Is Sunline Cabinet Trim Unique?

[johnnybgood]

The wife and I looked at a lot of different campers before buying our '96 T-1700 and I don't remember seeing the cabinet trim in any other brand. Anybody know?

[vcrt]

Looking at your photos, it seems like you're asking about the frames of the cabinets? They are about 2" wide and 3/4" thick.
They have thin (maybe 1/8" panels in the center). All pieces are wrapped with a wood-grained vinyl laminate. I have thought that this construction was typical of most brands, but being a Sunline only owner, maybe it's not true.
What have you seen in other brand's construction?
Rich

[johnnybgood]

Rich, I'm referring to the plastic trim between the cabinet walls and floor.

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by johnnybgood

The wife and I looked at a lot of different campers before buying our '96 T-1700 and I don't remember seeing the cabinet trim in any other brand. Anybody know?

Nope, not unique at all. Many RV's and boats have used the stuff over the years.

It's called bead trim or other similar names. It's available in many different sizes and colors.

Here's a sample Ebay listing: Rv trailer marine bead welt MOLDING TRIM brown st | eBay There are other internet sources to be found for the searching.

And, many RV parts counters will have the stuff, too.

[johnnybgood]

Thanks for the info Steve! Learn something new every day.

[mainah]

Yeah bead trim it's common to all most any camper it hides large gaps.

[Sunline Fan]

To add to what Steve linked to, the welting is usually stapled to the hidden edge of the cabinet before they put it in place. While it won't look as good, I suppose if you wanted to replace some, you could try gluing it and pushing it in place if you tear the old out. The only way to do it right is to remove the cabinet (which is likely screwed from the outside) and install the new welting. Tearing the old out will probably leave many staples in there, so it'll probably hit them if pushing new in. Either try to clean the gap with a saw blade/putty knife, or trim the welting tab shorter.

If you watch the vintage trailer restoration shows, they use the same stuff too.

[vcrt]

Trying to replace that beaded trim by cutting of the tail and glueing in place may be your only option since some cabinets were screwed from the outside, but getting it to lie straight like the original will be very difficult. Definitely try first to remove the cabinet if the screws are accessible and staple in place the way the factory did.
Here's an idea that may help if you have to glue it;
If the replacement is made like a hollow tube like the original, try inserting a stiff, straight wire inside to keep any straight runs from waving.
Rich

[mainah]

That stuff was originally used on old car fenders so it's been around for a long time. It is real easy to install while putting some thing together but a super pain to replace. The tail is about 1/2" long and held firmly in place. Many Amish shunned power tools that was not the case with the Amish built Sunline, power driven staples of all descriptions were their friends and were used by the pound.

[sep]

I've had it in the 76 Shasta, 76 Prowler and now in the 2000 Solaris. You can probably see some dangling in my pictures from "fixing up my 2000 Sunline". You will be able to tell, by my swearing, how hard it is to deal with once I start putting those walls back together. Lol!


Steve P