Our Trade Wind was manufactured in the spring of
1967. When we purchased it in the spring of 2007, it had original windows on the front, back, and streetside. The windows on the curbside were plexiglass, which I have since replaced. Oddly, two of the three windows on the streetside and the rear flat window had the stainless steel trim. The streetside bedroom window and the front flat window did not have the trim. I don't know the history of the trailer to determine how this came about.
Since both my wife and I like the look of the trim, I set about finding trim to add to the two original and two replacement windows. Having read in the forum that the stainless trim currently offered only fits Lexan, I checked with a glass supplier about a different replacement. What I found was reasonably appropriate aluminum trim manufactured by C.R. Laurence Co., Inc.
The good points are that the trim is fairly cheap ($48 delivered) for two 12'6" pieces and that it comes in thicknesses for both the original 3/32" glass as well as the new 1/8" now supplied. Since it is aluminum, it is easy to cut and file. It bends to the curve of the window easily. Disadvantages are that it is not stainless, it is not exactly the same width as the original, and it has 90 degree edges rather than curved.
To install for each window, I cut two 24" pieces, as that length will allow the trim to be pretty much centered on the latches. Whether the windows were curved or flat, 24" still worked. Then, I polished the aluminum trim on a buffing wheel. The pieces were then trial fit on the window so that I could mark where to cut out a triangle so that the corner could be done in one piece as original. I placed a small bead of clear RTV silicone into the channel of the trim and attached to the window, being careful to line up the corner so that the bend would only have to be done once. Bending twice will probably break the aluminum, and while I don't think many people would notice, I liked the challenge of making the trim as much like the original as possible. The short bottom piece was duct-taped to hold it in place while the silicone cured. Finally, I measured between the two side pieces to cut the bottom piece before installing the clips.
Close inspection will reveal some difference from the stainless due to the brightness of the polish, but from 5' it looks great. Of course, the aluminum will oxidize over time. Also, the largest clips available from Vintage Trailer Supply will need to be reworked to fit the trim on the new windows. I haven't installed them yet, but I figure that tapping them down over a piece of 3/16" steel and then clamping them back with some pliers will do the trick. The large clips fit perfectly on the older windows with the new trim.
The URL for the two types of trim I used, 35050 and 35051 are:
Catalog Number 35050 - CRL Adhesive Bond Storm Window Edge Wrap Frame for Single Strength Glass=
Catalog Number 35051 - CRL Adhesive Bond Storm Window Edge Wrap Frame for Double Strength Glass=
Wayne Rasmussen
Linear Mode
