Replacing Inaccessible Rivet

[JEB]

I have a 21 GT 23FBT. One of the 1/8” interior pop rivets recently broke. The rivet is directly above the top edge of the roadside wardrobe and there is no room to drill it out or re-revit it, even from an angle. It is literally right above the edge of the wardrobe (photos attached).





Can the wardrobe by pulled out as a unit to access the rivet without having to essentially dismantle it? From what I can see, there is an L-bracket above the door frame holding the wardrobe to the roof and two screws holding it to the floor, and the curtain track would need to be removed to slide the unit out, but there are so many other screws holding the wardrobe together it’s impossible to tell if the job is more involved than that. Thanks.

[John Ware]

"Slide, slide, slide, Let it Slide"

[Ray Eklund]

I am with John. On the curve it is not unusual for pop rivets to become loose or fall out.

By the time you remove the wardrobe... you have weakened the hardware attachments and will create more possible problems, then with the wardrobe. Had the wardrobe fit better, you would have never noticed the pop rivet being loose.

Start looking at all the curved pop rivets. See black around the head of the rivet... it is loose, but not going to fall out. Yet.

I would not give it another thought. I have seen it all and you have nothing to worry about.

[JEB]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

I am with John. On the curve it is not unusual for pop rivets to become loose or fall out.

By the time you remove the wardrobe... you have weakened the hardware attachments and will create more possible problems, then with the wardrobe. Had the wardrobe fit better, you would have never noticed the pop rivet being loose.

Start looking at all the curved pop rivets. See black around the head of the rivet... it is loose, but not going to fall out. Yet.

I would not give it another thought. I have seen it all and you have nothing to worry about.

Very practical. Which is precisely why I didn’t even consider leaving it alone. Thanks for the reality check.

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by JEB

Very practical. Which is precisely why I didn’t even consider leaving it alone. Thanks for the reality check.

*****
You also picked the Go Anywhere Airstream. Lucky guess? I am sure you found the length you will stick with for a long time.

It is more important to look at the floor and see which WALLS are vibrating, leaving marks on the floor. I added angled brackets to hold them firmly to the floor. The hanging cabinets are tougher to figure out which are moving while towing.

Shake, Rattle, Roll and Fall Off is next? Maybe. Maybe not. Our 27FBQ is solid and secure from tweaking as we travel. Learned to secure cabinets since 2006. The 2019 I secured everything... the day it came home from the RV Dealership. Still hanging together with less than $25 of hardware.

You will do the same as the learning curve is straight up today. In a year or two... not much left to work on.

Next will be securing the lousy cabinet hinges with nylon zip ties. Some posts on that on the Forums. Works. You may be tempted to go longer in your Airstream Choices... don't. Or stop at 25 feet.

[Wayne&Sam]

Since an Airstream has 3,000 rivets on average, missing one or a few won't matter.

[JEB]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Since an Airstream has 3,000 rivets on average, missing one or a few won't matter.

Yeah, I get that. I’ve been drilling out and replacing interior rivets since I bought it about four years ago. This is the first one I couldn’t get to, which sent my OCD into hyperdrive.

[JEB]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

*****
You also picked the Go Anywhere Airstream. Lucky guess? I am sure you found the length you will stick with for a long time.

It is more important to look at the floor and see which WALLS are vibrating, leaving marks on the floor. I added angled brackets to hold them firmly to the floor. The hanging cabinets are tougher to figure out which are moving while towing.

Shake, Rattle, Roll and Fall Off is next? Maybe. Maybe not. Our 27FBQ is solid and secure from tweaking as we travel. Learned to secure cabinets since 2006. The 2019 I secured everything... the day it came home from the RV Dealership. Still hanging together with less than $25 of hardware.

You will do the same as the learning curve is straight up today. In a year or two... not much left to work on.

Next will be securing the lousy cabinet hinges with nylon zip ties. Some posts on that on the Forums. Works. You may be tempted to go longer in your Airstream Choices... don't. Or stop at 25 feet.

It’s been decent structurally, so far. No walls moving, no cabinets busting screws and falling off the wall. At least not yet. Which is good. I do a fair amount of primitive camping and the narrow width and short length allow for more options. So, I plan to keep it for awhile. No plans to upsize any time soon, if at all.

But it’s had its problems, most electrical or mechanical as opposed to structural. Two motors failing on the Zip Dee six months out of warranty hurt the most. Some workmanship deficiencies. Par for the course for a COVID build.

[JEB]

Got a tip from Airstream about “fixing” the inaccessible rivet. Evidently agreeing that the rivet is structurally inconsequential, they recommended popping the head off a spare rivet and gluing it over the hole. Now that is out-of-the-box thinking.