mine) flexes a bit on the ribs and eventually shears them off. I rerivet them twice a year. Probably don't need to, except for aesthetics.

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by Cannonball

My riveting skills are lacking. For me it is better safe than sorry. Your mileage may vary!

Not sure what kind of riveting tool you are using, but the one that Airstream sell with their kit has never given me any trouble. In fact, when I was at JC, the service manager had just finished a giving a training course on riveting to dealers' techs. He took me over to their demo rig and showed me how it is done - I practiced with a few of their rivets as well.

The comments about removing the neoprene washer comes from Andy at Inland.

So far, the only exterior rivets I have done have been on some 34-foot late model rigs, as there is considerable torquing on the front plate (the panel just behind the propane tanks), which causes rivets to shear off. So far, I have only replaced 2 or 3 interior rivets on my AS.