Bathroom Wall Mod

[Tiato]

Hi all,

I am looking for an image or images of the so called bathroom wall modification.

I understand that some may have modified that little extension that prevents the toilet seat lid from being fully opened. Curious to see what other have done before I do this mod myself.

TIA

[wayneskid]

Originally Posted by Tiato

Hi all,
I am looking for an image or images of the so called bathroom wall modification.
TIA

Grmok1 on the Yahoo Groups forum has done this mod. Pics are posted here: Yahoo! Groups

[Tiato]

Wayneskid,

Thanks for the link.

That is certainly one way to do it but leaves it......unfinished looking.


Anyone trim the piece that sticks out for clearance?

[Teamaron]

Originally Posted by Tiato

Wayneskid, Thanks for the link. That is certainly one way to do it but leaves it......unfinished looking. Anyone trim the piece that sticks out for clearance?

Removed a portion of the expandable part of bathroom wall so that toilet seat can now be raised without having to open this extension.

The panel is just flush now and you don't have to go through a bunch of rigaramoris to use the bathroom.

Another great feature is that since the panel is still mounted on the piano hinges and not restricted to opening only 5", you can actually swing it out for ease of cleaning or airing out.

[gmillerok1]

I did it that way so as to be able to put it back in the original configuration if I ever sell it. I wasn't too concerned about how it looked.

The lower trim piece really can't be trimmed. It will leave a gap to the outside hall area. It's purpose is solely to close off the bath from the hall when it is expanded.

The expanding door is about a the dumbest thing Airstream does-you would think they would improve it after all these years but hey, why improve anything when you don't have to? It adds maybe four inches-to the very back of the bath where you can't get to. Maybe if you have really large shoulders while you sit on the john where it may add an inch or two, but for me, it was just nothing more than a bother to deal with and rattled to boot.

Roadtrek, on the other hand, actually knows how to design an expanding bath door. It expands in the middle, not the end, and actually increases the room inside with usable space. They should take a look how it can be done correctly.

Gerald

Originally Posted by Tiato

Wayneskid,

Thanks for the link.

That is certainly one way to do it but leaves it......unfinished looking.


Anyone trim the piece that sticks out for clearance?

[fb47243]

Teamaron,

What kind of a stop did you put on the door to keep it from opening (or trying to open) past 90 degrees and thus ripping the piano hinge off the door? I assume the opened door would clear the counter top.

[Teamaron]

Originally Posted by fb47243

Teamaron, What kind of a stop did you put on the door to keep it from opening (or trying to open) past 90 degrees and thus ripping the piano hinge off the door? I assume the opened door would clear the counter top.

Never thought about a stop. Good point!

But I rarely open it, only for cleaning mostly. And when I do I've only opened it about as far as in the picture.

I think it would clear counter but I also think the hinges don't allow it to open that far. I'll have to check and get back to you.

As far as staying in closed position, I left the original slide lock in place.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by fb47243

What kind of a stop did you put on the door to keep it from opening (or trying to open) past 90 degrees and thus ripping the piano hinge off the door? I assume the opened door would clear the counter top.

Originally Posted by Teamaron

I think it would clear counter but I also think the hinges don't allow it to open that far. I'll have to check and get back to you.

I think the way that piano hinge is installed it will allow the door to swing nearly 180° without damaging the door or the hinge.

Probably the best field-expedient stop would be a piece of parachute cord (or similar) attached to the top corner of the door near the latch, and to the wall. The door will only swing open to the limit allowed by the cord, and you can adjust that to suit your preferences, or remove the cord to swing the door all the way open for cleaning.

[Tiato]

Thank you all for the images and feedback.

[nvestysly]

Jumping in on an old thread to say we have also modified our expansion panel.

We always left the panel in the open position because we had no desire to open and close the panel every time we used the toilet. Leaving it open does provide a slight bit of added room inside the toilet/shower area but then we had the unfinished look of the open panel to look at every day in the hall of the Interstate.

We were recently investigating ways to minimize squeaks/bumps/rattles while driving and noticed the open expansion panel was adding to the mysterious noise factor. In addition, we found the door (expansion panel) did not close very well because the Airstream assembly line installed the housing of the retractable clothes line too close to the panel! So we had a few reasons to make a modification.

Our solution, at least for now, was to remove the wedge-shaped reinforcements and just close the panel and leave it closed. Yes, we loose a little bit of room on the inside but not enough to make a difference for us. From the hallway you still see something that looks like a closet door and people continue to ask "what's that?" Now we'll tell them it's an access panel to clean/work on the toilet. The concept of an expansion panel eluded most people - they, like me, wondered why Airstream ever thought that was a feature. On the other hand, there are probably Interstate owners that couldn't live without their beloved expansion panel.

There are a few telltale screw holes remaining but that doesn't bother us at this point.

[Titus]

I had forgot that the (stupid) panel hinged. We leave it open - I placed a wedge at the top to hold it open. The wedge is holding it tight so that it doesn't rattle. It is a pain to dry behind the toilet after showering, and maybe a fully-opening panel would make drying it a bit easier. But a smarter design of the toilet platform and shower drain would be even better yet!