Northwood MFG Vinyl Trim Insert issues

It's aesthetic, to cover up the screw holes that hold the trim on.

I think it's mostly just to keep dirt, debris and the majority of pelting rain water out of the channel, and some aesthetic. Otherwise, it'd look like the rain gutters/spouts. It's certainly not sealed as there are drain holes on the underside of the cabover.

Mine is also damaged but I thought it was from hail. Does it serve a purpose to help with sealing or is it just aesthetic?

I wasn't that worried about it but maybe I should be, kept forgetting to measure for the correct size.

Link works now. THere was a space at the beginning which I removed.

The trim insert I used does not stretch, so there's no way to jam extra in to the slot.

It doesn't fail due to shrinking, it just disintegrates to to sun exposure and becomes brittle

Got mine at Apache Campers in S.E. Portland. They must have the good stuff because it's held up well. Redid entire camper, made it look brand new again except for some basement squish, p.o.s.,I still love it.

towpro wrote:

mike/kellie wrote:
I replaced sections on my 5th wheel that had shrunken out of the track on the inside radius. Don't stretch it when you replace. Very easy but surprised it's happened so soon.

in fact I try to push extra in as I install it giving it room to shrink.

If you anchor the ends of it with a screw cap, it doesn't shrink up.

Linky no good

Like yours. mine started falling apart in thin strips.


I took some photos of the project: Trim replacement Scroll down a ways to see them.

The front trim fell apart a few years ago and I replaced it.

Last year, all the trim on the sidewalls at the roof line, and all of it on the back wall started disintegrating. I finally got it replaced a few weeks ago.

I'm sure it will happen again in a few years.

The same thing happened on my Desert Fox 21SW. The stuff I replaced it with was more like a vinyl material, not the rigid hard stuff I bought for this project. I can't seem to find the vinyl like material any longer.

Sun / UV kills it. It's not a problem specific to Northwood units. It's more a "how soon the trim falls apart depends upon the region the camper is located in / sun exposure."