Popped rivets and hard to lock door for 2021 Caravel

[hovr]

Hi,
I have had my new 2021 Caravel 16RB for almost a month now, almost everything worked well, except for the door. The door requires a fairly firm push before I can turn the keys to lock the door lock and especially the deadbolt. This is particularly annoying for me to lock them from inside, I had to put my body weight leaning backward when pull the door handle. the handle seems pretty slim for such force.
I also noticed that 2 days after I got the trailer from dealership, the lower half of the door inside panel has 8 rivets popped. The rivets are not difficult to fix, but I am worried the door is curved differently than the body and when I push close the door, it might have caused the panel shifting parallel to frame and the shear force actually broke/popped the rivets.
I am wondering if the hard push/pull is normal for locking the door? I am trying to fix the rivets myself so I don't have to drive 45 minutes with trailer to dealership to have them do this seemingly easy fix. But if the door frame is defective then I will have to have them fix that.

Thanks

-Hovr

[aftermath]

In my humble opinion, I would say that your door is misaligned, at best. Do take it back to the dealer. They can align the door right there in their shop. As far as the popped rivets, make sure you tell them about that as well. I have had my 25FB for 11 years and have had a rivet or two pop. I don't think my total number is over 8 though. This many rivets popping tells me there is something wrong with the door.



You paid big money for this trailer. Use the warranty. It is part of the cost of the trailer.


Best wishes and please report back with what was found.

[Shiny16]

The door generally requires a firm push to secure into the “second click”. I’ve never had a difficult time with either the lock or deadbolt and have never had a rivet on the door pop.
Something is not right. I wouldn’t fix the popped rivets on my own. That doesn’t sound like it would fix the real problem.
Is there any chance you over cranked the stabilizers?

[jaybauman]

According to my Airstream mechanic, the most popular location for popped rivets is around the door. Frequently--but by all means NOT always--there are common root causes for this:

1. Misaligned Door / Forceful slams
2. Aggressive weight distribution settings
3. Interior skin not mounted flush against ribs

The symptoms you describe are quite common, but not catastrophic. You dealer will have enough experience with this problem to address the root cause and fix the cosmetics. Be wary if they just fix the rivets and don't explain what caused it and what they did to prevent it from happening again. If the blame is coming back to you (e.g. too much WD), make sure they explain to you how they diagnosed that, as there are usually additional symptoms that would reinforce that conclusion.

[hovr]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

The door generally requires a firm push to secure into the “second click”. I’ve never had a difficult time with either the lock or deadbolt and have never had a rivet on the door pop.
Something is not right. I wouldn’t fix the popped rivets on my own. That doesn’t sound like it would fix the real problem.
Is there any chance you over cranked the stabilizers?

Thanks for sharing your experience with the door. I have never over cranked the stabilizers - I pamper the thing. I just learnt the 2nd push click practice, it works, but still have the problem of closing from inside. but I think I will still have AS dealership take a look at the door as 8/9 popped rivets in just couple of days is a bit concerning.

[hovr]

Originally Posted by jaybauman

According to my Airstream mechanic, the most popular location for popped rivets is around the door. Frequently--but by all means NOT always--there are common root causes for this:

1. Misaligned Door / Forceful slams
2. Aggressive weight distribution settings
3. Interior skin not mounted flush against ribs

The symptoms you describe are quite common, but not catastrophic. You dealer will have enough experience with this problem to address the root cause and fix the cosmetics. Be wary if they just fix the rivets and don't explain what caused it and what they did to prevent it from happening again. If the blame is coming back to you (e.g. too much WD), make sure they explain to you how they diagnosed that, as there are usually additional symptoms that would reinforce that conclusion.

This is super useful, thanks!

[hovr]

I think I found the culprit of the issue. When the door is closed to the first click with gentle force, the lower half, especially the bottom already touches the body door opening frame, while the top still have room to be pushed further in. when I push(much harder) it to the second click, I am actually bending the lower half the door outward, causing panel shifting downwards. I noticed that there are 2 rivets that are about to pop, with stem partially exposed, all leaning downwards. and for the rivets that are already popped, the holes shows holes on the panel sheeting slightly misaligned with the one behind the.

Now the question is - how would I (they) adjust this? I checked the door hinge, there is no adjustment I can see, not even a single screw I can see actually. I have watched a video from Airstream staff, the way they adjust the door is hammering the hinges , I am not sure if it will leave scratches on the hinge or deform the door frame.

[jaybauman]

Originally Posted by hovr

Now the question is - how would I (they) adjust this? I checked the door hinge, there is no adjustment I can see, not even a single screw I can see actually. I have watched a video from Airstream staff, the way they adjust the door is hammering the hinges , I am not sure if it will leave scratches on the hinge or deform the door frame.

You don't need to worry about negative consequences of the adjustment process. The wood block protects against acute damage from the hammer blows. Aluminum is relatively soft, so it yields easily to the application of "blunt force trauma".

[airmaine]

New and warrantied...if you're close to your dealer, have them deal with it. Sometimes if you do the work and are responsible for altering what is already in place, they might refuse to honor the warranty.