Trim panels

radren

Does anyone know how hard it is to take the trim panels off of a new T@B? I am hoping to do a vinyl wrap of the trailer (very expensive ) and believe it will look better without the trim. I know you can buy replacement panels, so does anyone have any experience taking the panels off?

Michigan_Mike

You would be better off calling the factory and speaking to Ed Kauffman as he should be able to give you some advice.  

jkjenn

Be careful when you re-attach them. From what I understand, they can break fairly easily.

radren

Thanks everyone, my dealer was able to take the panels off of one of the trailers he has now fairly easily. The vinyl wrap guy needed a really accurate template to start the design process.  I am having my trailer wrapped rather than painted and it will look better without the panels. Some of his customers have ordered different color panels to change up the trailer's look, but as they are thin fiberglass, as Jenn said you have to be very careful they don't crack when you are handling them. 

radren

Hi,

I am not sure who it was who asked about the trim panels, but it was very easy to take them off. They had odd screws, very small and then each screw had a square of grey sticky adhesive to help hold them to the body tightly. A little goof off cleaned the adhesive we could get off by hand well. My wrap guy had me buy regular screws to fill in the little holes in case the little holes caused and issue with the wrapping panels but in the end you can't even tell where they are. My trailer is a CS-S so I have no idea if the trim pieces around the trailer are as easy to remove. The only problem I am having is finding time to take my Mouse House out to play.  First photo after trim panels off and all other graphics and stickers. Just a plain white. I also took off the T@B insignia next to door. This is how it looks now. I left the windows clear of the wrap, they can put a perforated matched panel on over windows, like on a bus and you can still see out but it makes it dark inside. I had the two sides and rear panel (that lifts up) wrapped. They went over the frames of everything as well as the hardware on the door handle and rim around the porthole. Very clean. It is all a flat matt finish as I wanted the vintage look overall. It can be very glossy if you want. What ages the material is exposure to UV and when it does fades (color will slowly go to black) or you are ready for a change (5-7 years, longer depending on how your store and cover the trailer) you pull it off and it is still brand new underneath. I am happy to answer any other questions. I will have better pics as well. T@Bs rule!

Jimbo

radren, that wrap is so cool!!! You may get a citation for being a distraction to other drivers....I hear that we have a guy here that does wraps for bass boats. Tempted to look into something like this for my T@Bcasa. Have to think up a theme.  :-c...I keep trying to add one of the emotions but only get some code..Must need to fix something...

Jimbo

I stand corrected by the system. OH there it is when I actually post my comment..Learn something new every day..

radren

Jimbo, 

I have a guy who can help you with the design. He is cheap and fast and very creative. He took the pictures and ideas I had and came up with the finished product. He did something called Vector to the entire thing. I know the end format is called and eps file. It has to be done so the pictures and color maintain their integrity when they are blown up to the size needed for the trailer. Once you have the correctly formatted files, any wrap place can print and install for you. I found the printing of the panels cost almost the same as the install. I considered custom paint but you are limited on what they can do with paint and your imagination can go wild with a wrap. Anything that can be printed basically. 

Nomad

More than you'll probably ever want to know but here goes...

Vector-based art is resolution independent so it can be blown up (or reduced) to any size - even a skyscraper - and retain it's quality. The most common program for producing vector art is Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator files have a file extension of .ai - Illustrator files are basically Postscript files - PDF files are also Postscript as well as .eps (encapsulated postscript). Vector files are art files vs image (photo) files.

If you want to do something similar to radren and want to find artwork files that will work, search for the keyword "vector" or file extensions of .ai and/or .eps. There's just a ton of free art files in these formats out there. If you can find files in these formats to give the shop that will put it together you will save them a lot of time. It's not necessarily easy to convert a picture (raster) file into a vector.

radren

Figures someone called PXlated would be techie!!   Ha.   Thanks for the making the technical stuff make sense. That is basically what I did, google vector mickey mouse images. However it is hard to get a complete design without someone creating the design and then formatting it as a complete image without involving someone techinical. The wrapping places usually have a designer but I was lucky and have a guy who was much cheaper and very fast. I had had a less than great experience trying to set up the wrap and design with the wrap guy near my dealer, wanted more $$ everytime we spoke and choose to bring trailer home first and then between my guy and a local graphics place 

(Full Sail Graphics  in Huntington Beach California ) working together, got my trailer wrapped within a week of bringing it home. They did a stellar job and I couldn't be happier if Steamboat Willie was with me in person. 

Jimbo

Thanks guys for all the excellent information. I will save this info for future reference since expenses are high for the next few months. I do have a good friend that is quite good at graphics at the newspaper that I retired form. She would probably understand all this information and educate me. I am not techie but was a numbers guy in my work life. I will rattle your key board if I need some help later on when I could better afford this project.  

raden, I do not mean to pry but if you would not mind emailing me (see my profile) or sending a message. I would really like to know a ball park amount of what to expect this to cost. As yours is a full wrap that would give a base line to think about and judge any quotes I get.

Irmcort

@radren — I’d also be interested in receiving some general pricing info on wraps.  Please & thank you. 🤗🤗

Denny16

@radren, your Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie graphics are very cute.  However, you do know Disney Inc. still owns the rights to Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie.  

Whilst you are not using the design commercially, Disney could still have an issue with you using their intellectual property without their permission or a license.  Steamboat Willie doesn’t become public domain until 2024, but then only in black and white only.  Color images still remain protected.

Changes made to Willie to become Mickey Mouse with his white gloves is not becoming public domain any time soon, and Mickey and Steamboat Willie images in color will still remain Disney Property.  

Not trying to throw a damp towel on your excelling graphics job, which we love, just thought you might want ought to know.
cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

@Irmcort and @Denny16 - member Radren has not been on the forum since May 2015.

4ncar

...probably serving time for copyright infringement! 😳😆

Sharon_is_SAM

😂😂😂. I can’t remember his explanation, but it was legitimate.  It’s here somewhere.

Here is the thread:  https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/541/its-a-wrap#latest

Denny16

Thanks Sharon, I should have looked at the date of the original post 
cheers