Well that was unexpected (lost wheelwell trim panel)

[scottydl]

I arrived at a campsite recently, and upon walking around my trailer (a 2016 Keystone fifth wheel) during set up I noticed that the passenger side wheelwell trim piece was… GONE. (See attached photo,) Left to rest permanently as a piece of roadside trash, I assume… and I hope it didn’t fly off and strike someone’s vehicle along the way!

While this discovery was a bit surprising, I wasn’t totally shocked. On both sides of my trailer, this trim splits the seam with a slide, and of course it doesn’t line up properly at that gap. I always thought this would make for some odd drafts when driving at highway speeds, and I’d already noticed some hairline cracks (that I’d taped over with black gaffing tape) and hopes to preserve the integrity of the trim. Which obviously didn’t work.

With the combination of substandard design and installation + plastic construction that becomes brittle over time… Has anyone discovered a better alternative to replace this type of trim? I considered having a replacement made out of a thin piece of aluminum, etc. rather than overpay for more plastic that’s just going to do the same thing in a matter of years. Or even if there’s a digital model that could be 3-D printed in sections, that would be much more robust than this thin flimsy factory material.

Interested in any ideas anyone has!

 

[Bearcatrp]

Almost lost one of mine but it did crack so replaced it. Found a solution too. Get a tube of silicone. Go to the back side where the screw comes through. Stick the tube of silicone over the screw, squeeze out enough to cover it. Once it dries, you won’t have this issue again. Going on 3 years without any of mine coming loose.

 

[scottydl]

Interesting idea! Except some of my screws are still in place… the plastic ripped right off from around then.

 

[Bearcatrp]

That’s good since the replacement panel won’t come with screws, at least mine didn’t. After you replace the panel and snug up the screws, put the silicone on the screw end. It works great. You should be carrying a tube in your RV. I do. Every trip out I do a look around to see if I need to add any. Usually do.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Just takes one corner to get the air the wrong way, viola. After you replace, I'd put a bead of caulk on the front edge of that trim, looks like your slide out causes a break in the profile. For what it's worth, I found an adhesive silicone (JB Weld stuff), seems to work better than regular silicone in applications like this.

 

[Joezeppy]

Definitely a poor design. Many of the screws in mine are loose since they just screw into the thin aluminum panel and strip out easily. I thought about replacing them with bolts but I like the caulk idea, too - might have to give that a try.

 

[Old_Crow]

Just takes one corner to get the air the wrong way, viola. After you replace, I'd put a bead of caulk on the front edge of that trim, looks like your slide out causes a break in the profile. For what it's worth, I found an adhesive silicone (JB Weld stuff), seems to work better than regular silicone in applications like this.

When they re-did the plumbing in my coach they had to remove those trim pieces around the rear wheels. When he reinstalled them, he caulked aroung them. He went so far as to find a color matched caulk so that it blended in to the brown and didn't show a white stripe around the trim.

 

[gwinger]

I had the same problem on my TT. Luckily I noticed it before it broke completely loose. I pulled the fender off and put some JB weld in the indentations.
Painted the JB black and redrilled the holes. Used some flat washers and longer screws. Four years now and no more cracking.

 

[si camper2]

Definitely a poor design. Many of the screws in mine are loose since they just screw into the thin aluminum panel and strip out easily. I thought about replacing them with bolts but I like the caulk idea, too - might have to give that a try.

On a previous camper, the screws kept coming loose and I replaced them with pop rivets.