Screws rusting trim loose

[Rock]

My last site an Eagle owner came over and told me about his latest problem. The trim molding on each side of the hitch that run along the bottom side walls and than down came loose. Those moldings have a center piece that u can remove. This covers the screws holding molding in place. His screws rusted out from moisture and the wood they screw into was rotted (5 year old). He redrilled different holes and used stainless screws and sealed good.

I have the same problem on my right side molding it has dropped down some. I already had it on my factory list for repair. I removed the center cover strip and mine were just like his. So if u look at the factory sealant line and the molding has dropped below that u have the same problem.
Rock

[Rock]

Here is a pic

[BeachRetreat]

Did you simply move the screws to resolve this? I've now discovered this on mine. The underneath panel has several screws that came loose in heavy cross winds on the last trip. I'm now concerned I need to completely rework the entire area.

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[Jagiven]

It’s kind of funny you posted this. I was looking at the TT over the weekend, and thinking about all the caulking I have done over the years and realized I have never laid down and looked underneath to see what kind of sealant is behind the tin skirt, between the wall and the floor.

Your finding will, is now going to make it a higher priority to look this over a little closer this coming week.

[Rock]

I have to be at the factory in Oct for a new roof and main slide work. I am going to have them fix this molding issues and about 20 other items.
Rock

[Rock]

Jagiven
I have sealed my entire wheel well seam areas and all the lower slide seams. You can push up on the material in my wheel well on the top and stick your finger into the bottom floor area. U know water from the tires will get in there so I sealed it all with silicone
Rock

[ElkHunter]

My warranty expired last week. It's in the shop now having this repaired for the second time on each side (got it in before the warranty was up). Shop foreman told me he has had to retrain his guys to not stretch the moldings when they instal them, because they inevitably shrink and pull loose.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Rock

Jagiven
I have sealed my entire wheel well seam areas and all the lower slide seams. You can push up on the material in my wheel well on the top and stick your finger into the bottom floor area. U know water from the tires will get in there so I sealed it all with silicone
Rock

I remember when I purchased the htt, I looked over the wheel wells really closely, and they were sealed. But I have not looked at any of the bottom side joints since.

Edit; curiosity got to me. Just grabbed a flashlight and looked over 50 percent of the underside. It is really clean, and everything looks well sealed. It almost looks new still, other than a light coating of dusty dirt, and a bit of what looks like an oily droplets from the road. No rust at all, the rubber gas lines show no signs of chafing from the frame rails. When we brought it home I had sealed all the holes for gas and electrical lines, all are still nicely sealed.

I'll have to check the rest later, but I am very happy with what I saw.

[Rock]

Units are made different. My friends Whitehawk pretty much has no open wheel well seams. Talking with other FW owners they were surprised when they checked and there units were the same. They look sealed but u can reach up to where the metal rock guard is stapled in place and push up on the inside edge. It just over laps. My big staples were falling out of the rock guard and found this out fixing them.
Driving in rain that wheel area looks like a waterfall. Even the inside lower slide is just overlapped metal stapled together. I sealed all that to
Rock

[PlayersZ28]

Seems like plenty of places for water to get in. I check my whole unit 2x a yr and reseal everything.

[Mangort1900]

Have this same issue on my Jayco how did they correct it , tried new location with screw, I like there is nothing above to screw in to.

[Jim Smyth]

This is a design flaw and happens on them all in time. The fix is using 3-1/2" screws and running them up and into the aluminum frame. Been discussed plenty here. Do some searching and you will find many threads on it.