Banana wrap and C channel overlap?

[dkrukosky]

I am getting ready to put the wraps back on but got to wondering about how they attach at the top. The original wraps were riveted along the same line as the bottom of the outer skins over lapping them. This almost guaranties that water running down the side of the trailer will go inside the belly.?? This just seems wrong to me. I noticed that the C channel has a step in it and looks like the banana wraps could (should??) be fastened in that step. this would help keep water out of the belly but would require rivet holes into the c channel right into the ends of the plywood floor (also not a good plan). So what are folks doing about this? I thought I read a thread on it a long time ago but now I cannot find it.

Any Thoughts??

[perryg114]

It is best to put the wraps under the outer skin but it does not always work out that way. I ended up sealing that joint with Trempro-635. It is also important to seal the top edge of the trim once you rivet it back on. As long at you seal that joint inside and out it should not matter. If you are completely rebuilding a trailer and you can pull everything loose and put it back with the proper overlap then do so but don't loose sleep over it. Most of the time there are rivets in the way that you prevent you from getting the wraps skins under the outer skins.


Perry

[thumbelinadj]

65 globetrotter owners. If you have any posts on the steps for belly pan construction that you loved, please provide your links of words of wisdom. Happy Sunday

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by dkrukosky

I am getting ready to put the wraps back on but got to wondering about how they attach at the top. The original wraps were riveted along the same line as the bottom of the outer skins over lapping them. This almost guaranties that water running down the side of the trailer will go inside the belly.?? This just seems wrong to me. I noticed that the C channel has a step in it and looks like the banana wraps could (should??) be fastened in that step. this would help keep water out of the belly but would require rivet holes into the c channel right into the ends of the plywood floor (also not a good plan). So what are folks doing about this? I thought I read a thread on it a long time ago but now I cannot find it.



Any Thoughts??

It all depends on if you are a conformist or nonconformist. A conformist would do as the factory did either right or wrong because the airstream factory can "do no wrong" and thats the way Airstream did it. I, on the other hand, am not a lemming, but a nonconformist and could care less how the Airstream factory originally manufactured the trailer and let common sense prevail and put the wraps under the exterior skin. I also shingled my house from the bottom up not the top down.

In my option Airstream does this because it's easier and cheaper to do it incorrectly. I guess their engineers never took physics in high school

[thumbelinadj]

The banana wraps were jammed so hard up and really difficult to get out. I'm going to do what makes sense to an engineer. I'm just a technology sales person. What the hell do I know? I don't even know what kind of rivet to use by memory yet. But I'm getting there.

[perryg114]

I think the factory puts the wraps on first then drops the shell on and rivets it over the wraps. This makes it a royal pain to get the wraps off sometimes. I am going to do what makes it maintainable without having to take the whole trailer apart.

Aerowood, I think putting the shingles on from the bottom up is the correct way to do it. I have never seen it done otherwise but stupidity is an endless resource.

Perry

[thumbelinadj]

Perryg114 that makes sense - thank you. My lack of experience is an endless challenge,