How to repair front trim/stripped holes on trailer?

[nwoodco1]

I am looking to get some advice on how to repair my camper or if it isn't something feasibly DIY>
Had my camper parked and unfortunately it got clipped by my neighbor. He told me right away and offered to repair or pay for repairs which is great, so I would like to do it DIY if it can be done. As you can see in the pictures the front trim is pulled out and the first 5 screw holes are stripped so now the front and side panels are also loose. What is the best way to fix? Just caulk won't work as this trim holds the front and side in place, but the screws don't have anything to bite into it seems like.

[larry_cad]

Blacklane wrote:
If you have to fix cracked or broken wood for screws to hold, consider using wood epoxy, such as JB Weld wood repair. It bonds well, can be drilled and screwed, and is weather resistant.

X2

[Blacklane]

If you have to fix cracked or broken wood for screws to hold, consider using wood epoxy, such as JB Weld wood repair. It bonds well, can be drilled and screwed, and is weather resistant.

[katysdad]

Pull a few more screws above it to give some flexibility to clean up the old putty under the damaged trim and assess the framing. The trim is a soft aluminum and can be easily straightend. Get some new putty tape to put under the trim. Screws can be reinstalled between the original holes in the corner molding. They are self drilling, does'nt take much force tog through the trim. The new putty tape should squeeze out of the old screw holes sealing them up. As a side note, looking at the old dried and cracking putty, the whole trailer should be resealed at all the moldings and joints or water intrusion is not far off. Not hard just a little time consuming but will greatly extend the life of the trailer. Most likely wood frame with fiberglass insulation and will soak up and hold water like a sponge.

[midnightsadie]

matt has good info cut it off and clean things up. shoot some good wood goo in there. and filler strips.the more time you fuss with it the better it,ll look.

[Matt_Colie]

Noah,
I have done similar repairs (on boat, I worked on boats a lot).
I will advise that - if you can - you get that entire trim piece loose. Then you can clean off the old caulk and straighten the piece without damaging the bedding of the remainder. There is probably damage to the side where the screws ripped out and those areas can be tapped back flat before you try to remount the corner trim.
The other remarks about plugging the old holes was right in line. Any soft wood will do. What I have often done is fill the holes and when the glue has set, then I would come back and trim the plugs.
At least you have a decent neighbor.
Matt_C

[nwoodco1]

Mike134 wrote:

prichardson wrote:
There is likely wood framing behind. If that has not been damaged the screw holes can be plugged with wood slivers and glue and the screws reset.

/\ /\ /\ /\ this Toothpicks and glue in the stripped holes

The issue is that because of the angle of impact the framing is split, so I am not sure it can be repaired to screw into.

[Mike134]

prichardson wrote:
There is likely wood framing behind. If that has not been damaged the screw holes can be plugged with wood slivers and glue and the screws reset.

/\ /\ /\ /\ this Toothpicks and glue in the stripped holes

[prichardson]

There is likely wood framing behind. If that has not been damaged the screw holes can be plugged with wood slivers and glue and the screws reset.

[opnspaces]

Can you look up behind the damage and see what it might entail? If it's just sheet metal you could epoxy a few strips of wood to the inside then screw from the outside.

If there is floor or other structure behind the damage I would inspect very carefully before you decided to just screw it together and walk off.