Some advice about a roof issue

[Riwright]

The rear shell has a plastic trim strip that runs down the center seam. It is loose towards the front of the trailer.

The first foot of so of the seam is covered with caulk. Then the trim strip picks up. There is no caulk under the trim strip.

A couple of questions.

Will the seam leak if left unprotected or is it sealed?

What's the best way to repair this? Some options that I've read about

-- Eternabond works well but it isn't a pretty repair
-- Pull up the trim strip up, clean it all and glue it back down (with what?)
-- Order a new trim strip from the factory and install it.


There are two pictures attached. One shows the trim strip in place with the caulked seam. The other show the trim strip out of place.

I suspect the seam will eventually leak if just caulked and left uncovered. Covering it with some trim AND using Adhesive/sealant underneath really seems to be the solution.

You can use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 4200 to recaulk the existing trim after thoroughly cleaning underneath (silicone caulk isn't good enough in my experience).

But it looks like you've lost some of the trim. Perhaps you can find something to cover the remainder. When Trailmanor repaired my roof they just used a big piece of plastic and 3M adhesive/sealant to cover the seam. Alternatively you could order replacement trim from the factory which comes with its own glue. Or the Eternabond solution. They all seem to work when properly applied.

[ShrimpBurrito]

That caulk was not applied by the factory (or at least I've never seen anything like it), and IIRC, the strip should go all the way to the bag seal. When I first bought my TM 5+ years ago, that center trip was only half attached. I got a new strip from the factory, which had a 3M adhesive strip on the back. After applying some 3M tape primer (#54 I believe, comes in a few-ounce paint can, relatively hard to find), I removed the protective backing from the adhesive strip and laid it down on the primer. After 5 years and 20,000+ miles, it hasn't moved even a hair.

Dave

[Bill]

[Edit - question originally misunderstood] You certainly are missing some trim! The real purpose of trim (besides appearance) is to protect the caulking material from wind, sun, UV, grit, abrasion, etc. Since this area is protected when the trailer is closed, it is not exposed when towing down the road, and that helps a lot. I guess you could simply caulk the seam, add another short piece of trim to cover it, and call it good. EternaBond may be a good approach - in the center of the roof, "isn't pretty" wouldn't really be a consideration for me.

But I would fix it right, with a new full-length trim strip. Not hard, or expensive.

Bill

It looks a lot like my '01 3124ks did before I redid it earlier this year. I pulled up the loose caulk and trim and re caulked it. My trim did not go all the way to the bag seal either. I decided that was so the bag seal did not over lap and sealed flatter.

Originally Posted by Riwright

The rear shell has a plastic trim strip that runs down the center seam. It is loose towards the front of the trailer.

The first foot of so of the seam is covered with caulk. Then the trim strip picks up. There is no caulk under the trim strip.

A couple of questions.

Will the seam leak if left unprotected or is it sealed?

What's the best way to repair this? Some options that I've read about

-- Eternabond works well but it isn't a pretty repair
-- Pull up the trim strip up, clean it all and glue it back down (with what?)
-- Order a new trim strip from the factory and install it.


There are two pictures attached. One shows the trim strip in place with the caulked seam. The other show the trim strip out of place.

Attachment 7416

Attachment 7417