Over-the-cab external plastic trim

[iowahiker]

The black plastic trim that covers the external lower screws all the way around the over-the-cab on our Granby unraveled (popped out of the groves) on our last trip while traveling at highway speeds. Any similar experiences and lasting repair ideas? Thanks.

 

[SLEDAWG]

Had the same problem occur. Driving across Nevada in 100+ heat I suspect made it loose and stretch. I removed the screw on the end and pulled it tight. Reset the screw. I also applied clear silicon to the strip to keep it in place.


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[iowahiker]

sledawg, Great fix. Thanks.

 

[LookyLou]

Ours did the same thing. We were crossing southern Nevada in 110 degree heat. Haven't put it back you but think I can stretch the original piece instead of getting another one from FWC.

 

[WyomingJames]

Mine got all dried out and hard being exposed to the elements since 1983. I ordered new 1" heavy duty insert trim from Amazon. I tried the standard trim and it did not fit into the mounting very well at all.
Just another option I found.

 

[iowahiker]

We did the repair today without difficulty. We decided not to caulk the plastic trim in place and just tighten to allow us to slide the trim around in the groves and so get extra tightening. We cut off an extra 4 inches off the lower over-the-cab trim after reattaching one end with the original screw/washer, slipping the top trim edge under the upper groove a few inches at a time all the way around, popping in the lower edge into the lower grove along the way, and then sliding little bulges of trim around the whole over-the-cab to the unscrewed end (do not pull, push around like getting bulges out of a 10'x30' carpet). Make a pencil mark where the screw hole is before covering the screw hole with the trim and install the tail end screw/washer. Cut off the extra trim.

Looking at the even longer upper trim raised the issue of when will that trim pop out. We removed the single screw at the rear of the camper on the upper plastic trim, reinstalled the screw to hold one end of the trim in place while holding the now loose end, and pushed little bulges of trim all the way around the camper to the loose end. We reinstalled the screw to now hold both ends and cut off 10 inches of extra trim off the upper trim.

You can check for loose trim by pushing along the trim on a long run to see how much it moves instead of having a failure occur on the road.

 

[takesiteasy]

I suspect these failures are due to heat-related expansion and I wonder if a reverse failure will occur after shortening the trim strip when cold temps and related contraction are encountered in the winter.

 

[iowahiker]

Hopefully the arc cross sectional shape of the trim will provide the material for contraction since the arc flattens as the trim goes around the camper corners. 4 inches of excess in the over-the-cab resulted in the trim coming off so 10 inches of excess was more than enough for the much longer upper trim to come off. The upper trim is long enough to contact the road after coming off and so need replacement. The choice between two different failure mechanisms.

edit: I suppose 2 inches of slack could be slid back all around the camper before cutting off the extra trim after first tightening the trim. 4 inches of slack trim is too loose since mine came off.

 

[Advmoto18]

Same here. Came loose last summer in 100+ temp transiting KS. It sounded like all *ell had broken loose slapping side of camper and truck.. Removed the trim for rest of the trip. Got home, removed about .5" from one end and reinstalled; put a little RTV clear silicone at the end to help prevent it from catching wind. No issues since.