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Bay door rivets cracking

Two of my bay doors have rivets at the top hinges that are loose. Or the rivets have proven to be stronger than the fiberglass. See pics. What is involved in the repair and where to go? MOT, FOT, Extreme, Tennessee  RV, or another shop? 

Bob
2000 U270
Winter: Texas Rio Grande Valley or Foley, AL
Summer: The Gardens RV Community of Crossville, TN
2000 40 FT U270, Xtreme FBP
2017 C-Max Towed

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #1 –
Bob,

Mine were fixed at Xtreme by Rance.  They are staying fixed as Rance is so very good at fiberglass repair.  He has several of these repairs for experience at just what you need.
Rudy Legett
2003 U320 4010 ISM 450 hp
2001 U320 4220 ISM 450 hp
1995 U320 M11 400 hp
1990 Granvilla 300 hp 3208T
Aqua Hot Service Houston and Southeast Texas

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #2 –
Bob, if you are still in Crossville, give Allen Stanifer at TN RV's body shop a call. His folks will do a very good job on this. If you have migrated to Texas, then FOT or James Smallings at Xtreme would be good.
No RV! Have hung up the keys.
In the past: 2016 Winnebago Era, 1994 Foretravel U240, 1995 Foretravel U240 (wide body), 1999 Foretravel 320, 36 Foot, 2003 Foretravel U320 38 foot,

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #3 –
Quote from: BobW –
Two of my bay doors have rivets at the top hinges that are loose. Or the rivets have proven to be stronger than the fiberglass. See pics. What is involved in the repair and where to go? MOT, FOT, Extreme, Tennessee  RV, or another shop? 
Bob
2000 U270
Some suggestions. Fixing Broken Rivet on Fiberglass Door
The selected media item is not currently available.Barry BEAM #16014
2003 U320 40' AGDS
Beamalarm, Foretravel technical help and specifications
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve"

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #4 –
Hinge rivets may be harder to fix without doing some FG rework.  Rudy was at out place in July and had a bay door latch that had rivets pulling out.  We removed the latch, cut an aluminium plate about 3/32" thick  x 2" bigger in each direction than the latch.  We riveted that where it needed to be and riveted the latch to it.  We did not glue it on since it was going to be a temporary fix but some cleanup and some epoxy would have made it quite permanent.  Easy to adjust the latch pin for the additional thickness.

Roger
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #5 –
Hmmmm. I always default to Xtreme, but TN RV or Parliament Coach in ST Pete FL could probably handle just fine.
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #6 –
I had my bay door repaired at Xtreme P&G. Rance rebuilt the top edge of the door.

A door came off in my hand while I was opening (or closing?) it while parked in the driveway at home. I could see that a previous repair was done by drilling new holes through the door and hinge, then placing new rivets. There was enough room and structural integrity for that repair to be effective for several years.

The gas struts exert a force that is effective in tearing the rivets from the fiberglass. Another vulnerable place is the side edge of the door near the water heater vent. My door broke where the strut is attached. Rance fixed that a couple of years prior to the failure of the attachments to the hinge. You may want to inspect that area if a fiberglass expert is going to fix the door.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #7 –
I repaired one some years back,opened door, pulled the panel back in position, clamped with vice grip, drilled holes for 10/32x1/2 inch stainless steel button head screws with washer, lock washer, and nut, no problem so far.
The selected media item is not currently available.Bill&Doris 97 U270 36'
University of Parris Island Class of 66
Semper Fi  Build# 5174 MC#17094
 

Re: Bay door rivets cracking

Reply #8 –
Just my opinion but I suspect that in some cases the hinge failure is due to the wrong struts being installed.  With added pressure to the hinge area the rivets could be pulled out.  I repaired the RF Bay door on my 280 with JB WELD, but I had to do it again due to too strong a struts.
Gary B