Belt Line Repair

[RBRODDER]

Does anyone know what the part number or material number is for the beltline cover is? PO put screws through the cover. I would like to replace the cover when I re-fasten my beltline. Thanks

[Steven P]

3 hours ago, RBRODDER said:

Does anyone know what the part number or material number is for the beltline cover is? PO put screws through the cover. I would like to replace the cover when I re-fasten my beltline. Thanks

If you Google beltline molding,  you'll see lots of options but they will need to be painted to match.  If there is one 2 screws, I wouldn't worry.  I think sometimes they are used to prevent it from coming loose. 

[Robertpk]

Good evening to all. My wife and I went away this weekend and discovered a water leak. My belt lines are loose. Screws were used and aluminum pop rivets were also used. Can someone tell me where I can buy 3/16 x 7/8 grip 304 stainless steel rivets. Can’t seem to find them on Amazon. I do have several left over from my guardian plate installation. Thanks to everyone on this site for all the knowledge that shared with everyone.

[Tom Cherry]

7 minutes ago, Robertpk said:

Good evening to all. My wife and I went away this weekend and discovered a water leak. My belt lines are loose. Screws were used and aluminum pop rivets were also used. Can someone tell me where I can buy 3/16 x 7/8 grip 304 stainless steel rivets. Can’t seem to find them on Amazon. I do have several left over from my guardian plate installation. Thanks to everyone on this site for all the knowledge that shared with everyone.

Two or 3 options,  Amazon has 3/4”; @throgmartin might (I know he will…LOL) sell you what you need as he buys them in bulk and can easily ship; see the source below….  Google them….

Hope this helps.

[jacwjames]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K8RPCVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I found a 10 pack of jobber bits the correct size on Ebay.

[Scotty Hutto]

Best sources I’ve found are McMaster-Carr or Albany Fasteners. McMaster-Carr was faster and less expensive for me. 
 

McMaster-Carr:
“97525A522 - 18-8 Stainless Steel Blind Rivets, Domed Head, 3/16" Diameter, for 0.751"-0.875" Material Thickness, Packs of 25”

https://www.mcmaster.com/97525A522 

Albany County Fastener:

https://www.albanycountyfasteners.com/POP-Rivets-3-16-304-Stainless-Steel-p/11950000.htm

 

[Robertpk]

Thank yo.u. Ordered from McMaster. Will be here on thursday

[throgmartin]

11 hours ago, Robertpk said:

Good evening to all. My wife and I went away this weekend and discovered a water leak. My belt lines are loose. Screws were used and aluminum pop rivets were also used. Can someone tell me where I can buy 3/16 x 7/8 grip 304 stainless steel rivets. Can’t seem to find them on Amazon. I do have several left over from my guardian plate installation. Thanks to everyone on this site for all the knowledge that shared with everyone.

I typically send people to E-Bay. Look for the seller called Albany Fasteners. They are typically cheaper then Amazon. You will want their 304 Stainless 3/16 x 7/8ths rivets.

[jacwjames]

Here is an Ebay link

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202643211038?hash=item2f2e7a031e:g:5zsAAOSwXSRco535&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0Hye77ZgpfGuwU21CXek375BXl1mWkuqaL%2BKrRRbBxjWOws2yt30sVQeHAN7fNO6TgcbufpBilZze9UnligMBwtdyevLsT4vcc3sJ4y9sbyAt4DunXl2oH94c05fSJsELyTAzPaENETJhXBIym1WG5Bl1bc0GiaLT5ZMF0G%2FMQfWBzGfelfW7s2TINyVSO%2Fwpo6ingS2CQzjVB%2BnvPvYyxyfFMmaEHNNhAgz17AW2uFob1n4wIh9cW641yV1pKX6K4jNTVthBe9J1mqx3svEp%2FA%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4iHkuSkYg

The Amazon link I posted earlier is the same seller and cheaper then Ebay, go figure!

[b_faster]

6 hours ago, throgmartin said:

I typically send people to E-Bay. Look for the seller called Albany Fasteners. They are typically cheaper then Amazon. You will want their 304 Stainless 3/16 x 7/8ths rivets.

Typically how many rivets should someone start with?  I know I have 7 -9 screws that I can see need tending to, is this a process of purchasing 250 and just do the majority of them?  

 

Thanks in advance for all of the help from all of the contributors.

 

Darin

 

[RBRODDER]

On 6/30/2023 at 9:48 PM, Steven P said:

If you Google beltline molding,  you'll see lots of options but they will need to be painted to match.  If there is one 2 screws, I wouldn't worry.  I think sometimes they are used to prevent it from coming loose. 

The PO perforated the trim cover in several places, I am not worried about paint...watertight first then aesthetics. I have looked on line and there are multiple different options. I have tried some of them and they are or were not correct. The upper beltline has the lip for the overlapping of the roof over the side panels. Trying not to make a complete inventory of trim mouldings while attempting to get the correct one. Thanks 

[Scotty Hutto]

9 hours ago, b_faster said:

Typically how many rivets should someone start with?  I know I have 7 -9 screws that I can see need tending to, is this a process of purchasing 250 and just do the majority of them?  

 

Thanks in advance for all of the help from all of the contributors.

 

Darin

 

Now, @throgmartin is the expert, but I used about 75-80 per beltline (300 SS rivets / 4 beltlines = 75 per)  Now, I may have been overzealous - I generally replaced 1 for 1 plus a few...  At each screw, a few inches over, plus I doubled up at the ends, a splice in the aluminum beltline, and a trouble spot or two, but "mathing" it:

40' / 0.5' between screws = 80 rivets per beltline. 

So my guesstimate would be (length of coach) x 2 = # of rivets for each beltline. That includes drops, losses, and shrinkage, but buy extra anyway.  You'll eventually use them. 🤣

Also, I ended up using exactly 1 tube of ProFlex per 40' beltline. Buy an extra tube of that, too.  It's handy to have around when you need it.

The most expensive part will be your time, so my point is buy a little extra so you don't run out. 😉

 

[b_faster]

9 hours ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Now, @throgmartin is the expert, but I used about 75-80 per beltline (300 SS rivets / 4 beltlines = 75 per)  Now, I may have been overzealous - I generally replaced 1 for 1 plus a few...  At each screw, a few inches over, plus I doubled up at the ends, a splice in the aluminum beltline, and a trouble spot or two, but "mathing" it:

40' / 0.5' between screws = 80 rivets per beltline. 

So my guesstimate would be (length of coach) x 2 = # of rivets for each beltline. That includes drops, losses, and shrinkage, but buy extra anyway.  You'll eventually use them. 🤣

Also, I ended up using exactly 1 tube of ProFlex per 40' beltline. Buy an extra tube of that, too.  It's handy to have around when you need it.

The most expensive part will be your time, so my point is buy a little extra so you don't run out. 😉

 

Scotty,  Thanks for confirming.  I have a 2000 Windsor, so on one side my beltline starts at the bottom and runs up the rear side and then back on the top.   My original plan was to buy 400 rivets, then I "thought" myself out of it.   I believe I am going with 400 rivets, I can "rathole" whatever inventory I dont use. 

[cbr046]

Don't forget to take a close look at the bay door hinges, especially at the corners.  The beltline looked ok but the hinge screws rusted out making the doors bulge at the corners.  The elec run bay door fell off when I removed the beltline and went to open the door!

My guess is a stainless steel rivet far outweighs the cost of a steel sheet metal screw.  Monaco could have done better.  Makes me wonder about the other premium brands. 

- bob

[b_faster]

21 minutes ago, cbr046 said:

Don't forget to take a close look at the bay door hinges, especially at the corners.  The beltline looked ok but the hinge screws rusted out making the doors bulge at the corners.  The elec run bay door fell off when I removed the beltline and went to open the door!

My guess is a stainless steel rivet far outweighs the cost of a steel sheet metal screw.  Monaco could have done better.  Makes me wonder about the other premium brands. 

- bob

I will take a very close look once I have that long beltline uncovered.  My doors currently indicate no hinge issues.  

 

See picture, on the driver's side, the beltline  starts above the window and ends at the rear bottom of the slide.  On the passenger side, it is from front passenger window top to front passenger window bottom.  

I suspect I am going to have some paint cracking on that beltline once removed.   

[jacwjames]

8 minutes ago, b_faster said:

I will take a very close look once I have that long beltline uncovered.  My doors currently indicate no hinge issues.  

 

See picture, on the driver's side, the beltline  starts above the window and ends at the rear bottom of the slide.  On the passenger side, it is from front passenger window top to front passenger window bottom.  

I suspect I am going to have some paint cracking on that beltline once removed.   

When I removed my beltline on the passenger slide I had a minor amount of paint cracking on the beltline.  Not enough to worry about when I put it back. 

I did not redo all the fasteners on my beltline, I only removed the area of concern and stopped when I got to an area with no problems with the screws.  I bought 100 rivets and had some left.

I did remove all the old caulk on the beltline and redid with Geocel. 

[cbr046]

22 minutes ago, b_faster said:

I suspect I am going to have some paint cracking on that beltline once removed.   

 

Cut the seam between the beltline and the body with a razor blade.  That way the paint / sealant won't pull on the paint when you pull back the beltline. 

- b

[throgmartin]

11 hours ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Now, @throgmartin is the expert, but I used about 75-80 per beltline (300 SS rivets / 4 beltlines = 75 per)  Now, I may have been overzealous - I generally replaced 1 for 1 plus a few...  At each screw, a few inches over, plus I doubled up at the ends, a splice in the aluminum beltline, and a trouble spot or two, but "mathing" it:

40' / 0.5' between screws = 80 rivets per beltline. 

So my guesstimate would be (length of coach) x 2 = # of rivets for each beltline. That includes drops, losses, and shrinkage, but buy extra anyway.  You'll eventually use them. 🤣

Also, I ended up using exactly 1 tube of ProFlex per 40' beltline. Buy an extra tube of that, too.  It's handy to have around when you need it.

The most expensive part will be your time, so my point is buy a little extra so you don't run out. 😉

 

You are pretty much on the mark Scotty. We typically use around 300 for upper and lower beltlines on a 40 ft coach. We also will place a few extra rivets in the biggest problem areas which is right behind or in front of the radius's found on the front and rear areas where the beltine turns downward.

80 % of popped beltlines occur in these areas. Why ? Because this is where the forces are applied to the house ( front and rear caps ). One has to look at how the roadmaster chassis and house frame is built to understand the torsional twisting that happens. Many people think because the chassis is such a robust, thick metal frame there is no deflection or twisting applied to the house portion. Trust me - There is. Popped beltlines, popped or broken windshields are all evidence of the physics at play with our coaches.

 

[Guest Ray Davis]

12 minutes ago, throgmartin said:

We typically use around 300 for upper and lower beltlines on a 40 ft

That's a lot of rivets.   I'm thinking an air-powered rivet gun would be really nice.  

[jacwjames]

I only had a hand rivet tool and although I could set the rivet I decided to invest in a cheap gun from Harbor Freight, good enough to use on the belt line project.  Saved a bunch of time and a lot easier then then doing them by hand. 

I had a bunch of screws that just rusted out due to leak on the upper belt line.  The water basically followed the belt line compromising the screws. 

[Tom Cherry]

9 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

I only had a hand rivet tool and although I could set the rivet I decided to invest in a cheap gun from Harbor Freight, good enough to use on the belt line project.  Saved a bunch of time and a lot easier then then doing them by hand. 

I had a bunch of screws that just rusted out due to leak on the upper belt line.  The water basically followed the belt line compromising the screws. 

The guns work great and since you are not a PRO and doing daily….they are a good alternative.  I chose to purchase a low cost, top rated 13” or so handled tool.  I put in probably 75 or more when i did my three Guardian plate project.  They were a challenge from below, but would be a piece of cake from the side.  Don’t even attempt with single hand conventional “plier squeeze” hand tool.  I broke two…one an old friend.

[Scotty Hutto]

On 7/6/2023 at 10:34 AM, Ray Davis said:

That's a lot of rivets.   I'm thinking an air-powered rivet gun would be really nice.  

For Guardian plates, still use a two handled hand gun, but beltlines? Spot repairs?  Ok.  But, don’t *even* try to do an entire beltline, much less multiple beltlines without an air-powered rivet gun. 

If you consider your time worth more than minimum wage, you’ll pay for the gun with the first beltline. 

[Guest Ray Davis]

59 minutes ago, Scotty Hutto said:

If you consider your time worth more than minimum wage, you’ll pay for the gun with the first beltline.

Hmmm,  I wonder what the minimum wage is these days?

I looked,  Federal is $7.25  California is $15.50  

I probably won't be hiring anyone from Ca.  I want one of those hard-working Federal guys.  LOL

Just kidding Federal guys.

[Robertpk]

Good evening to all. I received my rivets from Mcmaster-carr today. I ordered 250. I also ordered a pneumatic rivet gun. The rivet gun works great. I removed 50 screws on drivers side upper belt line tonite. The problem is cleaning off  all of the old silicone. All of the screws came out except for 1.

Anyone have any suggestions for removing the old calking. 

[cbr046]

39 minutes ago, Robertpk said:

Anyone have any suggestions for removing the old calking. 

There's a video on the new Monacoer's YouTube channel that has great tips on the whole operation - https://www.youtube.com/@Monacoers-kx1zb

- bob