Is the lower blue plastic trim on 1979 International functional?

[wacnstac]

What I mean by this is does it help keep water out? I have repaired a major leak on a few of my windows but after a huge rain today still have some minor leakage underneath the street side living area windows and the only place I could conceivable see it coming from would be water running down the side of the trailer and into rivet holes that would normally be covered by the blue bottom molding.

[wacnstac]

I also have small leaks that appear to be originating near the floor by each wheel well.

[Chuck]

that lower trim between the walls and the banana wrap should be sealed with a bead of vulkem or parbond. some of the banana wraps on mine are made to attach OUTside the wall, which creates a big scoop to scoop up the water and lay it onto a wooden floor. don't ask me what the genius that made that design decision was thinking.

anyway, when I've had sections of my lower trim off, I found that some sections of banana wrap attached outside, and others attached inside the outer skin, (like you'd expect, to naturally shed water, rather than collect it). I've got a spot of wet floor right inside an unsealed section of this trim, myself, that I need to address this weekend.

[Jim & Susan]

Take a look starting at post #88 in my thread. It'll give you some idea what you are up against. I plan to seal mine inside and out when I put the banana wrap and belly pan back on.

http://www.airforums.com/forum...e-15132-7.html

[rebel beck]

As you see yes it does leak. The best way to fix it is take the beltline off, seal and put beltline back on. BUTTTTT that is not what we did we just sealed the top of the beltline and it worked. That is how our floor rotted out must have been doing it for years. It took us one month to find that leak. So after that I just ran a thin line of sealant all the way around.


Becky

[Safari Tim]

Well, after reading this thread, and of course hearing episode 16 of theVAP

I decided to look closer to a reoccuring damp spot in my rear closet on my '71. I took the lower belt line off and there it is. As you can see in the first picture it folds up from the bottom over the outside of the wall. Makes a nice big dish to fill up and literally funnel water into the floor and belly pan. Makes me sick to see such a thing.

I don't even see any signs of seal to stop it.

Second thing I found is where the bumper compartment connects. The water just funnels into the entire back floor as there is a 1/4" or bigger gap into the wood floor behind this belt line. Again, no sign of there every being anything to stop it. The old vulkem in the picture is something I did last year w/o dissassembly.

Now I know why every vintage unit has floor rot. It has to!

As time permits, I will remove all the lower belt line and seal behind it.

Is it safe to assume the middle beltline was done correctly?

[Jim & Susan]

Tim, this is the exact situation in my '73. It looks as if this area was never sealed and the banana wrap is logically installed wrong. What are you referring to as the "middle beltline"? If you mean the middle part of the trailer, in front of the wheels, it is probably installed just like the rear (it was on mine). Take a look at the link I provided above. The pictures are of the roadside beltline area, just forward of the wheels. There is also a discussion of the problem that may be helpful.

Jim

P.S. I love The Vap. I can't wait to hear that interview with UWE and Carlos.

[Safari Tim]

Jim,

It's a pretty bad setup. Hard to believe it was every water tight even when it rolled off the factory floor.

The middle belt line I am talking about is the one just that runs halfway up the trailer from the middle all the way around the back to the other side. It is under the windows and covers the transition from the upper half of the side to the lower half.

Thank about theVAP comments. Reminds me, I better get working on that one! (you all get to enjoy the current show, I have to think of a topic for episode 18 while editing 17, plus design the website, graphics, etc.... my hobby is turning into a second full time job ;-) )

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

Tim, this is the exact situation in my '73. It looks as if this area was never sealed and the banana wrap is logically installed wrong. What are you referring to as the "middle beltline"? If you mean the middle part of the trailer, in front of the wheels, it is probably installed just like the rear (it was on mine). Take a look at the link I provided above. The pictures are of the roadside beltline area, just forward of the wheels. There is also a discussion of the problem that may be helpful.

Jim

P.S. I love The Vap. I can't wait to hear that interview with UWE and Carlos.

[wacnstac]

I mean the missing blue trim at the bottom of my trailer that leaves rivets expososed.

[Jim & Susan]

wac, take a close look at Tim's first pic above. See how the banana wrap curves up from the bottom and attached over the outside of the side (aluminum sheets) of the trialer? Another way to say this: The belly pan is installed over the sidewall of the trailer. Notice how it leaves the top of the banana wrap open to the air above it? Water pours in that gap and into the bottom of the trailer. In addition to that, the wood for the floor is partially exposed behind those panels, so the floor gets wet.

Not all model trailers were built this way. I know the early '70's were, not sure about the late '70's models. The trim you are missing probably doesn't do much to stop water from leaking in. In my trailer, there was no evidence that there was any type of sealant behind this "beltline" trim. Your trailer may have been put together differently so this area of leakage (i.e., the manner in which the banana wrap is installed) may not exist. In other words, the banana wrap may have been installed underneath the side walls of the camper, so it shouldn't leak. Got any pictures of that area we can look at?

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Tim, ok, now I got ya. The middle beltline on mine is held in place by pop rivets. There are two leaks in that area above the trunk that you mention. The problem is that there is a lot of oddly shaped aluminum panels in that area with rivets in strange places, so I don't know if those pop rivets are where the leak is coming from (yet!). But I suspect they are. I still have the inner skins out back there if you want a couple of pictures of the area to help explain these oddities. Just let me know.

Jim