Factory rivets not bucked?

[silverleeper]

I am doing some repairs on my 67 Safari and I noticed these rivets(see photos below). Are these bucked correctly? If not can I put a rivet gun and bucking bar on the and finish the job or do I need to drill them out and start over?

[eubank]

Those look to be some kind of pop rivets, not buck rivets.

Lynn

[azflycaster]

Those are pop rivets. It's hard to tell where they are located from your pictures. Perhaps this was a repair made by a PO?

[silverleeper]

These are covering the curb side. I don't think it's a repair job. Most of the skin on the trailer would have been replaced then!?! The rivets appear to be solid on the outside. If they are pop rivets what type are they?

[silverleeper]

Outside photos. If these are pop rivets my entire trailer is put together this way.

[eubank]

Interesting looking rivets on the outside and sure look like buck rivets, but the tube-like shape of the rivets on the inside is a give-away on pops.

Lynn

[InsideOut]

On both our trailers there are some traditional flat pop rivets, but they are "tacking rivets" (also known as "blind rivets") that held things in place until the main bucked rivets were placed. They end up behind seams of panels and such, not really visible once the trailer was complete.

Could they be "Cherry Max" or more specifically "Cherry Q" rivets? They are used in airplanes alot and look solid from the front but are popped on the back. They can be either flush or bulbed on the front but are able to be installed after the fact from one side in a repair like an Olympic. If a repair was done by an airplane tech, they may have used them because they had them on-hand.

"Cherry Q Rivet mandrel plugs the entire length of the rivet sleeve, providing full shear strength values for structural or load-bearing applications."
From the Aircraft Spruce catalog

Are all your rivets like that?

Shari

[azflycaster]

The could be these as well: Self Plugging Rivets - Hanson Rivet.com

[InsideOut]

Looks like we are on the same track Richard...same rivet, different company.

Shari

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

On both our trailers there are some traditional flat pop rivets, but they are "tacking rivets" (also known as "blind rivets") that held things in place until the main bucked rivets were placed. They end up behind seams of panels and such, not really visible once the trailer was complete.

Could they be Cherry Max rivets? They are used in airplanes allot and look solid from the front but are popped on the back. They can be either flush or bulbed on the front but are able to be installed after the fact from one side in a repair like an Olympic.

Are all your rivets like that?

Shari

These could be Cherry Max. The rivets are used from the rear to the front and as high as the window curb side and from rear to fridge vent street side. Could be more I just haven't removed those panels yet. No true Buck rivets in sight

[overlander63]

Our '63 had many pop rivets where I would have expected buck rivets. They had also been there a very long time.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

These could be Cherry Max. The rivets are used from the rear to the front and as high as the window curb side and from rear to fridge vent street side. Could be more I just haven't removed those panels yet. No true Buck rivets in sight

Sounds like it may be a replaced panel - if so, it was done well for you to not notice until the inside panel was removed.

Shari

[silverleeper]

Thanks All, Looks like this is going to be a bigger project them planned. I've had some mystery leaks and traced them to these pop rivets on the roof line. I just can't see them replacing the skin on both sides as high as the windows from front to back. Maybe someone called in sick that day and they didn't have anyone to hold the bucking bar.

[utee94]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Our '63 had many pop rivets where I would have expected buck rivets. They had also been there a very long time.

Many of these are going back to buck rivets almost as we speak!

I've noticed these in various places on Goliath as well. Not sure if they are factory or otherwise, but they appear as solid rivets from the outside, but have this tubular structure on the inside. I'll be interested if one of our Rivet Experts around here can identify them for sure. Anyone seen Kip lately?

-Marcus

[markdoane]

Those were explosive rivets, used for repairs back when your trailer was still a baby. You can't buy them anymore. I found a few near a repaired area in my '59.

The hollow backside was filled with a small charge. When you heated the top, the back end blew out and formed a nice upset.

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Could they be "Cherry Max" or more specifically "Cherry Q" rivets?

Shari

Shari is right on the money here, I haven't seen these since the 70's. The name as I remember them are "self plugging friction lock blind rivets" they are made by both Cherry, and Olympic, and we called then "Oly"s. They are not considered a structural rivet. They install the same as the Olympic rivets used on repair of Airstreams today. The stem breaks off and require shaving. If you could replace them with solids you would be better off.

Kip

[3Ms75Argosy]

Oh Lee.. I feel your pain! If you need help drilling them out... give me a call! I might be buying a compressor and rivet gun sometime.... so if you want, I'd share.
Marc

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

These are covering the curb side. I don't think it's a repair job. Most of the skin on the trailer would have been replaced then!?! The rivets appear to be solid on the outside. If they are pop rivets what type are they?

Those rivets are the old "explosive" type.

They have been history for at least 35 years.

They were the "approved" method of sheet metal repairs, back then.

Andy

[silverleeper]

Thanks again, I was hoping for better news. Crap!!! So, I think I need to by stock in a rivet company.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Thanks again, I was hoping for better news. Crap!!! So, I think I need to by stock in a rivet company.

If you have some explosive rivets that are loose, simply buck them a little, and that fixes the problem.

Andy