Pocket Door vs. Accordion (folding) Door A/S Interior

[pap]

I have noticed pix of many interiors that have a accordian door from the hallway to the galley area.Mine has a pocket door there that slides into a streetside bulkhead pocket. It is fouled up and I will fix presently.

What was the reason that some trailers had one over the other?
Was the pocket supposed to be an upgrade? Mine is a 74 Excella.

How many of you have had trouble with which of the door styles?
Are the bathroom doors always "solid" swing or pocket? Or were accordians used there too? How bout closet doors?

What luck has anyone had replacing accordians with aftermarket (non Airstream) replacements?

The only really custom interior door job I recall is the one into the rear bath of the '55 A/S that was for sale in Brooklyn N.Y. @marinestove.com .
That one had a bifold door that had colored glass (or acrylic) panels.

Oh and I once was in a girl's Airstream trailer which had one of those glass-beaded-curtain doors into the boudouir. That was memorable. What do you call those Shari,you are into design?

[hhuber]

I am missing the accordion door on my '67
Caravel. In my case it is between the galley
and the bathroom so I really need to find a suitable
replacement. Any suggestions as to where I could find one?
Heidi

[InsideOut]

Oh and I once was in a girl's Airstream trailer which had one of those glass-beaded-curtain doors into the boudouir. That was memorable. What do you call those Shari, you are into design?

Sorry pap, I'm not sure what you're talking about...

The strung beads from the 60's? Or stained glass beads with lead like a stained glass window? Or clear textured glass? Or something else??? I don't know if there is a specific name for any of those...

BTW, we have two hinged doors between our bathroom & the galley area...I haven't seen anyone else with this option...

Shari

[Melvin P. Thorpe]

You can probably find the bead curtin but I'm not sure you can find that girl again.

[overlander64]

Greetings Pap!

So far as I have been able to determine, the accordian doors were used periodically from sometime in the late 1950s through the late 1960s. I suspect that there were probably two factors influencing that decision weight and cost savings - - possibly complexity of construction and long-term serviceability as well.

My '64 Overlander International still has its original accordian doors (Bedroom to Bathroom and Bedroom to Living Area), but my '78 Argosy Minuet has lost its pocket door to problems with the track and carrier mechanism (is currently in the process of being fitted with a floor-to-ceiling double-sided drape as its replacement). The original 1964 accordian doors in my '64 Overlander are still quite presentable, but the stiching that holds the steel support rods in the folds is failing rapidly due to age deterioration. So far as I was able to determine last summer, the manufacturer of the accordian doors in my Overlander is no longer in existence. I checked with several of the home improvement centers, and found an accordian door system that could be adapted to an Airstream application rather easily - - but it was simulated wood rather than a vinyl fabric as used in my Overlander. It seems that the bi-fold or pocket doors became the preferred "room" division method sometime about 1966.

Kevin

[Tamara]

"I am missing the accordion door on my '67
Caravel. In my case it is between the galley
and the bathroom so I really need to find a suitable
replacement. Any suggestions as to where I could find one?
Heidi"

Heidi,
I have a 66 Overlander, and the accordian door was missing. I found a new one at the local Lowe's that works just great. They have several different colors and weights, I went for a middle of the line choice in light tan. The cheapie ones seemed as though they would not hold up very long as they were quite thin, the heaviest ones were pretty pricey all things considered. Easy to install, as the original steel track for the old door was still there. Just measure the height of the doorway, cut the plastic replacement one with a utility knife to fit, and attach the hardware. It's not original, but it does seem to be quite close in appearance to the old ones, even though it is plastic and I assume the old ones were cloth or heavy vinyl? Anyway, for around $30 or so you can be almost as good as new.

Interesting thing, it seems the 66 model Overlander had a wood bi-fold door for the bath (still have mine) and an accordian door for the galley. If you like the wood doors better, you could choose to install one of those and it would still look as though it belonged there.

[hhuber]

Tamara,
Thanks for the advice on the door. I think I'll try the Lowe's
door. I do still have the tract for it in place.
The bifold sounds like it would take up more space and be
a little more complicated.
Thanks again.

Heidi

[64GT]

I replaced the accordian door between the galley and bathroom in my '64 Globetrotter with a custom-made one from Camping World. It was very reasonable and looks great. It's tan with a fabric finish.

[femuse]

Was the pocket supposed to be an upgrade? Mine is a 74 Excella.

We have accordion doors from galley to bed room in our 1974 Land Yatch-International-Ambassador, which I think was supposed to be "top of the line". (?). So, pocket doors MAY not have been upgrade.
We have a pocket door to the bathroom.

Our 1971 25' TW-LY-INT. has accordion doors both locations.

[Sue&Von]

Originally posted by pap
I have noticed pix of many interiors that have a accordian door from the hallway to the galley area.Mine has a pocket door there that slides into a streetside bulkhead pocket. It is fouled up and I will fix presently.

Mine is a 74 Excella.

How many of you have had trouble with which of the door styles?

We have maybe the same problem and the same layout. Was this a problem in 1974?
Our sliding door (pocket type) will move at the top but the bottom is "frozen" about 40% open and of course blocking hallway.
Von wants to take bulkhead apart and see whats what. Says it might be somethng has fallen back there in the pocket preventing movement.

Is it possible to remove the bedroom side of the pocket sandwich only? (The kitchen side has the micro stand/pantry in the way).
Any advice as to the jammed door?

Thanks In Advance
$ue&Von

[ALANSD]

We have a pocket type door between our bathroom and bedroom. It hangs on the track with a nylon type hanger that is hooked around the slider portion in the track.
It is coming loose, and the door can fall off the track. Any suggestions for taking this out and redoing the hanger? Seems to have two screws on top which are pretty near ipossible to to get out as they aim upwards, to remove to door completely from the track. I will post a photo if need be, Thanks

[LuminumTraila]

I am reviving this old thread to see if anyone has come up with new ideas for replacing old pocket (sliding?) and accordion doors between rooms. I have an accordion door between the kitchen and center room, and a pocket door at the bathroom. Both are in need of repair or replacement.

Anybody have any new ideas? Any pictures of replacements?

-Jamie

[jcanavera]

I don't know about the older units, but we had to get one of our pocket doors replaced due to a protruding screw which scratched the door. The dealer was able to replace it without having to pull the bulkhead out, so obviously there is a way.

It would make sense to me that if you can get the door in a fully closed position, you should be able to drop the door from its top hangers and then pivot it out. From what I gather from the dealer its not an easy job. Especially if you don't want to booger up the surrounding trim.

Jack