AVION Travel Trailers

I'm in the process of installing a woodstove. I'm putting it next to the door where the fridge used to go, and when I went up on the roof I noticed the old refrigerator vent is in the way. It's already covered up on the inside (previous owner), so I am inclined to drill through the rivets on the roof, remove the vent, do my best to insulate the inside, and then cover it up with some fresh aluminum. But before I do that I had a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with:
1. Is this possible/is there something major I am overlooking?

2. I know to remove the rivets I'll need to drill them; but then as far as putting the fresh skin on, I was wondering what kind of rivets will work. I have some cherrymaxes, and I was wondering if those work for the outside? And I still need to measure, but it looks to me like those are fairly large. Does that correlate to the shaft diameter, so I probably need a larger rivet? (.157, 0.065-0.125)

3. I'll look around the forum, but I just wanna check that normal skin thickness is 0.032?

Thank you!
D

If the Ammonia based refrigerator has been removed and the inside of the vent covered over, then removing that external vent is a logical choice.
Cherrymax rivets will serve you well here, provided you use the Cherrymax gauge to determine the correct length of rivet to be used.
After applying the patch, myself, I would cover the seams in Alumabond and then coat with the rubberized roof coating of your choice.
That area where the vent is/was, is a godsend. This is one place you can violate the integrity of the skin without fear of hitting a wire. That makes it an ideal place to route solar/TV/WIFI/CCTV/cabling or a chimney.

Amazing, thank you so much for your help! It's nice to know you are on the right track before you cut an 8" hole through one of these lovelies. I'll definitely check out that alumnabond and rubberizing the roof, and thanks for the info about the structural significance of that area. Be well!

8 Inches might be a bit of a stretch in that area.

I got the 6 incher done on the inside and it looks ok at the moment. Apparently the spray foam need to be 2" from the double wall. I'm still waiting on the 5005, but I think once I get the vent off it should fit. I gave myself some wiggle room with the heat shields, so if I run into a wire I should be able to push it an inch towards the wall.

Question about the 5005, I do you tend to buy full sheets and cut them down? Do you have a supplier you like? The guy I talked to was saying they tend to show up "wrinkled" unless you order enough to make a case. I found some little scrap pieces on the jungle website that I can make do with, but they aren't ideal. Thanks for your help so!

Aluminum: Source of supply will depend on your location. There is no need to purchase anodized aluminum for this patch if you're going to coat with a rubberized coating. Think about it. Online metals will sell you sections of Aluminum without the need to purchase a full sheet. Measure what you need and purchase the next size larger or, search aluminum suppliers local to you.

That makes sense, thanks for the advice, and good to know for the future that the roof and I’m guessing interior don’t need to be anodized. My metal guys was saying he has to order 5005 special and sent me to SAF so I wasn’t sure how specialized it was, and vintage trailer supply was out. The hole is finished, chimney is installed, and the sheet comes tomorrow. I’ll post pictures when it’s all riveted up. Under a tarp for now

Ok, everything went great. It was my first time riveting and fortunately I got the perfect size and only had to grind one off. I made the piece bigger and made my own holes which helped a lot. Unfortunately I can’t do rubberizing because of the temperature, and due to some specifics about this rig I may or may not be able to make it street legal (sketchy paper work from a few owners previous and nothing in it so it was absurdly cheap). So I decided to caulk the silicone boot for the chimney and the edges of the panels. Hopefully it will make it through the winter and then I can reevaluate.

Thank y’all for your help! I can’t wait to do it right on this guy or the next!

You can get aluminum flashing from Home Depot or hardware store. Metal supply shops sell sheets in whatever gauge you need. I wood, just use whatever rivets you got because it’s all gonna get sealed by flashing and sealant anyway. You can buy what are called closed rivets that do not leave the typical hole where the rivet shaft would break off.

Thanks for the input! Everything seems to be holding up so far!