Hi, I'm Steve Smith with Camper Van Freedom. This is my original WETOLS rivet-nut setting tool. I used it at the manufacturer-provided holes inside the van's cargo area. The manual work was tedious and took elbow grease. Eventually the tool broke and would no longer set the fasteners. Here is the original-tool story and the replacement that followed.

The matching product picture shows the long handles, threaded mandrels and insert assortment in a case. The mandrel must match the insert thread. The tool operates the setting process; the rivet nut remains as a threaded mounting point. Those are separate components to keep straight when comparing a tool kit with extra inserts.

My cargo-floor picture comes from interior preparation. I installed the remaining M six rivet nuts while the cargo-area metal was accessible. Framing, the floor and the wall panels would restrict that access later. The workshop footage illustrates general measuring and holding work.

The attachment sequence starts before the interior is covered. The diagram separates the body hole, the insert and the setting tool. A rivet nut creates a threaded point in a prepared hole. That differs from the slot nuts in my later roof work, which sit inside the extrusion channels.

My owner review includes the effort and the failure. Using this manual tool was tedious, and it took a fair amount of elbow grease. It eventually broke and stopped setting the fasteners. I did not expect to use a rivet tool much after the van was finished, so I chose another low-cost tool rather than an expensive automatic riveter.

The matching HARDELL picture shows the replacement I bought. It felt sturdier and better made, and it got me through the remaining rivet-nut work. My separate HARDELL review records that result. The two reviews follow the original purchase and the replacement through the same build experience.

My page compares two researched options. The Astro P R N one uses compressed air, adding an air supply to the setup. The WETOLS W E eight-nine-six is another long-handle manual kit. Their matching pictures show the different operating arrangements. My actual replacement in this story was the HARDELL.

Thanks for watching. I'm Steve Smith with Camper Van Freedom. My original WETOLS tool helped with the interior attachment work but eventually broke. The full review, HARDELL replacement account, build picture and current buying options are linked below. Until next time.