Corner fixing

[famveseli01]

Good afternoon TM community.
I have one problem and nee advice for fixing upper shell corners, one of corner plastic cover is almost half off (upper part and lower part is still good sealed).
On some websites they say use 3M 4200 or tape or just quad caulk, if anyone can give me his opinion and process how to fix.
Many greetings from warm Houston.

 

[Bill]

Years ago, TM used big blobs of silicone caulk behind the trim pieces, to attach them to the aluminum frame pieces behind them. When one of my trim pieces popped loose years ago, I used big blobs of silicone to put it back, and it worked. My guess is that there are better answers today. Our member Wavery is a big fan of 4200 for jobs like this, and will probably join us soon. If you have time, wait for his advice. Tape on the surface is probably not a good permanent answer - too ugly, and may tend to pull off after long exposure to sun and weather.

Bill

PS. If you are going to be on the road before you can do this fix, do not allow the loose piece to fall off and get lost. Replacements are expensive. If you need to do something - anything! - as a temporary step, use long strips of masking tape to hold it in place. It is messy, and you won't enjoy cleaning off the goo, but ...

 

[rickst29]

First, be sure to check that aluminum foil protects ALL of the wood framing in earlier model years. If any is missing or broken add long strips of aluminum foil tape (the cold weather type, listed for both 181-P and 181B-FX as "duct tape" for both hot and cold applications). I have big roll of a big roll of "Nashua 324A" - originally bought for home repair, but it did a great job on my own TM broken corner repair.

3M 4200 boat sealant (pure white) is great for this. Be aware that the open time for product is SUPER SHORT, unless you pay extra for the slower-cure variety. After many years of exposure, it might turn slightly yellow - so keep the exposed sealant width as small as you can manage. You can use either a finger (like caulking a bathtub) or a culing eddge control plastic tool, but if you use a finger you might want to wear a hairdresser's protection glove. (The chemicals are nasty.)

You want the 3M sealant to have a fairly large contact area underneath the corner edges, but virutally no overflow after you pinch the corner bar in place. Use paper towels to clean up the excess before final cleaning with the tool.

Make sure that a TINY HOLE is present at the bottom of the corner, to assure that any water which does get into the joint from above has a chance to drain out at the bottom. If you make the mistake of sealing everything tight at the bottom, you will cause moisture to puddle there - rotting the wood of the floor edge, front bottom panel edge, and side panel edge in all models which have wood framing on those panels. (That includes most years of the past.)

 

[rickst29]

First, be sure to check that aluminum foil protects ALL of the wood framing in earlier model years. If any is missing or broken add long strips of aluminum foil tape (the cold weather type, listed for both 181-P and 181B-FX as "duct tape" for both hot and cold applications). I have big roll of a big roll of "Nashua 324A" - originally bought for home repair, but it did a great job on my own TM broken corner repair.

3M 4200 boat sealant (pure white) is great for this. Be aware that the open time for product is SUPER SHORT, unless you pay extra for the slower-cure variety. After many years of exposure, it might turn slightly yellow - so keep the exposed sealant width as small as you can manage. You can use either a finger (like caulking a bathtub) or a culing eddge control plastic tool, but if you use a finger you might want to wear a hairdresser's protection glove. (The chemicals are nasty.)

You want the 3M sealant to have a fairly large contact area underneath the corner edges, but virutally no overflow after you pinch the corner bar in place. Use paper towels to clean up the excess before final cleaning with the tool.

Make sure that a TINY HOLE is present at the bottom of the corner, to assure that any water which does get into the joint from above has a chance to drain out at the bottom. If you make the mistake of sealing everything tight at the bottom, you will cause moisture to puddle there - rotting the wood of the floor edge, front bottom panel edge, and side panel edge in all models which have wood framing on those panels. (That includes most years of the past.)

Absolutely do not use 3M "5200", because it doesn't flex and you wil never be able to re-repair in the future.

 

[Wavery]

First, be sure to check that aluminum foil protects ALL of the wood framing in earlier model years. If any is missing or broken add long strips of aluminum foil tape (the cold weather type, listed for both 181-P and 181B-FX as "duct tape" for both hot and cold applications). I have big roll of a big roll of "Nashua 324A" - originally bought for home repair, but it did a great job on my own TM broken corner repair.

3M 4200 boat sealant (pure white) is great for this. Be aware that the open time for product is SUPER SHORT, unless you pay extra for the slower-cure variety. After many years of exposure, it might turn slightly yellow - so keep the exposed sealant width as small as you can manage. You can use either a finger (like caulking a bathtub) or a culing eddge control plastic tool, but if you use a finger you might want to wear a hairdresser's protection glove. (The chemicals are nasty.)

You want the 3M sealant to have a fairly large contact area underneath the corner edges, but virutally no overflow after you pinch the corner bar in place. Use paper towels to clean up the excess before final cleaning with the tool.

Make sure that a TINY HOLE is present at the bottom of the corner, to assure that any water which does get into the joint from above has a chance to drain out at the bottom. If you make the mistake of sealing everything tight at the bottom, you will cause moisture to puddle there - rotting the wood of the floor edge, front bottom panel edge, and side panel edge in all models which have wood framing on those panels. (That includes most years of the past.)

3M 4200 and 3M 5200 are basically the same product but the 4200 removes more easily and cures faster. 5200 takes a long time to cure (90-days for 95%) and is VERY hard (nearly impossible) to remove. Both clean up well with mineral spirits. If you do your edge feathering with your finger, put a little mineral spirits on the tip of your finger first and the job will be much smoother.

Secure your repair tightly with 2" wide (blue) masking tape for 24 hours so that it will set up tightly. I would allow 7-10 days (for curing) before moving the trailer. Don't do this repair with ambient temp above 85* or below 60* for best results. Protect your securing tape from the Sun.

Side story about 3M 5200.
I was a world traveler on my 45' sailboat for 14 years (1984-1998). On a trip from Mauritius Island (Indian Ocean) to South Africa (in 1995) I had no wind for a few days and decided to run my diesel engine. The starboard, aft motor mount broke and I had to jerry-rig a repair. I basically strapped the mount solid with a piece of steel strap to keep the engine from lifting when under torque. When I got to South Africa, I tried to order a new motor mount. I searched the world for one and there were none available. I removed the old motor mount and made a mold of the rubber part that broke. I filled the mold with 3M 5200 because I knew how strong it was and I needed something with some cushion to absorb the vibration. After allowing the fabrication to cure for 3-months, I installed my fabricated motor mount (doubting that it would last long) and that mount is still in the boat today, 30-years and hundreds of hours run time later.