Medicine cabinet door won't stay closed

jordandvm · 10-01-2004, 12:44 PM

On every trip we've taken, our medicine cabinet door will not stay shut, presumably from vibration in the back of the trailer, bumps, etc. The original velcro strips were not working, so we changed the strips out with some "industrial" strength strips. The door still won't stay shut. Anyone have any "cures" for this problem? I'm tired of picking up toiletries from the sink and floor on every stop!

Pahaska · 10-01-2004, 02:24 PM

I had a 22' International AS with the same bathroom cabinet. I tried several velcro setups and finally put on a mechanical latch. I posted a photo several years ago of my latch. Look in this thread The catch is a simple elbow catch that is available at just about any hardware store. It is mounted on a small block of wood to bring it out to the level of the cabinet door. I put a small piece of plastic on the glass where the catch rubs.

ALso, I put front edges on the shelves so that stuff wouldn't fly out every time the door was opened after transport. There's a photo in this thread Even with the catch on the door, without some sort of fronts on the shelves, things will fall out anyway.

Some of the other things I did to the AS would apply to your CCD such as resistors to slow the noisy fans, quieter refrigerator fan, and so on.

87MH · 10-01-2004, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordandvm

On every trip we've taken, our medicine cabinet door will not stay shut, presumably from vibration in the back of the trailer, bumps, etc. .......

Not suggesting you do anything illegal or dangerous, but maybe a trip around the block (maybe even approaching highway speeds) while you are in the trailer might shed a bunch of light on the subject......lots of threads here in the Forums have suggested vibration causes, problems, and cures......coming from all sorts of sources......

Please be careful, and please share your findings with the Forum.

Pahaska · 10-01-2004, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87MH

......lots of threads here in the Forums have suggested vibration causes, problems, and cures......coming from all sorts of sources......

Please be careful, and please share your findings with the Forum.

This one is a lot simpler. Airstream used velcro between two surfaces that don't mate well. It probably works on most units, but not all by any means. The first good bump for a lot of units and open comes the door.

I know of at least a half-dozen CCD and AS owners that have put a mechanical latch on and have persomally told, emailed, or PMd me that it solved the problem.

InsideOut · 10-01-2004, 02:54 PM

Quote:

...maybe a trip around the block (maybe even approaching highway speeds) while you are in the trailer....

It is illegal, but VERY enlightening! You'll be surprised...

Shari

Pahaska · 10-01-2004, 03:26 PM

I noticed that the photo of the shelf fronts that I referenced a couple of posts back is defunct on the forum. It only partially displays.

Here is a photo of the lexan front I pop-riveted on the bottom shelf of the medicine cabinet. On the shelf above, I simply glued a Lexan strip to the shelf edge.

Pahaska · 10-01-2004, 03:49 PM

The molded-in soap dish won't hold a bar of soap when underway and it usually ended up on the floor. We started putting the soap in the bowl, but that was messy when the bowl was wet and the drain stopper would cut into the soap bar. The solution was to install a soap holder on the wall near the soap dish. The soap now stays in place and stays dry. Any drainage is on the sink pedistal and easily cleaned up.

jordandvm · 10-02-2004, 08:09 PM

[quote=Pahaska]The catch is a simple elbow catch that is available at just about any hardware store. It is mounted on a small block of wood to bring it out to the level of the cabinet door. I put a small piece of plastic on the glass where the catch rubs.

Thanks for your reply.

I have a few ?'s. Since I don't turn pencils, I assume you need some kind of treated wood to hang the latch on because of the moisture. What type of screws do you use to anchor the wood? I get a little nervous about drilling holes in my fiberglass shower enclosure after hearing horror stories about leaks into the floor. Do you use any sealer on the screws? Finally, I can't quite visualize how you mount the plastic on the mirror where the catch rubs. Could you elaborate?
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person experiencing this problem. I'm sure most of the bouncing is occurring going over RR tracks.
Jim

Pahaska · 10-02-2004, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Thanks for your reply.

I have a few ?'s. Since I don't turn pencils, I assume you need some kind of treated wood to hang the latch on because of the moisture. What type of screws do you use to anchor the wood? I get a little nervous about drilling holes in my fiberglass shower enclosure after hearing horror stories about leaks into the floor. Do you use any sealer on the screws? Finally, I can't quite visualize how you mount the plastic on the mirror where the catch rubs. Could you elaborate?
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person experiencing this problem. I'm sure most of the bouncing is occurring going over RR tracks.
Jim

Any small piece of wood about 5/8" thick will do. The shape is unimportant; it just has to lay flat on the wall which will require a bit of sanding to fit the curve of the wall at the cabinet. I used that kind of wood only because I had a scrap of it laying on my workbench. I wouldn't even worry about painting or varnishing the wood as it is pretty much out of sight.

I used 1 1/4" #6 flathead screws (drywall screws) to mount the catch. I didn't use any sealant because that area never got wet when I showered. I did install an oversized replacement shower curtain (see my posts on that subject), but there is no reason to get more than a stray drop or two water halfway up the medicine cabinet, not nearly enough to ever worry about leakage. If you worry about it, just put any sort of sealant on the back of the wood block. Even a piece of double-stick mounting tape would seal around the screws.

On the glass, I used a small (dime sized) piece of clear self-stick plastic. I'm not sure that anything at all is required. I just happened to have the plastic on hand and figured it would prevent glass to metal contact. Don't worry about it.

Airstream12557 · 10-03-2004, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordandvm

On every trip we've taken, our medicine cabinet door will not stay shut, presumably from vibration in the back of the trailer, bumps, etc.

We use a small cloths pin, the kind that is made from plastic coated wire. We bend one side of the handle out and then place the cloths pen on the right hand edge of the mirror that is closest to you. By bending the handle of the cloths pen, it exerts a pressure between the outside and the inside mirror and this prevents our mirrors from slidding while under tow. We have traveled many miles with the plastic cloths pen in place and it does the job. Recently, we forgot to install the cloths pen and the mirror bounced out of its track, fell to the floor and broke.

Pahaska · 10-03-2004, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airstream12557

By bending the handle of the cloths pen, it exerts a pressure between the outside and the inside mirror and this prevents our mirrors from slidding while under tow.

The 22' CCD and my old International AS have a molded-in cabinet with a hinged door. Nice appearance, terrible function.

The rub is that A/S used only Velcro to latch the door closed. Unfortunately, there is not a good enough mating surface that the Velcro could attach firmly. The door would swing while underway and everything landed on the floor. Since there are no front lips on the shelves, that meant everything!