Awful sliding doors

kooblekidz · 08-11-2005, 10:05 AM

Hi,
I am about done with renovations to my '78 Tradewind. One of the last things I need to do is get those sliding doors under the sink made operable. They are made by gluing long thin sections of pressboard to a canvas backing. The result is, (or was in 1978), a flexible sliding door. In my case the ease of operation has ceased and one had to be removed entirely, the other can be muscled open and shut. I will be trying to clean out the channel and apply silicone this afternoon, but could use any expertise in this area.
thanks,
Eric

**Janet** · 08-11-2005, 10:54 AM

Hi - When those doors work - they're wonderful and save a lot of space. When they're broken - life is BAAAD. Use the search tool and search "tambour doors" Lots of folks have replaced or repaired them successfully.

77 R GO C MH · 08-11-2005, 11:43 AM

If the doors are all intact, you'll probably find that thorough cleaning of the track and silicone on the track and tambor edge will help a bunch.

kooblekidz · 08-11-2005, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the encouragement. I drilledout a rivet, cleaned out the tracks, glued down some of the tambour stuff and siliconed everything and they work fine. One of the tambours had come out of the track, getting it back in was quite the challenge, lots of cursing!

overlander63 · 08-11-2005, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kooblekidz

Thanks for the encouragement. getting it back in was quite the challenge, lots of cursing!

Yes, working on a vintage Airstream is educational, you learn lots of new words you didn't think you would ever use!

Just an FYI, the later '70's tambours were a lot better than the early stuff. If you gave it a hard look, it would self-destruct.

topazken · 10-21-2005, 10:44 PM

I know it seems like the tambour was a great idea but it really is not so wonderful. The best part about the tambour is that it is not subject to opening while under way. That is their only real benefit. They take up much more room than a standard door as the roll receptical takes up storage space, not to mention weighing a lot. I removed all of the overhead compartments and all of the tambour doors in all of my cabinets. In all, I removed over 1000 lbs of material. (that is unless the dump is cheating me)

The truth is, the plastics, vinyl and heavy particle board construction of the Airstream interiors are not nearly as weight concious as many posts would lead one to believe.

I have lost some overhead storage but by removing the false walls used to accomodate the awful accordian doors, I have gained storage space lower in the trailer.

I can already hear the moans from those who consider tossing the 70's interior into the trash as major league crime....

desertrat1 · 11-05-2007, 08:58 PM

hi you have pictures of interior renovations on your airstream?
thx