rss Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I'm finally getting around to having a boot cover made for my Ultralite. I thought I was going to go with Tenax fasteners but now that I've seen the price I'm reconsidering. I'm looking for alternatives and my head's swimming. Lift the Dots, Pull the Dots, etc. I'm not sure which is best for the application. Also, it seems that whatever fastener I use, screwing the stud into the 1" steel tube at the top of the boot would be the safest, but it leaves very little clearance. it would be nice to fasten the cover a bit below the frame rail but then the fastener studs would be then supported only by the aluminum sheet, and the studs i've seen are attached by self tapping screws. Any fastener experts out there that can give me a hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankMauel Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 My canvas boot cover uses the two piece round snaps. The "receiver" portion is attached via pop rivets about an inch or so below the upper chassis tube. I've had it like that for 3+ years now with no problems. An alternative would be to back up the pop rivet with a washer if you want to spread the "stress" of unsnapping the cover over a bit larger area of the aluminum skin, but I think that would be overkill, and not easily done on the curved corners...unless you bend the washer to fit the inside curve on the skin. Here's a photo of mine: (I used Sunbrella cloth for the cover) http://usa7s.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=4677&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1355783620 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks for the response Hank. I think I'll probably go with the "Pull the Dot" fasteners. Hopefully those will work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihckb2 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 What ever you use go with pop rivets. Once a screw is stripped you are screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about that so it's good to know. What ever you use go with pop rivets. Once a screw is stripped you are screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 If a screw strips you can use a pop rivet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankMauel Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 A follow up thought...on the cowl, where the tonneau fastens, I used small flat head machine screws with a washer and a nylock nut instead of the pop rivets. If you would like a close up photo of that installation, just say so and I'll post one for you. That application would make an almost bullet-proof system for the boot cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks Hank, No need to post a pic though. I don't have easy access to the inside surface of the skin so machine screws are not really an option for me. I'm going to attach the snap studs directly to the top frame rail, either with rivets or screws. Still not sure which snaps to order. I'm leaning toward "Pull the Dots" but "Durable" or "Baby Durable" also from the Dot company are possibilities. Haven't had any personal experience with any of them so don't really know what would be best, or if there are better alternatives from another vendor. A follow up thought...on the cowl, where the tonneau fastens, I used small flat head machine screws with a washer and a nylock nut instead of the pop rivets. If you would like a close up photo of that installation, just say so and I'll post one for you. That application would make an almost bullet-proof system for the boot cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bball7754 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Scott - I would think that just "normal" snap studs would be fine for the boot cover. The "pull the dots" are directional, in that you can't unsnap from one side of the snap, and can only undo from the other. I used them for the front snaps on my half doors, so that they wouldn't blow off from the wind, but don't think you'll have that issue with the boot cover. My 2 cents. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankMauel Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Scott...does your car have some sort of lining on the inside of the boot that restricts your access? My Seven is just bare bones so the "inside" of the boot is only separated from the "outside" by the thickness of the aluminum.:smilielol5: I could have used the flat head machine bolts in lieu of pop rivets in that location...and may still in the need ever arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Steve, Yeah i've wondered about whether the directional snap would be useful or not. My thinking was they would be easier to unsnap (in the one direction) than the regular snap and would put less stress on the stud anchor. Since i will have to unsnap and snap every time i put fuel in the car all that snapping might cause the stud to loosen over time. Hank, Yes, the boot is lined on the inside with sheet aluminum. The fuel cell is in the middle of the boot. There are small storage compartments on either side of the fuel cell. I tried to attach a pic but it wouldn't upload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihckb2 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 If you use the top rail as a mounting for your cover you may fine that water will creep under during rain or wet conditions due to the short overhang onto the vertical. If you look at various pictures you will note that the cover ends a couple of inches down from the top of the boot rail. Making the tail of the cover longer also helps keep the lower edge tighter and less likely to be wavy between the fasteners. If you are not making the cover yourself, and even if you are, it might be wise to check with a shop that specializes in this sort of thing for their input. You can put a small dip on the tail of the cover to go around your filler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m wirth Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Here's a pic of mine, just regular snaps purchased from Grainger, has been working just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I've had a couple snaps pull thru the skin... keep them lubed regularly now as we S2K guys have to open our boot to fill up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Mike, Wow your car is impressive! How much time do you spend polishing it? Any more pics? From the pics I've seen, the Ultralites all seem to have the snaps anchored in the top tube. Is that the case with your car, Mike? On the other hand, Caterhams and other sevens have the snaps further down. Mondo, are your snaps down below the top tube? Is that why they pulled out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m wirth Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hi Scott, my snaps are anchored with ss pop rivets below the top boot tube and have not had any trouble with them so far. Thanks for the kind comments, although when this pic was taken it only had 25 miles on it, but even with close to 5000 it still looks almost as good. I use a product called Dri wash'n guard for every thing. There are more pics of the car and some of the things I've made for it in the pics and album section of this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I had the pop-on round snaps and had a problem after a while with a couple of "harder to unsnap" ones starting to pull out of the fabric. I replaced them with the directional and no more problem and more secure. The big problem was alway having to unsnap to refuel, whick seems like ever few minutes at the track. I'll see if I can post pictures of my "final solution". The high strength plastic "hatch cover" from a boat supply store just twist off with 1/8 of turn and I have instant access to the fuel cell. While doing this I moved the cell all the way to the right side and added a zipper on the left for easy access to the new "luggage area". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Those posted so here are a couple more. Fabed a light ga. aluminum stand offs and backer ring for the hatch cover pieces to mount on. The boot cover was getting a bit loose so I made mounting "brackets" at back and front and some lexan strips that are just long enough to want to bow up and kep the cover tight. No movement of the cover fabric that I can see, although I'm not looking "back" much at high speeds. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I called my snaps "directional" but what I meant was that they are the "turn one direction to lock and the other to release" twist post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rss Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Jim, Your fasteners look like Dot "Common Sense" turn buttons. It looks like you managed to attach the fasteners to the top tube, which I'd like to do if possible. When I look at my car though, it seems like if I anchored the button stud to the top tube the snap edge would stick up beyond the curve at the top of the panel, rather than all being on the flat part of the panel, if that makes any sense. That's an interesting solution to the fuel filler problem. I was thinking about a little flap in the canvas cover secured with a waterproof zipper, but I'm not sure how durable the zipper would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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