Exterior care
Read your rivets, then replace the ones that pop
An Airstream is held together by thousands of rivets, and the body is meant to flex as you tow, so losing one now and then is normal. The skill is knowing which popped rivet is routine and which is the trailer trying to tell you something.
A popped rivet is usually cosmetic
- Flex pops them The skin moves over every bump. A single weeping or missing rivet here and there is a maintenance item, not an emergency. Mark it with a bit of tape and replace it when you get the chance.
- Know your two types Original buck rivets are solid and set with a bucking bar behind the skin. Where you cannot reach behind the panel, Olympic (closed-end blind) rivets in matching aluminum are the standard repair and look nearly identical once set.
When a rivet line is telling you something
- A row of popped rivets up front is a red flag Several rivets giving up along the front seams can be an early sign of front-end separation. Do not just fill them. Look at why they are moving before you call it fixed.
- Leaks follow loose rivets A rivet at a seam that has lost its seal lets water in behind the skin. Re-seal the seam as you re-rivet so you are not trading a cosmetic fix for a hidden leak.
Helps to have on board
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