As some of you know we removed a gas tank & had to drill out the rivets of the outer filler hose at the filler door. (Turns out we didn't have to but did before we discovered the bump out inside has a door}In replacing the rivets the only kind I've been able to find are aluminum rivets with a steel mandrel. They are made by Arrow and the box says aluminum, however the mandrel looks like steel. I noticed Barth used a lot of these pop rivets, but I don't know if they used steel mandrel or an aluminum mandrel? If I have to use the ones with the aluminum mandrel then any suggestions as to where to find them?
Jim

I'm not aware of any aluminum rivets with aluminum mandrels. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but it would be quite a feat to make an aluminum mandrel strong enough to expand the stem of a pop rivet without breaking. Indeed, I have had steel mandrels break before the rivet was fully expanded.

Pop rivets in my Barth began deteriorating from galvanic corrosion at around 14 years of age because they fastened the aluminum skin to the steel framework. I replaced them with hardware store aluminum rivets.

If you use aluminum rivets with steel mandrels, it is likely they will outlast your ownership of the coach. Nothing is permanent, & there's nothing exotic about maintaining a Barth. It isn't rocket science.

There are aluminum pop rivets with aluminum mandrels. You can order them online from Hanson rivet company. There are also closed end pop rivets that will be waterproof when they are installed unlike the common type which have a tubular end and let water in. They are a little more expensive but are just as easy to install and will protect the wood sheeting inside the doors, flaps or anywhere the underlying substrate has a wood panel.

I get mine from Phoenix Supply:

http://www.phoenixfastener.com/viewprod.asp?index=196&cid=12

Here is the closed end rivet link
http://www.hansonrivet.com/w22.htm

Tom, would you suggest the aluminum or steel mandrel for my application, which is reattaching the fuel filler housing which is aluminum, to the Barth structure which is aluminum. Also, do you have to have a special tool to rivet the closed end style. Thanks to both you and Lee for the info.
Jim

I would suggest the all aluminum closed end and it does not require any special tool. The common pop rivet tool works just fine. If you need immediate service the open end style will work just fine because I assume the entire assembly is open and does not involve the area of the skin where any insulation or sandwich of materials is part of the attachment.

Thanks for the response Tom. Actually, the way it was made, any water etc that might get in that filler compartment, would drain into the Barth because they just cut a hole in the side of the Barth about 12 inches above the inside floor and then cut a hole in the floor where the filler pipe goes through to the gas tank. Then they constructed an aluminum tunnel to cover it up and carpeted over the aluminum tunnel. So I will seal the filler neck, use the closed end rivets and everything should be ok. Again thanks for your help. Think I might take some pics of everything.