Interior molding falling off

[PTLady]

Hello we have a micro light 25DS. We noticed on our last camping trip,that the strip molding on either side of the door by our bed (there are 2 entrance doors on our model) Is beginning to fall off. It runs from the top of the door down to the floor. It looks like there are some small nail heads on the wall itself but I see no holes in the actual strip. After a closer look, I did notice that there were putty type Spots on the strip which resembled what you would use for your wood molding on your baseboards boards at home After Pounding in the nail.
I really don’t want to pound through the outside of the molding and then try to find matching putty or I’m not even sure what kind of putty to use. Not sure if we want to use glue because then you’ll never get the molding off. Any suggestions or has this happened to anyone else and what was your solution? Thanks!

[mikkeeh]

The strips of trim are typically MDF (medium density fiberboard) covered with paper. They are attached with air nailers, then the holes filled with putty. Many times the nailers run out of nails...and it goes unnoticed. The nailer puts a small dent in the trim......the other nails hold it up temporarily....the next guy comes along and fills the holes. I’d reinstall with small brads. A little glue wont hurt. Why would you ever remove the trim in the future anyway?

[Flybob]

Pull out the brads that remain in the wall. Add a small drop of glue every 2Ft or so and use some small brads to hold the trim. I would not worry too much about the holes as unless you are looking for them I doubt you would see them. If really concerned, you can use lightweight wall board repair or putty in the hole and a Q-tip with stain on it to fill hole can cover it..

[PTLady]

Thanks all for the replies. The 2 strips aren’t completely off. They are still in place in some spots on the strip. Do you recommend pulling the whole thing off and reapplying? Also what kind of glue would you recommend If I go that route?

[valleyduo]

If that's the only trim that works its way loose consider yourself lucky. Brad nailer and some glue, and you'll be all fixed up. Personally, I wouldn't even worry about filling over the nails, but I was also blessed with not having an ocd about stuff like that.

[rsdata]

All you need is a brad nailing gun... and some inch long brads...

there are cheap ones ($40) at Harbor Freight that work just fine, but they require compressed air and you may not have a portable compressor.

I recently bought a battery powered brad nailer at Home Depot as they went on sale around Christmas but again for a one time use it would be expensive.

Perhaps there is a tool rental place near you that will rent one...
Homedepot lists the second photo for rent (finish nailer) which will work for you...

[Mac549]

I had the same problem. I used an 18 gauge Brad Nailer from Harbor Freight. Worked great and cost me $17.00 plus the brad nails. A small air compressor works fine.

[67L48]

Same problem here. So far, it's the only problem we've had and I count myself happy if it stays that way. I used glue + staple gun. Lasted for 2 trips and came back off. I may try brads or pneumatic staples (much, much different than staple gun). However, the source of the original problem is that the brads were driven in too far ... something that's just as easy for me to do as it was for Forest River. So, I may use sheet metal screws.

[k2500]

Im a carpenter in my daily life. If you are driving fasteners in to deep, you can usually adjust the dept on the gun. If not you can turn down the air pressure on the compressors rugulator. If your shooting into something thats really thin, you can also angle the gun (toe it down or up) so that nail enters at a steaper angle.

If nails just wont do it. Buy some really small headed, trim head screws, they come in lots of colors.

[camper70]

I had the same problem in my Apex and used small dabs of liquid nail every 2 ft. or so. I did have one strip pop loose again this weekend but have not reattached it yet.