Loose Corner Moldings

[T and C]

Folks,

Today we towed our 3023 from Lake Isabella to Orange County. We have been having strong cold winds out of the west for a couple of days.

I went out to the west through Onyx with the wind behind me. No problem. When I got to US14 I turned south toward Mojave, which put the wind on my right side. It was gusting to something like 25-30 mph.

Now TM's are great in windy conditions. I could feel it pushing on the trailer, but had no control or sway problems at all. But when I looked back in my driver's side view mirror the corner molding was waving at me!!!

I am calling the molding that seals the place where the side walls meet the roof the corner molding. . If there is a better name, please correct me. One piece of it goes from the bottom of the trailer up the front and curves over the top. It ends there and another piece continues on toward the back of the trailer. The top end of the front piece had come unstuck and was whipping around and waving back and forth.

I did a temporary fix with duct tape which solved the immediate problem. So now I have a question. There are no screws in that molding, it is just glued on. So...what kind of glue should I use to re-attach it??

Thanks in advance.

Tom

We're sailors and tend to use sailing solutions. On board the boat a 3 ounce tube of 3m's 5200 sealant is one of our staples. It is also available in caulk gun size tubes. I'm attaching below 3M's description of 5200 which should be considered a permanent bonding agent. Many hardware stores carry 5200 and it is also available at marine chandleries or westmarine.com. - camp2canoe

3M™ Marine Fast Cure 5200 Adhesive Sealant
A faster curing version of 3M™ Marine 4200 Adhesive Sealant. The high performance polyurethane becomes tack free in one hour and fully cures in approximately 24 hours. The seal is extremely strong, retains its strength above or below the water line. Stays flexible and allows for structural movement. Has excellent resistance to weathering and salt water. Easy to apply with manual caulking gun.

Originally Posted by camp2canoe

We're sailors and tend to use sailing solutions. On board the boat a 3 ounce tube of 3m's 5200 sealant is one of our staples. It is also available in caulk gun size tubes. I'm attaching below 3M's description of 5200 which should be considered a permanent bonding agent. Many hardware stores carry 5200 and it is also available at marine chandleries or westmarine.com. - camp2canoe

+1 excellent stuff for this kind of repair

Hi T and C,

I've had that trim off of mine (a different issue) and the mounting screws for the trim piece go into wood on mine but not all of the screw holes were used so changing to a different mounting holes on yours should not hurt anything i.e... more holes more chances of leaks. The 3M 5200 works great and I keep a tube in the TM just cus stuff happens.

Good Luck
Bob

[mjlaupp]

Bob,
The type of trim used on the top shells was changed between 2002 and 2003. The newer trim does not have screw holes.

T & C:

I had the same, exact problem on my 2009.5 3023. Called Ed at Trailmanor and fixed per his suggestion - 1) Remove loose molding and clean with mineral spirits - also clean primary surface to which molding adheres. 2) Use 3M, 2-sided adhesive tape (availalbe at Lowe's etc.) used to hang picture frames etc. to adhere molding to trailer. Do NOT use a permanent adhesive as there may be a need in the future to remove this molding. 3) Caulk around all edges of molding with a good silicone caulk. I repaired mine as stated and have had no further problems. When you remove the molding completely, you will see that Trailmanor adhered the molding with nothing but caulk. The addition of the doublesided 3M tape makes the molding much more secure.

Skeetman

Originally Posted by Skeetman

T & C:

I had the same, exact problem on my 2009.5 3023. Called Ed at Trailmanor and fixed per his suggestion - 1) Remove loose molding and clean with mineral spirits - also clean primary surface to which molding adheres. 2) Use 3M, 2-sided adhesive tape (availalbe at Lowe's etc.) used to hang picture frames etc. to adhere molding to trailer. Do NOT use a permanent adhesive as there may be a need in the future to remove this molding. 3) Caulk around all edges of molding with a good silicone caulk. I repaired mine as stated and have had no further problems. When you remove the molding completely, you will see that Trailmanor adhered the molding with nothing but caulk. The addition of the doublesided 3M tape makes the molding much more secure.

Skeetman

I had the same issue 2 weeks ago in a severe thunderstorm. Unfortunaltey, the corner molding blew off on the highway and was lost. I stopped in Lowes and got exterior Duck tape to protect the seam. With TM out of business, and not returning my e mails or phone messages regarding parts, I'm wondering if there's any alternative to the factory molding .

[Joesjunk]

I also need a corner molding for my 3124. Mine is broken. Let the forum know if you find a replacement.

[Northwoods]

We lost our curb-side molding, but were able to get it from the plant before all of the hoopla. We put it back on the other day with no problem using a material similar to the one recommended. Clean the old caulk of with mineral spritsor, WD 40 and elbow grease. We got our caulk at a local dealer, Apache and used a full 10 oz tube to reattach it. good luck.