Replace a Trillium window

[kramerandy]

I own an 'early 70's' Trillium trailer, and need to replace a broken rear window.
It's size is: 48" wide by 22" high. if you know of anyone that has a spare, or where the best place would be to order one, I'd appreciate the help. Andy

[thrifty bill]

How early? The earliest Trilliums had a fixed window like a Scamp or Boler. Then they switched to jalousie windows. If it is the latter I would do everything I could to fix it..

[Yukoner24]

my 1974 trillium has a couple window leaks, can someone advise me how I can repair it. shall I use Acetone to remove the old sealant & then use any special type of silicone to calk around the outside. What is the best way to do this.. I am so GREEN when it comes to doing repairs. Any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks

[thrifty bill]

No silicone, ever, on a fiberglass trailer. Butyl tape. SS screws, new wood where needed. Should do ALL the windows, whether they are leaking or not, as the seals were not designed to last 40 years.

The windows will have to be taken OFF the trailer, completely. Then the wood framing checked, and rotten sections of wood replaced (you will have some). Then new butyl tape, new screws and remount.

Numberous threads on this topic, with pictures and details. You can find all the Trillium stuff by clicking on the manufacturer section and choosing Trillium. I think I posted a thread on my window seal myself, and I just followed the advice of others before me.


The old Trilliums were terrific but did have some design flaws like the door hinges and belly band. Then you have other things that need replacement or repair due to age, like window seals. When you have a 45 year old trailer, you WILL become a repair expert by the time you are done. The great thing you will know the repairs were done RIGHT, and you will save a lot of $$, as most of the repair work cost is labor, not supplies.

I probably have at least 200 hours into repairs on mine. Lets see, if I paid someone $75 to $100 an hour to do the work, by now I would have spent crazy money! Even if they were twice as efficient as me (very possible) the repair work would have exceeded $7500 and I still have more to do.

I was green to Trilliums and RV repairs myself. Thanks to the many postings by others, I got the knowledge I needed to proceed.

I find working on my trailer rewarding, but not financially rewarding. If it were all about $$, I would have bought a finished, refurbished trailer instead.

[Larry Tenhage]

Ditto on this. Don't use silicone! It eventually will dry out & peel off. Found this out the hard way on our '74 Trillium. I had to remove it all & replace with butyl tape. This was after I had leaks because of using silcone. Last year the leaks caused mold on our double bed cushions. I had to get new foam from Len's mill store, bought new fabric & had a local upholsterer make a new bed for us. My mistake caused me a lot of grief. I also replaced most of the wood in the frames & used ss screws. Make sure the butyl tape is thick too, to allow for variations in the fibreglass. At least 3/16" if possible. I used this stuff but it was a little thin, so I doubled up. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Maybe thrifty bill has a better suggestion?

[Yukoner24]

OMGish people .. thanks so much for your advise & so quickly. I am so thankful to have this site to reach out too. I love my trillium & don't know anything about repairing it. I just got the door repaired by an autobody guy b/c the joint's let go. "thirthybill" how do I get to the trillium manufactures link u were speaking about.. I really want to watch a video before I attempt this as I had a piece of fleixglass in place of a window that was missing upon purchase. Last year it was leaking so I had a "window repair shop install a new window hoping this would fix the issue. but this year it still leaks. I am office worker with NO experience with repairs and relying heavly on videos to learn.

[Yukoner24]

thanks Larry for the link to the butyl tape, I will order 2 of these rolls. Do u know what type of screws I will need? do u know of a link to where I can watch a video.. where someone re-did their windows?

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Yukoner24

OMGish people .. thanks so much for your advise & so quickly. I am so thankful to have this site to reach out too. I love my trillium & don't know anything about repairing it. I just got the door repaired by an autobody guy b/c the joint's let go. "thirthybill" how do I get to the trillium manufactures link u were speaking about.. I really want to watch a video before I attempt this as I had a piece of fleixglass in place of a window that was missing upon purchase. Last year it was leaking so I had a "window repair shop install a new window hoping this would fix the issue. but this year it still leaks. I am office worker with NO experience with repairs and relying heavly on videos to learn.

Look across the top of the page, to the right side, you will see a manufacturers tab. Click and continue to click on Trillium once the menu pops up.

Depending on the length of the rolls, you will need a lot more than 2. Measure the perimeter of each window, they are bigger than you think. Then if you go two layers, double it. And if you have a front rock guard, it will need the same thing.

[Yukoner24]

thirtybill.. thanks again for replying to my questions.. I read that I am to go to the top of the page on the right side. Can you tell me what page are your referring to? pls

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Yukoner24

thirtybill.. thanks again for replying to my questions.. I read that I am to go to the top of the page on the right side. Can you tell me what page are your referring to? pls

This page. The page you are looking at right now.

[Yukoner24]

thanks Glenn for replying.. I followed your & thrifty bills instructions i am so green to this site. I c there is numerous threads on this Trilliam page, is there a search engine to look for window videos or repairs, or do I have to look through each page .. looking for a "title with the word window in it.. thanks

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Yukoner24

thanks Glenn for replying.. I followed your & thrifty bills instructions i am so green to this site. I c there is numerous threads on this Trilliam page, is there a search engine to look for window videos or repairs, or do I have to look through each page .. looking for a "title with the word window in it.. thanks

Don't waste time searching within the forum. Instead use a google search like this: Trillium window repair fiberglass rv forum

The first listing on this search will be for this forum, click via google and you will get them all.

[Larry Tenhage]

I used #8 pan head ss screws, 1" long. But, you should replace the wood, or the screws won't have much if anything to bite into. And you really want them to bite well into the wood, or the windows will leak again! Just so you know, the windows are not easy to get out. Lots of prying, muttering under breath, out loud if there's no one around! You'll need a few pry bars / long flat screw driver.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Don't waste time searching within the forum. Instead use a google search like this: Trillium window repair fiberglass rv forum

Isn't this the same thing? Use bottom Search Site / Google.

[thrifty bill]

As long as people use the lower box, and not the upper. So if you want to search via google that way, sure. Just don't use the search forum box. Either way you are searching via google. The path you take to reach google search is up to you.

[Yukoner24]

thanks so much for your support with this soon to be project. my list looks like:
- #8 pan head 1inch long ss screws,
- 3 rolls of 3/4 butyl tape
- replace the wood around the window frames
- pry bars / long flat screw driver.

does anyone have suggestions as to what type of "CLEANER" to use to clean the "gunk" off the edges.


Any other suggestions, links or pictures u want 2 share, would be appreciated.


looking forward to hearing any & all suggestions

[Carl V]

If all you have to clean is the remnants of old butyl tape, it is quite easy to clean with some brake cleaner (spray can, auto parts store) and rags. Get some sort of plastic scraper or putty knife to remove the most of it first, careful not to scratch the fiberglass finish. Also if there's only old butyl, the window should be easy to remove from the trailer, once the screws are removed just slide a putty knife around the edge to cut it off and it will come out without much prying/swearing (don't drop it!).
If some previous owner had the bad idea to put some silicone or other type of sealant, it can make the job much harder.

[Greg and Tracy]

Originally Posted by kramerandy

I own an 'early 70's' Trillium trailer, and need to replace a broken rear window.
It's size is: 48" wide by 22" high. if you know of anyone that has a spare, or where the best place would be to order one, I'd appreciate the help. Andy

If it’s a jalousie style aluminum framed window, any place that sells or repairs regular aluminum windows and doors like storm windows should be able to help you out.

[The_Kramers]

These guys did a great job on the solid window replacement for my SurfSide. Got rid of the opening one because it just sucked dust in on gravel roads. My window was 16" h x 48" w , light grey tempered glass was $215.75 Cdn + shipping.


Sun-View Industries
15915 Bentley Place
PO Box 1229
Summerland BC
V0H 1Z0
RV Windows by Sun-View Industries