Who has had panels replaced using Olympic rivets?

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by Julie-Bob

C & G Trailer in Bellflower CA. Call them they did my panels in 1 1/2 days and allow me to plug in to there elect and stay in trailer at the shop. Great.

Got a quote from Rod. Just a tad higher than JC since they have to mark up the parts a bit (doesn't seem like they get a wholesale price from the factory?) and $250 charge to ship panels from Ohio. BUT only 1/3 of the distance to travel for the work. Leaning in this direction based on the positive feedback and the decades these guys have been working on Airstreams.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Jc did the work? Do you have a photo comparison of the buck vs Olympic? I would be curious

I doubt JC did this work, since some of it shows poor workmanship.




The photo above you can compare buck riveted to Olympic riveted. The two segments on the upper right were replaced. The two on the left are original. (don't look at the stained curtains-a leak from the rear fan when I purchase the trailer)



A close up of Olympics, one's center pin broke off lower than the surface of shaved head. No leak, but it does not look that great.

[featherbedder]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

I doubt JC did this work, since some of it shows poor workmanship.

Attachment 285986


The photo above you can compare buck riveted to Olympic riveted. The two segments on the upper right were replaced. The two on the left are original. (don't look at the stained curtains-a leak from the rear fan when I purchase the trailer)

Attachment 285988

A close up of Olympics, one's center pin broke off lower than the surface of shaved head. No leak, but it does not look that great.

If some one left olympic rivet with hole I would tell them drill out install new rivet or I would not pay. I had JC replace left rear corner in 1979. They used olympic still no leaks and cannot tell dif. I also have shaver and rivets and used with no problems & never had a hole like in pics. If rivets were done by previous owner I would have one with hole drilled and install new rivet. Any shop or person that has shaver can do or else can rent shaver, return get deposit back only cost postage and cost of rivet [under $ ea.] easy to do, simple pop rivet tool, I use cordless drill to shave.

[Julie-Bob]

I did the same damage when backing into the drive way. C & G Trailer Changed out all three panels in 1 & 1/2 days. Being in aviation maintenance for over 54 years, I bucked and pulled a lot of rivets. If installed right a pulled rivet will be there as long as a bucked one. If the hole in elongated a pulled river is better due to the bucked rivet has to be worked to fill the hole not good.

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by featherbedder

If some one left olympic rivet with hole I would tell them drill out install new rivet or I would not pay. I had JC replace left rear corner in 1979. They used olympic still no leaks and cannot tell dif. I also have shaver and rivets and used with no problems & never had a hole like in pics. If rivets were done by previous owner I would have one with hole drilled and install new rivet. Any shop or person that has shaver can do or else can rent shaver, return get deposit back only cost postage and cost of rivet [under $ ea.] easy to do, simple pop rivet tool, I use cordless drill to shave.

About 4 or 5 years ago when I was getting my regular service done at JC, I bought the rivet kit with the shaver. Kevin, the shop foreman took me back into the shop where they had just finished a training session for dealers' service techs on Olympic rivets. He demonstrated how it was done, and then had me install and shave some rivets. It is really quite simple. About a year later when I was the volunteer host at Mystic Springs, I replaced some Olympics on a couple of 34 footers that had sheared rivets from the front plate. Vintage Trailer supply sells the shaver as well as a rivet removal tool ($40).

[batman]

I like PharmGeek's reply on this subject, very logical.
I bought my 64 and the first rain, it poured inside the front of the trailer. I found a front curved panel had been replaced using Olympic rivets. Obviously it had not been done properly or sealed correctly. When I did my ground up remodel I removed the Olympic's, resealed and buck riveted that panel. Never had a problem since. I would recommend buck rivets, in my experience I just don't trust the Olympic rivets. My .02

-Dennis

[ASTech]

We've done a few bucks rivet jobs at my shop. It all depends on how much money you want to spend. An Olympic job is what we do on 99% of the panel replacements. Olympics have an o ring built onto the individual rivet to promote sealing. Also, in between each panel is a gummy sealant that is used. We bust out complete side sheets using 1000 olympic rivets without any issues.

[KJRitchie]

My 2008 preowned Classic 25fb had a leak over the dinette area that I traced down to a rivet line on the end cap center panel and they are bucked rivets. When Airstream placed the center panel there is a section where the side and center panel faces are not in contact.Enough water was coming through the rivet heads and running down between the interior sealing and the outside edge sealed with Acryl down to the top of the rear window where it will then drip down the bug screen. I could never feel any water behind the rear upper cabinet. After applying Capt Tolley's numerous times I resorted to applying some Trempro on the rivet heads and working it into the rivet head gaps, letting it set up then cleaning off the excess. Seems to have survived the torrential rains we've had in Missouri. I'm going to have most of the rivets replaced on the center panel replaced with Olympics for a more permanent fix later this year using the shop that did my interior remodel.

Kelvin

[PeterH-350LE]

The reality is
1. Insurance premiums would skyrocket, if Buck rivets would be the norm.
2. Some panels still will require the selective use of Olympics, even after completely stripping the interior, due to access.
3. If you live in the south, using O-rings olympics is a bad idea. The rubber will deteriorate in a few years and leak. Use vulkem 116 instead.
4. Vulkem 116 is an adhesive as well as a sealer. Knowing what it will stick to helps you determine the right approach for a leak free installation.
5. Pre-fitting the panels with clecos is a must, to map the adhesive function of the vulkem 116 (hint: vulkem does stick like thunder to aluminum, but not to clear coat)

[Iansk]

The street side front quarter panel on my '77 was repaired/replaced at some point in its history using Olympic rivets, when I removed the interior panels I saw that every single Olympic rivet leaked. All of them.
If I were to find myself in need of a major repair today, I wouldn't consider using them for a second. I own a shaver and have probably over a thousand of them in my trailer tool kit, but would never use them for anything structural unless forced to.

Ian

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by Iansk

The street side front quarter panel on my '77 was repaired/replaced at some point in its history using Olympic rivets, when I removed the interior panels I saw that every single Olympic rivet leaked. All of them.

That's disturbing. Could it have been do to poor or improper installation? This is certainly why I'm focused on either JC or a highly recommended shop like C&G or Timeless doing my panel replacements. The cost skyrocketed from $4,200 to more than $7,000 to switch from Olympic to Buck.

[Iansk]

Yes, certainly disturbing. They "looked" like they were installed right, plenty of vulcum/trempro evident, but I think the nature of two structural panels being held together by Olympic rivets is that it's guaranteed to fail at some point.
My question to myself, if this were my quandary would be: is saving $2800 now worth the almost certain damage in the future?
Subfloor? Toast. Gaucho? Petri dish. Outriggers? Swiss cheese. That was the result of the repair in my coach. Granted, my '77 has a whole host of issues, but this is one that could've been avoided by spending more to do it right..

Aerowood, who is one of my secret heroes here (shhh, don't tell him) opines on Olympic rivets at points in his thread. Between his thoughts and what I've seen first hand, I'm convinced. Do it right. Buck it!
Ian

[PeterH-350LE]

In the end it depends who is doing the work, buck or olympic and his level of first hand experience.
I have seen factory installed buck rivets leak and panels assembled without the use of tape or vulkem. Instead the seams were just poorly sealed from the inside after assembly.
I suppose we will see a lot more hard to sell rebuilt titled Trailers for sale if people insist on buck rivets. Don't forget to put resale value into the equation.