Air Chute Repair

I could not tell you. Being a company driver, I've had to take a few in to a local trailer shop or tk or carrier dealer where they'd replace the entire chute.

I once used some thick 2-sided tape I carry where I left the peel off backing mostly ON and carefully stuck it the end of a load lock (no ladder) than affixed the other side to a chute corner, then stuck it in place. Thinking back, I can't believe I got that to work logistically but somehow it worked.

That held for a few months until I had to drop it

 

Gorilla tape
or if you have a new chute installed you can velcro both sides front to back and that also holds it on and can be removed easily if you need the extra space at the top for a dry load. My last trailer had that, worked fine.

 

Fill the hole with polyurethane Loctite PL S40 window caulk or S30 Flashing cement. Then push the plastic rivet in. It won't come back out. Obviously leave a few hours for it to cure.

I carry a tube of S30 to use as a chafing and vibration preventative. Put a gob between two things that shouldn't be rubbing or vibrating together.

 

This is an idea that I have NEVER tried. But I have experience as a maintenance mechanic and I think it might work.

First, find a flat washer that is the right size for the pop-in rivit to lock into. Then get a strip of flat metal shaped roughly like a ruler, but small enough to fit into the torn-out hole in the ceiling.

Drill through the long strip of metal in the center, matching the flat washer hole.

Slide the long strip of metal into the hole, then center it.

Superglue the washer to the flat stock. Caulk or epoxy the glued-together mount into the hole so it won't jitter around and wear a bigger hole over time.

You have now created a new mounting point for your pop-in riot, and the fix should be more or less permanent.

You can put pressure on the assembly when the glue is drying by putting a load lock under it vertically. Put a piece of paper between the load lock and the glue so you don't accidentally glue the load lock to the ceiling.

 

Good idea, but you want the chute to tear out if enough pressure is applied. Better the chute than the roof.

 

Very good point. It might be better to use semi-sturdy plastic rather than metal for the supporting bar in the overhead then. Just buy a large piece of tupperware and cut pieces out of it with tin snips.

 

At NAPA they have many fastners that are used to hold the rubber shields onto the frame.

 

How velkcro was attached to the roof? Do you know what glue was used?
I was trying but didn't find glue good enough with -10. Couples days and it falls down

 

I don't remember honestly - my old trailer came like that.