Why so many rivets?

In article ,
"Brian Sponcil" wrote:

I'm currently considering embarking on an RV project and after checking out
a few in our local EAA chapter I ran across a seemingly curious fact. I
recall the builders telling me that their RV kits have around 10,000 rivets.
Compared to a Piper Comanche at 3,714 and a Warrior at 1,785 that's a heck
of a lot of rivets.

So the question is, why so many???


-Brian
N33431


One of the things I have noticed on Comanches is that their rivet
spacing for #3 rivets is about twice that spelled out in the manuals.
The result is that a lot of Comanches show signs of distress along those
rivet lines with too much space between rivets.

I have not checked Warriors that closely but would expect to see the
same thing there, too.