Screws that attach top and bottom fiberglass pieces all broken off - Sunrader

[Kyla]

I have an 18 foot 1990 Toyota Sunrader. 

 

The vinyl strip that covers the seam between the top and bottom fiberglass pieces of my Sunrader is in really poor shape so I thought I'd replace it.  In some places, particularly around the cabover, the previous owners had also applied caulking over the vinyl strip making me wonder if it had been leaking at some point in the past. 

 

I thought that I would take out the old screws, get new ones and put caulking in the holes before putting in the new screws and finally replacing the vinyl strip. 

 

After taking off six screws to try to get a comparison to take to the hardware store to look for replacements it seems that they are all broken off.  They are very short, but slightly different lengths and fairly rough on the ends.  (Picture attached)

 

Had anybody else had this issue?  Any thoughts on what I should do?  It doesn't seem like I can put in new screws when half the old screw is still stuck in there. 

 

Has anybody ever had the top and bottom pieces apart?  I'm wondering if all of the screws are broken in half what is really holding this thing together. 

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Kyla
typo

[linda s]

Those screws aren't supposed to go all the way through. They look just right to me. They don't hold your fiberglass together, they hold your insert trim track on. There are lots of Sunraders where they used too long screws that went all the way through that did cause leaks but those were the mistakes not yours. By the way your fiberglass is fiberglassed together so it is fine. I replaced some of the screws on my overhead and snipped the point on the ones I used to make sure it didn't go all the way through. Holes were reamed out some so I used one size bigger but not longer and I put in some caulk just in case. The caulk also will stop the screw from backing out at all. 

Linda S

[Kyla]

Thank you for the reply Linda!

 

For now I think I am going to forget about messing with the screws and just replace the vinyl and see what happens.  If I find I actually have trouble with it leaking then I'll get more ambitious. 

 

 

[linda s]

Wouldn't hurt to top each screw off with a touch of sealant. That way even if the vibration over the years has made the holes a little bigger like they did on mine, any water still won't get past the screws. Don't get any on the edges of the vinyl track though

Linda S

[Jim G.]

Any suggestions what to do if the vinyl cover is cracked and missing.  Fill with a white sealant???

[linda s]

No please don't. You replace it. You have a Sunrader so you need the smaller insert trim. Very inexpensive 

Amazon.com: RV Designer E330, Narrow Vinyl Insert Trim, 3/4 inch Wide, 25 foot Roll, White: Automotive

Don't know how much you would need for full sized but I needed 2 packs for my 18 footer. They have 50 ft rolls but strangely they cost more than 2 packs of 25ft. The trim is not continual all around the camper so have separate pieces isn't a problem

Linda S

[Kyla]

Thinking about it, when I took the screws out, they were VERY hard to get out.  They are definitely broken off at the ends - they are not all quite the same length and the ends are sheared off.  Given how hard they are to get out, I suspect they are twisting off and breaking when I go to take them out. 

 

I'm guessing I can't take them all out, put sealant in and then put them back since some of them are different lengths where they've broken off at slightly different places.  (One of the longer ones would have trouble going into a whole with another piece broken off in it.)  I could do them one at a time so that each screw half would match in the right hole, but that'll be time-consuming switching between a drill and sealant. 

 

So while putting sealant in there sounds like a good idea, I'm not sure it's going to be straight-forward. 

[Kyla]

A few notes on what I've learned about the vinyl too in case it helps somebody else:

 

- It's easier to work with when warm or hot.  This goes for removing the old vinyl as well as putting in the new vinyl.  If you try to remove the old stuff when it's cold it will break into a bunch of little pieces.  Doing it when hot it will pull off in a long strip. 

 

- I started with the white vinyl and on my Sunrader it looked very white compared to the fiberglass and the other yellowed trim and stuff.  I've ordered some off-white to try and I'm hoping it blends in a little better. 

 

- As Linda mentioned, there are two sizes, but just to be more specific the actual widths of them are 1 inch and 3/4 inch.  My Sunrader is the 3/4 inch.