Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Undoubtedly this is a topic that has been addressed before, but I couldn't narrow my search enough to find anything. I have Challenger Doors, 28" x 36", with a 4-3/4" radius on the corners. I cannot get the 1" vinyl insert to lay properly...it collapses on the inside edge of the corners. I did not install it too tight, and I have even tried a heat gun. Any suggestions? It is not an effective seal like this...
Thanks,
Mike

Another note...I used 1" vinyl because that is what is specified in the Vintage Technologies aluminum trim that I will use on the roof edge. I just measured and see that the "inside dimension" on the VT (between the rails) is 5/8", vs 1/2" on the Challenger Door. Could it be that I need to go down a size on the trim, to 3/4"? Though it seems to lay fine on all the straight runs....

Ok, some more info...I spent a couple hours trying to get it, and couldn't. I used the heat gun to get out the kinks that developed on the inside corners, and tried again a few times. Better, but not a tight seal. I have to believe the 1" width is proper, because on the outside corners, I think the wind could blow it out if it is not secure on the inside corner.

As luck would have it, I received my 100' roll today that I plan to use on the top trim rails. Here is a pic of three different trims, all 1":


On the left is a short piece of an insert that came with my Vintage Technologies stuff, that was kind of used as packaging. The thicker middle insert is the stuff I've applied to the doors, which is Camco 25113. The one on the right is the new roll from JR Products, #10111, and you can see it has a different profile. It was well reviewed on Amazon, but there were no pics of the profile....only of it installed, and it looked fine.

I guess at this point I'll try the new roll and see how it goes. It's a tough curve when you're bending to the side (is that "transverse"? latitudinally??). I see on google some people recommending making cuts in the inside corner to fit it better, but that seems to me to defeat the purpose. I'm surprised I couldn't find more on this topic on the world wide web. I may try to contact Challenger Door Monday to see what they say.

Worse comes to worst, I may fill it up with black Proflex underneath and make the kerf cuts....uggghhhh...

Have you tried to use a heat gun to get it to lay down?

If you have the name of the vinyl trim manufacturer, I would call them. They could give you all kinds of tips and ideas plus tell you what size to use or to trim down to.

Thanks for the help. The trim is Camco, so I can see if I can get them on the line. I did try the heat gun with no luck...I used it to get the kinks out, but then they returned and did not make a good seal....

I walked passed my seal that came with my door today, if you want a measurement ?

Twistedlines: Yes, please, when you get a chance....

Overall outside roll .725
Thickness center no seam .040
Profile on your pic left side looks closest to me;

Hope that helps and mine installed doesn’t look like that.

TL

Thanks, TL. I have ordered 0.75" and will try it. I see that the door channel is actually 1/8" thinner rail-to-rail than the roof channel, so maybe I'm trying to fit too much material into those corners. I'll let y'all know how it comes out.
Mike

There is another type of insert molding, that is more "Rubbery", for lack of a better term. I think I got it at an RV place. The common stuff didn't work for me either on tight corners.

Problem resolved. The 3/4" insert conformed well to the corners. The Challenger Door is only 1/8" smaller than the Vintage Technologies aluminum channel rail-to-rail, but the 1" vinyl I tried to insert was just too much. The smaller width made all the difference.

Thanks for the help. Also, the pic I took of the JR Products trim was misleading....the end of the roll had gotten compressed. Once I cut that off, it matched the other's profiles, and it fits well into the VT channel.
Mike