[VAC] Re: Poping Rivets on the Front

[Inlandrv@xxxxxxx]

Ed. Shearing rivets off the "front hold down plate" is not a great mystery. 
The following all can and do contribute to that failure.
1. Super heavy duty tow vehicle.
2. A tow vehicle that has overload springs.
3. Lack of proper running gear balance on the trailer. 
4. Utilizing a hitch rating that is not required for the job. Each 
installation is unique, and the hitch rating that should be used, must be 
determined for that rig. As an example, towing with a 1000 or 1200 pound 
hitch bar when a 550 or 750 would be adequate.
5. Full water and the batteries that you have installed, can add to the 
problem, when the rigging is entirely too rigid. Bouncing on the front end of 
the trailer when hooked up to the tow vehicle, should produce a deflection of 
1 1/2 to 2 inches. If not, then the setup is stiffer then need be.
6. Addressing the above should take place, before any modifications.
7. "AFTER" the rigging is softened, adding 2 to 3 more rows of rivets to the 
front hold down plate. These rivets, "MUST", go through the sheetmetal, 
"AND", the steel hold down plate.
8. If the trailer has been towed many miles with  super heavy duty rigging, 
the welds that hold the front plate can fail. In that case the area behind 
the LPG bottles must be stripped until the steel plate is completely exposed, 
which will permit rewelding.
9. Rivets only shear when they have been exposed to stresses that they were 
not designed to support. Redistributing some of those stresses and/or 
eliminating some of them, will stop the loss of rivets.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com