Disaster Averted

[Wisconsin Retiree]

I made the mother of all stupid mistakes last night. I arrived at my destination in Florida and was very tired. Before opening my slides I always look at clearances inside and out before opening them up. Including my trim pieces above the 2 main slides. When I sat down for coffee this morning I looked up above refrigerator and the whole 6 ft or more piece of trim was missing and it wasn't inside the kitchen.
Fortunately, it rolled perfectly where it did zero damage to the rubber seals, slide edge or roof material. I cannot believe I missed the whole piece when I viewed the inside before opening. Lessoned learned to look above alot better than I have been...whew!

[432bartman]

That's crazy that piece came off. Were you able to retrieve it from outside? That's a very good point to check also the inside before opening the slides. I'm usually the one who sets everything up outside and my wife puts the slides out and sets up the inside. I will pass this info along to her. Hopefully you can fix that trim piece relatively easily.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Same issue happened, to me. No damage air gun nails do very little. It will not happen again, wood screws will not fail. Poor workman ship.


Happy trails.

[Mikendebbie]

I had some crown mold come loose last year...hanging half way off.
I used clear silicone and glued it back to the original pin nails, then added trim screws at ~18" OC driven at opposing angles. I added the trim screws to all of the crown molding as a preventative measure.

[Gubs]

We had that same piece come off on the way home from the dealer right after we bought this rig (3121RL Montana). Techs at the dealer stated this type of thing happens all the time. At the factory they just shipped them through the line and very little if any quality control inspections are every completed. They are pushing to get them out due to the demand. Sad that this is happening since these rigs are not cheap! We have also had issues with the shades, the bedroom slide coming off its rollers and tearing the flooring and some other minor issues. Sad to say the least!!!!!

[R.S.O'Donnell]

We found a couple of section of ours hanging as well. Put them back in the original pin nail holes and put trim screws evenly across about 18" apart pre drilling only through the moulding and putting screws in by hand. They've held tight for a full cross country run now.

[77cruiser]

Need to carry an air nailer. I almost dropped the whole wide trim piece full length of the slide, it was just hanging by the ends.

[RMcNeal]

Had a friend whose pantry door opened a bit during travel. When the slide opened, he heard a "crunch" and the door and frame were crushed by the slide. I always go inside and check the drawers and doors as well before opening the slides. Good advice!

[Dave W]

Good timing thread as just yesterday afternoon found a piece of dangling crown molding and needed a ;fix'. Trim screws was my guess for permanent repair and will need to pick some up if I don't have any of the cproper length

[R.S.O'Donnell]

They’re hardly noticeable at all.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

They’re hardly noticeable at all.

Do you recall the length? I have a few 1-1/2 and a full box of 2"

[Kyle and Lisa]

We had to do the same thing after being on the road for a short while. I used self tapping screws and matched the color of the trim with a magic marker for the screw heads. Drilled holes in the trim first so as not to split the trim.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

2 inch. I don’t think I’d go any shorter.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

2 inch. I don’t think I’d go any shorter.

Thanks. Got lots of them

[Mikendebbie]

Fortunately for me it’s kind of dark up there around the crown mold which makes it easier for my inspector to pass the workmanship quality assurance inspections.
DW is a tough inspector.

[Trout30]

Hey Chuck, great post and very good info. One more thing to check. Going to tell Wife about this...thats her job.

[Wisconsin Retiree]

That's funny...only wish I had someone else to blame aside from myself...LOL!

[richeyb]

Good post, it seems like there are always different parts of the fifth wheels coming loose. We had one of the cabinet doors come open in our front room during travel. When we extended the front slide-outs it became jammed with a crunching sound. I was able to bring in the slide and close the cabinet and then extend the slide. Required adjusting the hinges and replacing the door latch. When in doubt double check the slide-outs are clear before extending or closing. Especially after a bumpy ride.

[Trailer Trash]

The entire trim that goes around and over the theatre seats and dinette in our 2018 330RL fell off last year. It's a shock when you open your rig and find it laying against the other wall slide out. Screwed it and glued it. What manufacturing wizard thinks that a few shots with an air-nailer thru cheap MDF and a light haze of adhesive is appropriate? I understand it's a price value balancing act but it strikes me that if Keystone built it in their factory it's sketchy workmanship. If it was supplied by one of their vendors as a finished product then it's likely better quality. All interior trim has been fixed in some way. The sticky tile backsplash is falling off and needs replacing. A jack went down and wouldn't go back up. New set of tires every 7,000 miles. The awning has pulled away from the side. Mentally I lack confidence in our unit. It seems to me that if you use the trailer to travel inside a couple hours of your home a handful of times each year then you will be reasonably happy. If you are like us and travel thousands of miles chasing the sun each year then you can expect problems.

[RETCHIEF]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin Retiree

I made the mother of all stupid mistakes last night. I arrived at my destination in Florida and was very tired. Before opening my slides I always look at clearances inside and out before opening them up. Including my trim pieces above the 2 main slides. When I sat down for coffee this morning I looked up above refrigerator and the whole 6 ft or more piece of trim was missing and it wasn't inside the kitchen.
Fortunately, it rolled perfectly where it did zero damage to the rubber seals, slide edge or roof material. I cannot believe I missed the whole piece when I viewed the inside before opening. Lessoned learned to look above alot better than I have been...whew!

I had a piece on the same wall fall and it had no nail marks or glue traces. It was just pressed into the run. It was not hiding so I just nailed it in place.