Autosleeper Trident Sliding Door

[size=17]Hi all.
When I open the passenger sliding door, the interior plastic window surround trim rubs against the paintwork of the sliding door guide rail cover on the outside of the van.
I have replaced the 7 push clips which are supposed to hold this cover tight to the rest of the van bodywork but I cannot get these clips to snap into a tight fixed position. So the guide rail cover is always a little proud of the rest of the bodywork.
Has anybody else had this problem and found a solution to it?[/size]

...you don't state whether it's a T4 or T5 - a 2004 could be either...though by your description of the problem it does sound like a T4.
On my T5 the door window surround was very, very close to the paintwork when the door was opened. I had to adjust the moulding by re-positioning the holding screws at both ends of the moulding, but more importantly I reduced the clearance where the moulding is attached to the top edge of the door card, by making sure the moulding was really flush with the metal door frame.
I've had a lot of T4's in the past, but can't remember any clearance problems, unfortunately.

Hi repoort, thanks for your reply. 
Mine is a t5. 
You think the problem is with the plastic window moulding moving rather than the door guide rail cover moving. 
It makes sense with all the slammng it has had to put up with.
I will examine the moulding tomorrow to see if I can understand your reply fully and copy your fix.
Cheers.

Our 2006 Trooper is the same - when we got it the plastic trim had been rubbing on the paintwork for long enough to go through it to the primer underneath.

Part of the problem on ours is that the previous owner appeared to have used the framework inside the door trim to pull the sliding door shut from inside (the design is poor, as it covers the plate where you are meant to push the door on an unconverted van). It was compounded by the fact that the sliding window had been leaking for some time and some of the wooden blocks bonded to the door to hold the frame/trim in place had come loose.

We solved this by taking the trim/frame/blind off completely and having the sliding window replaced with one that does not leak, then bonding all the blocks back in place and adjusting the position of the frame slightly to make it sit slightly closer. It still comes very close but no longer touches the outside paintwork.

Hi repoort and mojo,

Well I took everything off today back to the metal door frame. 
The curtain/blind cassette was nearly loose and I could see many many trial holes so it's obviously been a problem before.
So I put everything back again forcing the screws into the most favourable positions. 
Now I have clearance, not a lot but enough. 
We'll see how long it stays.
I'm going to leave the anti-scuff tape on the door rail guide cover just in case.
Thanks again for you help.

...good for you !   it takes a bit of courage to dismantle AS's construction, especially the flimsy window moulding.
The first time I took it off was to cure what you found, the loose frame itself - it was a rattle that took me some time to pinpoint. Everything attached to the door is at risk due to the constant impact of closing it.
I always close it inside by using the square rubber stop, more solid than the handle.

...incidentally, I found that the same applied to the tailgate, the frame was loose due to the constant impact - the rear moulding is even flimsier, a two person job to remove and replace....and it also has to come off if you ever need to replace the high level brake light - on mine I once noticed a damp patch on the rearmost seat panel, took me some time to find out that it was a crack in the red plastic lens - you have to buy the whole light unit as the lens isn't available on it's own. And it has to be the genuine VW one, aftermarket one's are a poor fit and you could end up with another leak. Sorry, veering off topic now !

Also off topic - you've put me off investigating the split rear wash supply pipe up near the top door hinge.
I'll just leave the fuse out.
Tomorrows job - clean all the sealant/mastic off the high roof side window I managed to get out yesterday.
May try to get rid of some of the in-van water staining.

Vanseeker - I cannot reply to your PM earlier this evening, because your forum profile is set so that other users can't send you PMs.

Hello Mojo, I think I have fixed it now