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Jamespio · 08-11-2017, 11:31 AM

So my '69 Overlander still had all of its rub rails (although it still strikes me odd that they didn't run the full length of the trailer).

However, they are attached with pop rivets. Which, of course, are hollow, and will almost certainly leak. This style of rub rail, from what I can tell, did not have a vinyl insert to seal it. But I cannot find a single buck rivet holding these in place, telling me that it is not just a matter of PO's replacing teh buck rivets over time, or there would at least be a few of them left.

This seems a serious and leaky design flaw, and although I live in a dry climate, I'm trying to fix obvious sources of water infiltration during my reno. How have folks handled this? Is it really a problem? Is the belly supposed to "breathe" through these rivets or something? Waht am I not getting? Or, what should I do?

rugjenkins · 08-14-2017, 12:06 PM

Yep it's a design flaw. I too did not like the setup. Shell/ floor/bellypan then rub rail all meeting together. A bad combo and design. I choose to re-engineer it so the shell overlapped the belly pan. I also put a 1.5 square tube around the perimeter the floor is independent of the shell/frame and can be removed without taking the shell off again. Back to a solution on yours. Yes the pop rivet the rub rail. If you have access to the exterior from the inside you could buck rivet. If not your best choice is caulking each rivet.

Jamespio · 08-14-2017, 04:50 PM

So, Matt, I haven't looked carefully, but do those rivets end up going directly into the plywood floor?

If not, I was thinking of replacing them with olympics which are at least a little easier to get a good seal on. Then maybe painting over with a blue stripe, to look like they have a vinyl insert.

rugjenkins · 08-14-2017, 05:15 PM

Not sure. There is normally a c channel that the subfloor is in. The factory was not precise on the rub rail as it did have a vinyl insert. If you have some give it a shot. If not double check the area they are going into. My guess is that they are about an inch above the floor. I haven't decided if I'm going to put mine back on. I have a really good rivet line that looks like it came from the factory.

rugjenkins · 08-14-2017, 05:19 PM

Pop rivets are not to bad an option though I do like the Olympic rivets better than pop but I like buck rivets over all the rest. My point is this: you'll need to caulk the top portion of the rub rail to prevent water from getting to the floor. A good check yearly is called for but I understand the dilemma.