Rivets, What kind?

[cp1977]

What kind of blind rivets are recommended for repairing an airstream. Are they all the same spec? Interior panels? Interior trim channels? Exterior rub rail attachment? Banana skins attachment? Do you use alum. with alum mandrel? alum w/steel mandrel? any particular grip strengths? Is there a spec sheet anywhere?
TIA - Lorry

Meh, apologies... I didn't realize there was a specific forum for this topic but I don't know how to move it

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by cp1977

What kind of blind rivets are recommended for repairing an airstream. Are they all the same spec? Interior panels? Interior trim channels? Exterior rub rail attachment? Banana skins attachment? Do you use alum. with alum mandrel? alum w/steel mandrel? any particular grip strengths? Is there a spec sheet anywhere?
TIA - Lorry

Use all aluminum rivets, both inside and out.

For the exterior, you can use Olympic rivets, or if you have the inside gutted to reach the backside of a panel, you can use buck rivets.

For the exterior moldings, use 1/8 inch rivets.

For the underbelly, use 3/16 wide head rivets.

The correct drill sizes are, # 30 for the inside as well as buck rivets, # 21 for the Olympic rivets and # 11 for the underbelly rivets.

Andy

[Belegedhel]

I consulted my 1973 shop manual to see how specific they get about pop rivets. For reattaching a banana wrap, for instance, they specify using a AD45BS pop rivet. If you google this number, you find that it is a 1/8" aluminum with steel mandrel, blah blah blah rivet. My expectation is that a specific rivet code is going to be called out to ensure the appropriate diameter, grip length, and appearance of the rivet for an installer who is not necessarily an expert.

I try not to over-think pop rivets. As I have put my trailer back together, I have used only aluminum pop rivets with aluminum mandrels, as I find that the steel mandrels rust and leave a dripping rust stain, and also, they are a pain to drill out (but hoping not to ever have to remove the rivets that I am placing). I have been using the hardware store variety of rivets, and so far haven't had any cause to question their integrity. I could imagine the steel mandrel being superior in strength in shear, but even with that in mind, I went ahead with the aluminum mandrel rivets. So far no issues.

So, if you want to go "by the book," then I would recommend you go "buy the book," the shop manual, that is. You can usually find pdf versions for the 70's models on ebay.

good luck!

[Del Gurney]

I agree with Belegedhel: I wish I did'ent know as much about rivets as I'm restoring an old AS.
Most rivets are 1/8 for interior shell and of course are pop rivets as you can't "buck" ..ditto on banana wraps.
One thing is that if you make the hole bigger by drilling you may have to go a size bigger.
Steel mandrels are a pain.
After all you're not repairing an F-16 to withstand 5 g's.

[cp1977]

thanks everyone for the quick replies. Folks on this site is awesome, not sure what I would do without it, probably sell quick and get out of town.
Lorry