I bought a rivet-nut tool as part of the build's fastening equipment. My recorded roof-mount work used slot nuts, so that work provides a useful comparison between fastening into an extrusion channel and creating a threaded attachment in sheet material.
The drilled connectors and fasteners joining my added extrusion to the roof rack.
The item in my kit
I bought WETOLS Rivet-Nut Setting Tool as part of my camper van equipment.
I bought a rivet-nut tool as part of the build's fastening equipment. My recorded roof-mount work used slot nuts, so that work provides a useful comparison between fastening into an extrusion channel and creating a threaded attachment in sheet material.
Where it fits my build
For the light bar, I cut an added extrusion beam and made three short drilled connectors. The rack side used quarter-twenty hardware, while the smaller 2020 extrusion used M5 hardware.
The different nuts changed the assembly sequence. A rack nut had to slide in through an opening, which meant undoing bolts I had already tightened; the smaller nuts could move and spin while I tried to start a bolt. I used an Allen key to reposition them.
The profiles and joint hardware during my roof-mount assembly.
My build notes
The cutting and drilling made the components, but positioning the small hardware took its own time. I recorded the difference between inserting the rack nuts and fishing the smaller nuts into place because it affected how the joint went together.
The profile, connector shape, bolt and slot nut all contributed to the assembly sequence.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
The Astro PRN1 changes to pneumatic setting. The WETOLS WE-896 is another long-handle manual kit with a different release arrangement, so operating method and handle layout distinguish the tools.
Astro PRN1 Pneumatic Rivet-Nut Tool
This rivet-nut setting tool uses compressed air to operate its setting mechanism. Interchangeable threaded attachments provide several insert-setting sizes.
