Maintenance & Restoration

Lydia W · 09-18-2017, 07:17 AM

The roof vent on my 1975 13' Scamp leaks and I'd like to try to remove, clean, and re-install it. Am I crazy? Any tips, suggestions, guidance???

Maine_Scamp · 09-18-2017, 02:53 PM

Personally ,I would spring for a new vent !

stevebaz · 09-18-2017, 06:47 PM

Go for it. What do you have to loose. Just remember you cant put body weight on top of the trailer. When working on my scamp I backed my truck up to the side of the Scamp and built a tempory deck on top of the bed and used it as a work platform. Other than that you drill out the rivets pull it apart clean the surfaces and use buytle tape when you reassemble. Then go over it with some dicor sealant.

Lydia W · 09-19-2017, 07:51 AM

Thanks SteveBaz...I think I will "go for it". I try to keep my Scamp as original as possible, so want to keep the metal roof vent. When you say "drill our the rivets" do you really use a drill to drill them out? I'll need to check out you tube for instructions! Thanks again!

Steve in NY · 09-19-2017, 01:17 PM

On my 88 16' I just stood on a short ladder inside the camper which allowed me to work easily on removal. Because there wasn't a new replacement unit available I was very careful removing it so as not to damage it. It came out without trouble. I cleaned all the RTV silicone off, used Butyl tape to rebed with new rivets and she's not leaking anymore. It's the kind of job that is best done in one shot. I removed mine in the early morning, and cleaned it all up and painted the top (vinyl paint) and put it back on in the evening.

Good Luck
Steve

stevebaz · 09-19-2017, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lydia W

Thanks SteveBaz...I think I will "go for it". I try to keep my Scamp as original as possible, so want to keep the metal roof vent. When you say "drill our the rivets" do you really use a drill to drill them out? I'll need to check out you tube for instructions! Thanks again!

Yes you have to drill off the tops of the rivet head then pull out the rivet from below. You don't drill all the way through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7o0IxhfwyI

JudyG · 10-06-2017, 06:30 PM

you guys make this stuff sound so easy! for us newbies with intent and no experience, its not. What the heck is that sealant somebody mentioned?
There was so much silicone caulk around my vent when I scrapped it off the only thing I recognized were bits of butyl tape.

Lydia W · 10-09-2017, 06:04 AM

I agree, JudyG! I "youtube" every suggestion that's given so I have a visual idea of what I need to do. I have very little experience with any of this rehab stuff, but I'm bound and determined to give it a try! I want to keep as much original stuff on my 75 Scamp as possible, so I'm going to have to dive in and start the process of removing the rivets and scraping all the gunk from around the vent. Hopefully I won't screw it up!

mary and bob · 10-09-2017, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lydia W

I agree, JudyG! I "youtube" every suggestion that's given so I have a visual idea of what I need to do. I have very little experience with any of this rehab stuff, but I'm bound and determined to give it a try! I want to keep as much original stuff on my 75 Scamp as possible, so I'm going to have to dive in and start the process of removing the rivets and scraping all the gunk from around the vent. Hopefully I won't screw it up!

You're in NY, same as us, come on over and I'll show you what to do

JudyG · 10-09-2017, 07:29 AM

that youtube video did help, thanks. So how do I select rivet size, is it like choosing a bolt? That I know about.

Lydia W · 10-09-2017, 09:41 AM

I'm not sure of the rivet size...haven't started to tackle the job yet!

stevebaz · 10-09-2017, 07:59 PM

Drill just the head off the rivet. Then from below the flange inside the trailer pull out the stem of the rivet. Then take that to the old style hardware store and ask the salesman to get some rivets that fit. Dont forget to buy enough, so count what you need and add an extra 10 rivets or so to pratice with.

Easy or hard is relative to what you have been exposed to and how you approach challenges in life. With respect to the female gender if you can run a sewing machine you are fully capable of doing this repair.

After you set your first rivet your off and running. If your rivet doesnt come out as expected drill off the head and pull out the rivet from below and do it again. The only difficulity in this job is its location and the force it takes to pop the rivets.

Want to pratice make it easy, take a piece of heavy plastic like a tupperware container. Take a paint mixing stick. Put it on the bottom of the tupper ware. Take a drill bit the same size as the shank of the rivet and drill through the stick and the tupperware bottom. Now take a rivit and stick it through the hole in the tupperware and the hole in the paint stick. Put the rivet gun on the rivet and set the rivet. If it doesnt pop on the first squeeze of the handle open up the handle all the way and slide the tool down on the rivet pin all the way down and squeeze the handles again. Keep doing this until the rivet pops. A salesman at a real hardware store could show you how to do this. Box stores like home depot probably wont help you much, go to an ace or a local family type hardware store. The only difference with this and the vent on your trailer is the location and remembering to put butlye tape betewwn the trailer shell and the vent before you do the riveting.

JudyG · 10-10-2017, 09:48 AM

From the youtube video I thought the part left would be out of shape, however I didn't throw away all the bits so will take one to the hardware store. The store looks new however they give really good old-fashioned advice.
Also, I didn't know if I could use a regular bit to drill metal even if it is aluminum so I used a prybar as a chisel and knocked the heads off; it worked quite well.

JudyG · 10-11-2017, 01:13 PM

I found a bag of rivets & plastic washer cups with caps. The knock out stub from the old hatch fits through the holes in the new hatch however the found rivets don't; does that mean they are different diameters or did something change when I removed those hatch rivets?
Also, the found rivets don't fit through the washer cup, except for the rounded head, sort of. Is that the way they are supposed to fit? There are some roof rivets that need new washers so it would be nice to know.

stevebaz · 10-11-2017, 09:23 PM

Pop rivet sizes common are 1/8", 3/16", 5/32, 1/4" in shank diameters. Scamp used 1/8" for the curtain rod. They used 3/16" for the cabinets to the wall. I havent pulled my vent so I don't know what they used there. These are the same diameter as the drill bits used to drill the hole.

Rivet lengths are all over the place running from about 1/2" to 1-1/4" in length. Once you get the stack of materials togther and holes drilled then you put the rivet through the vent, through the putty, through the fiberglass body shell, then it needs to stick through this stuff about 3/16" before you pop the rivet. Every vent out there are not the same, some may have inner and outer trim rings and other parts that may or may not be riveted in so replace all the major parts you take off in the same order you took them off.

I like to put every other rivet in place before setting any of them. After you go around setting every other one I come back push a rivet in the remaining hole and set them. You trim off the squeezed butyl tape. Then come pack and coat the seam and exposed rivet heads with Dicor sealant.

Borrego Dave · 10-12-2017, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevebaz

I like to put every other rivet in place before setting any of them. After you go around setting every other one I come back push a rivet in the remaining hole and set them. You trim off the squeezed butyl tape. Then come pack and coat the seam and exposed rivet heads with Dicor sealant.

I don't skip every other one like you do but I'm not sure what you mean by setting, does that mean the rivet popping? After the rivet catches in the gun I pull only enough to get resistance on it. I pull all of them to the same feel and stop to let the butyl compress a while. The following pulls are half pulls using a pattern like you would torqueing down a motor head, then more time for the butyl to set. Most every time the rivets all pop on the same go around. I started doing this installing plastic components and have never had one crack/break. A metal item wouldn't be such a concern.

JudyG · 10-12-2017, 10:58 AM

OK, I think I understand rivets better, thanks to each of you.
Now what about that plastic washer thingy the caps fit over? Is the rivet supposed to easily fit thru it and then compress it to seal, or is it suppose to be forced thru it during the pop part?

Borrego Dave · 10-12-2017, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyG

OK, I think I understand rivets better, thanks to each of you.
Now what about that plastic washer thingy the caps fit over? Is the rivet supposed to easily fit thru it and then compress it to seal, or is it suppose to be forced thru it during the pop part?

Yes & yes & sometimes you do have to force or open the hole a bit for a thicker rivet barrel.

stevebaz · 10-12-2017, 02:19 PM

The tight fit is their form of a seal I guess. I don't like the tight fit like that on plastic so I carefully drill them out with the same rivet shank size. Tight fitting plastic as it ages tend to split. I also put the drilled washer on the rivet and a little ball of butyl calking between the plastic and the fiberglass right on the rivet shank.