Trillium Belly Band

[Gumpit]

$14.50 for 68"... That will do one stripe next to the " TRILLIUM 4500" logo.

I bought the 50 ft roll. So I could do the lower stripe as well.

[Roy in TO]

Mine does not have the lower stripe. Maybe because I don't have the "deluxe" model.

[Gumpit]

How many different models are there?

[nick c]

Thank you Gumpit, and Roy in T.O. I noticed Decalzone also offers striping in 4", perfect to cover the belly band repair in same blue... Best news I've had this week.

Trillium site offers a tire cover with logo, seems expensive but i like the idea of original look with logo, may pop for that too if resorative work turns out well. thx.

[Roy in TO]

I'm not sure, this page says six models.
There were standard and deluxe options for the 1300, 4500 and 5500. But that did not include washroom layouts. Or were the washroom layouts automatically deluxe? Time for the Trillium King to pipe in.

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

I'm not sure, this page says six models.
There were standard and deluxe options for the 1300, 4500 and 5500. But that did not include washroom layouts. Or were the washroom layouts automatically deluxe? Time for the Trillium King to pipe in.

Roy, that brochure came when we bought our 1980 Trillium 4500 recently, and I uploaded it to the document centre a couple of days ago. I only got a very old photocopy, not the original brochure. It appears to be from 1977, which I think is the first year that the 4500 was introduced (because the Trillium RV website says so). I don't think, but am not sure, that it refers to the 5500 model yet.

I have been puzzling about the "6 models" statement as well. I think, but am not sure, that it refers to the 4 that are pictured, the double front bunk and toilet model for the 1300 and 4500, and also the front dinette model for each as well. We have the front dinette model, so I know it existed by 1980. My guess is that it existed in 1977 as well, but I am not sure. Have I mentioned that I am not sure about it?

Rick G in Edmonton

[Rick G]

Well, this is getting far off the belly band theme, but I just had a look at the Trillium 5500 introductory letter in the document centre. I was surprised to see a 10 year anniversary medallion on it listing 1969 - 1979 for the company, because I had thought that the first Trilliums came along about 1970 or 71. The other thing was that it seems from that letter that the 5500 was introduced in 1979, so it would not have been one of the models referred to in the 1977 brochure.

Rick G

[Gumpit]

Well I have decided to remove the bathroom. I have already removed the holding tank and toilet the previous owner installed. I took out the top where the sink sits and wraps around the front. I believe I have to unbolt 2 of the floor body bolts to remove the rest. Has anyone done this? Do I need to reinforce anything or can I just fabricate seats and mount a table on the floor. I plane on laying down 3/4" plywood on the floor first for support. Randy

[Chris McVeigh]

[QUOTE=nick c;229928]

Originally Posted by Gumpit

The new stripes are

Where did you find stripes so close to the original??? I need to do belly band on my 4500, wet sand and polish finish with new stripes would be ideal.

Try this post
Vivid Blue is the match for 4500 Blue

Trillium Logo & Striping - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV

[kbeale NY]

I know nothing about belly bands but this thread's title sounds like a country rock groups name!

[Matt in SV]

FYI: the belly band basically saved my 19' Escape. It looks like it slid a few car lengths on that band, and ground away about half of it on the driver side- front. An access hatch on that side got torn up, but pretty much everything else survived.

It looks like it would be a great rub strip to protect the trailer from small bumps as well. I'm guessing that's it's intended purpose.

Regards,

Matt

[Alf S.]

Hi: Matt in SV... The "Belly band" actually hides the joint/seam where the upper/lower halves of the shell join. So it's a decoration that really does make your trailer look better...but it is a rubstrip of sorts too.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Matt in SV]

Yes it is. A decal could hide the joint if that were the only purpose.

[Gumpit]

Well the rubber part of the band that was on mine was only a piece of plastic the thickness of a credit card that was bent to slide in. And if it rubbed against anything it would have broken. The metal may have survived but the plastic definitely not. Do the original ones come with a solid rubber band in the middle of the aluminum or was mine changed? Either way. Mine is now off and the rotted wood from the band has been repaired and will outlast me. Randy

[Randy Bishop]

I think if you have went to the trouble of removing the old band then you should do as I did and remove all the small metal pieces in the crack, bondo the seam closed and put the auto trim on it...Thats what I did and it turned out great. The metal pieces swell inside the crack and causes leaks and deforms the sides of the camper causing humps in the shell that can never be repaired. The rubber trim cost around 39 bucks from carparts.com and one piece will do the entire camper.I like it so much on mine I replaced it on all 4 Trilliums I own..If you do a search on here for Trillium Belly Band I think it will show up and I posted pictures so you can see the product, if that doesn't pull it up do a search of topics with my name and I know you will find it..HOPE THIS HELPS.....RANDY

Here I found it.......

[Randy Bishop]

What I did was run a piece of duct tape on top and one on bottom leaving it smaller than 1 1/2", bondo the seam, sand it smooth,remove the tape and apply the auto trim..I put a bead of construction adhesive to make sure a car wash would not blow it off.........RANDY

[Gumpit]

I did seal it up. I found out that using the grinder with the cut off wheel allowed me to cut the old rivet metal in half and then it was easy to dig out. It was then sealed with epoxy mixed with hardener. Then skim coated with six10 epoxy. and then sanded smooth. Did you say you used bondo? I am pretty sure that will crack when applied to fiberglass. But I dont think you will notice it with the trim covering it. I did buy the trim but am still considering the spray on bed liner approach because I like the texture and the stuff is as tough as it gets. And I know they can tape off a straighter line than I can when applying the molding. I am sure you know that any little wave in the trim line sticks out and I know can't get it pefect. I will probably have them do the front area down where the rock chips occur as well.

[Randy Bishop]

I said Bondo, but really what I used was short strand fiberglass made by Bondo should have been clear on that...And yes it hard to run the trim straight unlees you stripe it off then you need someone to hold the roll as you place it around the camper wasn't to hard to do...I like the idea of the bedliner on the front where the gravel chips occur but the bed liner at the trim area seems like it would need something along the edges to break up the black area. If you go that route I would really like to see a picture................RANDY

[Gumpit]

I was talking to the guy that does the pinstripes at work. He said to make sure the trim was warm when trying to apply if I put that on. He also said that if I get the bedliner applied that he would put a thin pinstripe along it so it blended in with the lower stripes. I will post pics either route I take.Thanks Randy

[Rarebird]

Randy,
Thanks for the pictures and inspiration! I went to carparts.com and tried to find the trim. The site wouldn't let me search w/o specific car info. How did you find the trim? What should I do?
I appreciate your help!
Marjie