rubber line vs metal line

[CarmichaelBee]

We are trying to renovate a '75 Scamp that was basically gutted by a previous owner. Our Scamp has a rubber line/trim that goes around the middle of the trailer. We think this was put there by the previous owner (the said "gut-ee") because in pictures of other people's Scamps there is a metal line (trim?) that goes around the outside of the trailer. Does anyone have any idea about the 75 Scamp model's midline trim? Is it supposed to be metal? Does it hold the top and bottom together somehow? (Any idea why someone would change it?) Any ideas welcome! We're new to renovating fiberglass...

Thanks!

[Paul O.]

You are talking about the so called belly band. It does not hold the two halves together. They are connected by fiberglass on the inside, after they are aligned and clamped together with a number of spring clamps. Mine, like all Scamps that I have seen, has an aluminum extrusion trim, held in place by small (1/8 dia.) pop rivets. Anything will work, as long as it looks good and stays in place. The one who gutted it before you, the gut-tor, probably looked for something that would not require any tooling or fixtures to make the corner bends, so he used rubber. That is my guess.

[gordon2]

Or he used rubber because he thought it would stop the leak. I hear its rare to have a leak on the belly area, but not unheard of, so its not likely to be the reason but still is a slim possibility.

[CarmichaelBee]

Thanks to both of you! There is a leak. We haven't found the source yet. It could quite likely still be the windows that don't seem to close and seal properly. It could also be something that the previous owner also tried to plug by changing the belly band. (Luckily, right now it's not the rainy season.) Thanks for your insight -- I'm sure we'll have more questions!