The tail offers an indentation to center your drill bit. We recommend drilling out the old steel rivets from the tail end if possible. Installing a tubular rivet requires a few specialized tools and a specification of both the diameter and the precise length of riveted needed.

The rivets have a solid slightly domed truss head on one side and a hollow tail that is squeezed or hammered using a die that neatly finishes the back end by curling it outward.

Semi-tubular rivets are a one-piece solid rivet rather than a more common pop rivet. The type of rivet used is a specialized one called a semi-tubular rivet. We highly recommend replacing these rivets with stainless steel rivets. Aluminum rivets were typically not used because these rivets are required to move and aluminum would wear too quickly. The rivets are steel and so they rust and cause corrosion issues for the adjacent aluminum. This is the best way to prevent damage to the window frame. Using a ⅛” drill bit, drill just enough to sever the rolled end of the rivet and push the rest of the rivet through. Look at the picture below: the five rusty rivets along the exterior window frame must be drilled out. You'll detach them from the window frame. You won't separate them from the long flat link.

In other words, if you have 5 slats, all 5 glass holders on one side will come out together. The next step will be to remove the glass holders from the window as a group. One is attached as the fixed pivot point to the window frame, and the other is attached to a long flat vertical link bar that moves up and down along the window's side to keep all the glass slats operating simultaneously and in parallel. With glass slats and operator removed, you can see that each aluminum glass holder has two rivets. Our clutch head bits, item VTS-578, may greatly assist with this step. Next, disengage and remove the window crank operator. This normally does not require tools, other than perhaps gently prying the end of the clip open just enough to remove the rubber pad (these can be replaced with new UV-proof silicone pads later).

The first step in working with jalousie windows is to remove the glass and set it aside safely. Construction is similar on other models, although parts may look different. Here we describe how to remove the glass holders from a Hehr 1600 window. The glass holders vary based on the brand and model of window. The Hehr 1600 series is the earliest and most prevalent.Īfter half a century or more, you may find you need to do some maintenance to the aluminum glass holders on the ends of each slat. Hehr and Phillips were the two major brands. Jalousies (pronounced with the accent on the first syllable) were made by a number of different companies and used across most brands of trailers starting in the mid-50s. They, along with awning style windows, are the two most common styles of windows found on vintage trailers.

Jalousie windows replacement