Trillium Construction/drainage

[Randy J.]

Is someone familiar with the construction of Trillium. I have to reattach one of the mudflaps on our 76 Trillium. Thinking that I might find some nicer new ones at a later date, I was tempted to use screws and backer board for ease of removal and to save trying to find those big pop rivets right now.

Surprise - the old holes don't go through the inner wheel well and when I check, there is an outer body shell and an inner wheel well shell, with a space between. Since I can find no opening to the inside of the trailer between the two, I'm assuming the resulting hollow cavity is sealed. Don't see any drain holes. I've recently painted the inside of the wheel well hold to clean it up. Could I have filled these with paint?

A "dip stick" check shows the bottom of the cavity to be dry, but I am concerned that water could become trapped in there. What about making a small drain-hole, just behind the wheel well?

[David Tilston]

In all six of my Trilliums, I have drilled a 1/8" hole in the lowest point, both forward, and behind the wheel wells. A total of four holes. Half of the trailers had liquid come out of at least one of the holes. The fact that there is a drainage gutter on both sides of the trailer, and no drain, makes no sense to me. I once saw a post, where someone who did the same thing put in a screened brass drain fitting in the holes. This was to prevent bugs getting in.
If the water is allowed to drain, the plywood in the floor would likely never rot.