Rear Air Spoiler Loose

[Old Scout]

Dont recall this issue being mentioned lately, so thought I would bring it up again. For all but the last few model years, the rear air spoiler is fastened to the rear of the coach with 5 brackets. These brackets are held in place with 3/16" rivets. Over time, these rivets can wear through or the holes in the fiberglass rear cap can wollow out. On our 03, one of the brackets was completely unfastened, and the other four were in various stages of getting loose. Still thinking about the best way to re-attach the brackets to the rear cap--can't reach it from the back side so fix has to be some sort of toggle-bolt or threaded bushing. Thoughts?

[Mr_D]

They make a rubber busing with a metal thread in the center. When a bolt is put in and tightened the rubber expands to fill the hole. Not sure what they call them but a bolt supply should know.

[Rusty Bear]

Bolts work loose, rivets don't. I had this problem on my 07 and almost lost the spoiler. I drilled out the old rivets and replaced them. I drilled a few new holes / added more rivets and haven’t had a problem since. I check the spoiler on occasion and it is still tight and secure. 5 years and counting

[Old Scout]

Thanks Jim--I reviewed the older posts after re-newing this thread to see what had been done in the past. My brackets seem to be in good shape so was thinking about adding more rivets but was concerned about weakening the immediate area in the fiberglass with more holes. Agree that rivets are probably better for applications where vibration [air flow] might be an issue. Also wondered if the pressure created to "pop" the rivet might contribute to stressing the fiberglass around the rivet--will probably go with new rivets as you suggest but wanted to see if anyone had an alternative fix.....

[rrthor]

I just made this repair last month. As Old Scout says later model years do not use five brackets. My 06 has three, the one in the middle having a support on each side of the camera. I did have one loose rivet on the right side bracket but my biggest problem was that the spoiler became detached from the bracket not the bracket detached from the coach. The tabs on the bracket where the spoiler attaches were so damaged from repair attempts by the previous owner that there was no material left to get a rivet to hold.

I took some 3/8” x ½” x 3”aluminum and tapped two holes in one side. Then attached it to the underside of the damaged tabs with screws for the left and right bracket. I was then able to drill and tap the repaired bracket from the top so I could use screws to attach the spoiler to the bracket. A lot of this work was done standing on a stepladder. I did the same for the center bracket using an aluminum plate to span across the two uprights on the center bracket.

As far as fixing the loose rivet the right side bracket to the coach I used a large head 3/16” rivet. I considered removing the bracket completely so i could bed the bracket in an adhesive/sealant but decided against it in case the bracket needed to be removed in the future. I replaced all the marker lights while I had the spoiler off. Also the rubber grommet for the camera cable was deteriorated and would not seal so I caulked it along with were the wire for the marker lights exits the fiberglass. Hopefully this repair will last for some time.

[SteveS]

Why not use a paneling or drywall screw...one that causes the sides of the plug to fan out and grip behind the wall surface. Don't know their name but the sides of the plug actually fan out and grip behind the surface of the wall as the screw is tightened. They also have the spring loaded batwing panel screws that spring out from behind the wall (surface) after you insert them beyond the edges of the wing. Then just tighten the screw until the batwing grips behind the surface.

[Old Scout]

Mission complete--found some 3/16" "trifold" pop-rivets at a local RV Paint and Collison shop. Allowed me to use the existing 3/16" [before wollowing] in the rear cap and as Jim suggested, added one more rivet per bracket for extra strength. Preferred this method over wall-board/concrete-style expanding fasteners as I was able to use existing holes [no need to enlarge them] and the rivets were aluminum vs plastic. Primary reason for sharing this was to make new Alpine owners [and us old ones too] aware of this potential issue with the rear spoiler.

[Ken L.]

Steve, I believe you are looking for the word "Molly" the collapsing screw/nut insert for hollow wall construction.
Old Scout, Nothing has been said Aluminum verses Stainless Steel. I believe S.S. might fracture the fiberglass due to the pressure it takes to collapse them. On the other hand Aluminum is soft and might not hold as well. Just a couple of thoughts. Ken

[Old Scout]

Ken--aluminum rivets held for the last 13 years and 156,000 miles--think I am good to go [smile]

[Ken L.]

Now I have to go on the roof and exert myself. Thanks, Ken

[Koop]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

They make a rubber busing with a metal thread in the center. When a bolt is put in and tightened the rubber expands to fill the hole. Not sure what they call them but a bolt supply should know.

I think you're referring to well nuts.

[Jeeper64060]

For what it's worth - the area where the camera cord penetrates is not interior - if water leaks there it just runs down into the engine compartment. Poke your head into the engine compartment and look up - it's wide open in there.