Warped Tambour Doors

McNanny · 04-11-2006, 06:46 PM

We have purchased a 1975 Tradewinds that needs a bit of work. The lower tambour doors are warped and are difficult to operate - in fact, nearly impossable to slide. Can they be "fixed" or must we create new ones. I have a handy husband who can probably make some.

We are excited to be new owners of an Airstream - got rid of a 2002 30 ft. 5th wheel to become Airstream owners. We are doing some minor repairs and some cosmetic work to get it ready for this camping season but forsee more upgrades in the future. We have all the original manuals, owners certificate, and parts books which make for some very interesting reading!

Any ideas/help would be appreciated - thanks, Ann

juel · 04-11-2006, 07:09 PM

Try www.winonamanufacturing.com or the SEARCH functions up in the right hand corner of this page. I had so much trouble with those horizontal doors that I just put in a regular door. If you are trying to keep your trailer original, then you will probably find lots of help from the members here. Everyone has trouble with the side sliders. I just got tired of mine and made a regular door. I love it.

Smokey · 04-11-2006, 07:41 PM

Ann, the doors can be a problem, but before doing anything drastic, clean out the channels and spray the doors and the mechanism liberally with silicone spray. It works wonders!

ticki2 · 04-11-2006, 08:00 PM

I found with mine that dirt and debris in the tracks were the biggest culprits. If you can get at it , the the covering on the part where it coils up should come off so you can clean that track also . A LITTLE WD40 or silicone spray in the track helps too . Another thing to check is if there is some up and down play in the door. If there isn't the door may be binding because something has sagged . As far as the warp , try a hair dryer with something braced against it to hold it straight while it warms up and cools off . I believe they are laminated plastic and sometimes this works.I have had pretty good luck with mine but it does take some fussing , but then that's how you form an intimate relationship.

RickStream · 04-11-2006, 08:05 PM

I have an Excella from 1974 and had doors that stuck. The little plastic glides were worn and dirty that the doors hung on. The rails that the glides go into were misaligned. Also, had to clean the doors so that they would slide into and out of each other. They do work pretty well now.