Dzus fasteners for the cowl?

tonyjohnson · #1 04-02-2005, 10:20 PM

I am considering using Dzus fasteners for the cowling. The hinges seem prone to breaking and other fasteners. Other fasteners are avialable but some are way expensive.

Has anyone used Dzus fasteners? Is there any reason that they would not work?

Tony Johnson
RV8A Orlando

painless · #2 04-03-2005, 08:44 AM

Tony:

In my very humble opinion, the price you pay for Skybolt fasteners for your cowl is worth it. They are durable, easy to use, and very easy to install. From my limited experience with Dzus fasteners, they can sometimes be a real pain.

Regards,

tonyjohnson · #3 04-03-2005, 08:57 AM

Jeff,

I have seen the skybolt fasteners and they look very nice, as well as seem sturdy and easy to operate. But, don't they cost about $400 for enough of them to do a cowl on and 8? That is an awful lot of money.

Tony

painless · #4 04-03-2005, 11:15 AM

Hi Tony:

You are correct regarding the price. I agree that they are pricey, but when you consider the ease that they go in and function and the fact that they prevent those hinge eyes from cracking etc, it eases the pain a bit.

What I did for my 6A was to use the Skybolt fasteners on the aft edge of the top and bottom cowl halves and then I used the hinge method on the sides. That helps cut your cost for the fasteners. I have heard of no instances where the side hinges are any trouble with the eyes cracking.

Regards,

beattiema · #5 04-03-2005, 12:57 PM

Just looked at Skybolts website, they are showing a 20% off sale for some RV cowl fastener kits.

http://www.skybolt.com/store/Departm...?CategoryID=26

tonyjohnson · #6 04-03-2005, 07:51 PM

Thanks for the heads up about the 20% Skybolt discount. At 20% off they still seem expensive, but I might be able to work with that. Especially if I take the route of using the skybolt fasteners only on the firewall area, and use a hinge for the rest.

Does anyone know how many Skybolt fasteners it would take to do only the cowl area?

Thanks,

Tony Johnson
RV8A Orlando

painless · #7 04-03-2005, 08:44 PM

Tony:

For the 6A, I used 27 of them, spaced approximately 4" apart. Check with Skybolt. They may have a separate kit for just the firewall as opposed to the whole cowl that is specific for the -8.

Regards,

pbesing · #8 04-05-2005, 09:46 PM

I put Skybolt fasteners along the top, and then used the hinge along the side. I liked that setup, because the hinge pin "zippers" the cowl shut very nicely along the side, but the Skybolt fasteners along top made removal MUCH easier. I lower cost option, that works well.

Paul Besing

tonyjohnson · #9 04-06-2005, 11:22 AM

Gentlemen,

Thanks for your input on the cowl fastener issues. I learned much from your input. I have made the decsion to buy the skybolt fasteners. That decision was made easier because of the current 20% off sale by skybolt.

I like the system mentioned by a couple of builders, of using the skybolt fasteners for the firewall and the supplied hinges for the sides. However, you get such a price break when you buy a complete kit from skybolt that there is little economic advantage in going with the hinges on the sides.

Although I am frugal, I think that the skybolt system, compared with hinges on the firewall, is worth the extra investment. The thought of drilling out the rivets along the firewall to install a new cowl hinge in a couple of years makes the credit card come out of my wallet a little easier.

I called skybolt to ask about their product and pricing. They were very nice and knowledgable about their product and its application to RV's. The woman with whom I spoke told me that they had not raised the price of their products for 8 years, but planned to do so after the current sale is over.

I bought a complete set of the slotted (as opposed to phillips) head fasteners for $317. If you have made the decision to go with skybolt, you may want to move on it before the price increase. Just thought that I would let you know.

Tony Johnson
RV8A Orlando

Highflight · #10 04-06-2005, 12:39 PM

I would imagine that the Skybolt fasteners are pretty good considering the price, but is there any reason why the "real" Dzus fasteners wouldn't work just as well?

At $11 for a pack of 10 Dzus fasteners, I wouldn't think you would need more than around $60 to $80 worth at most to do a cowl.

For example:
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/dzus.htm