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Old 02-16-2012, 08:37 PM   #1
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1974 25' Tradewind
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Question Refrigerator access door needed

My 1974 TW/LY is missing a refrigerator acess door. Does anyone know where I could find one?
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Old 02-16-2012, 08:40 PM   #2
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Your best bet is probably Ryan at RVrevive.com or Colaw's in MO. Check the AIRFORUMS classifieds as well. Sometimes you may find someone parting out a 70's trailer.
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Old 02-16-2012, 11:13 PM   #3
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Note that the straight doors are not difficult to fabricate from aluminum plate. One can also fit a proper hinge this way, along with outlets, latches, etc.

- Bart
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Old 02-17-2012, 10:33 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bhutch74ly View Post
My 1974 TW/LY is missing a refrigerator acess door. Does anyone know where I could find one?
Do you have the door dimensions as I have a couple from a 71 that I'm not using. I have the mounting frames too.
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Old 02-17-2012, 06:41 PM   #5
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Note that the straight doors are not difficult to fabricate from aluminum plate. One can also fit a proper hinge this way, along with outlets, latches, etc.

- Bart
I like your door. Nice work! I was thinking about doing something similar but have not been able to locate any aluminum plate. The big box hardware stores in this area don't have anything thick enough for this application. If I can't locate a salvage door, I will call some of the metal fabrication shops in the area and see if they will sell me a scrap piece of Al. There is a custom Al boat mfg. plant about an hour from this location. Perhaps they would have some suitable material.

Thanks,

Bob
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Old 02-17-2012, 06:50 PM   #6
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Do you have the door dimensions as I have a couple from a 71 that I'm not using. I have the mounting frames too.
Thanks, The framed opening is 20 5/8" W X 14 3/8" H with radiused (approx. 4 1/4" radius) corners. The diagonal distance is about 21 3/4 " max.
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Old 02-17-2012, 11:14 PM   #7
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I bought some scrap 6061-T6 1/8" aluminum plate at the local metal recyclers... I used this to make a battery box, and the piece left over was big enough for this door. I usually buy it at about $2.00/lb. You can remove scratches, etc. w/ 200/400/600 wet-dry sandpaper and a sanding block; it will then buff out nicely. I've not started polishing the trailer yet, so it may not be a perfect color match w/ the Al-Clad on the rest of the trailer, but I've got patches of me that are a different color too . You can do this fancier if you like, but this was simple, sturdy and won't get easily bent or fall off like the old door obviously did. It would only stay on because it had rusty sheet metal screws holding it in place, and that just didn't do it for me.

I still need to make another one for the fridge - this is the battery door; on our trailer they're the same size.

- Bart
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Old 02-18-2012, 06:07 AM   #8
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[QUOTE=barts;1108454]I bought some scrap 6061-T6 1/8" aluminum plate at the local metal recyclers... I used this to make a battery box, and the piece left over was big enough for this door. I usually buy it at about $2.00/lb. You can remove scratches, etc. w/ 200/400/600 wet-dry sandpaper and a sanding block; it will then buff out nicely. I've not started polishing the trailer yet, so it may not be a perfect color match w/ the Al-Clad on the rest of the trailer, but I've got patches of me that are a different color too . You can do this fancier if you like, but this was simple, sturdy and won't get easily bent or fall off like the old door obviously did. It would only stay on because it had rusty sheet metal screws holding it in place, and that just didn't do it for me.

I still need to make another one for the fridge - this is the battery door; on our trailer they're the same size.



Thanks again for the helpful ideas and suggestions. We do
have a metal recycling place in the area but I didn't think about calling them. I think the Al boat manufacturer I mentioned might also be a good source. They make a very heavy gauge seam-welded Al boats for the commercial fishing industry in La. Anyway, I've got the interior of my rig just about completed gutted so I've got plenty of stuff to keep me busy until I can get the door replaced. BTW, I recently purchased a roll of 1/2" PEX tubing, PEX fittings, PVC check valves, etc. to re-plumb the trailer. I plan to start this today. I am experienced in working with copper but I've never worked with PEX. Goals with this job are to reduce the total weight of the plumbing system and provide well placed and accessible gravity drain points in the rear and front of the trailer. Any suggestions on this topic will be appreciated as well.
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Old 02-18-2012, 09:41 AM   #9
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Thanks, The framed opening is 20 5/8" W X 14 3/8" H with radiused (approx. 4 1/4" radius) corners. The diagonal distance is about 21 3/4 " max.
The doors I have are 20 1/4 X 14 1/8. the frame openings are 20 1/2 X 14 3/8. PM me if you are interested
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Old 02-19-2012, 08:53 AM   #10
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Quote:
BTW, I recently purchased a roll of 1/2" PEX tubing, PEX fittings, PVC check valves, etc. to re-plumb the trailer. I plan to start this today. I am experienced in working with copper but I've never worked with PEX. Goals with this job are to reduce the total weight of the plumbing system and provide well placed and accessible gravity drain points in the rear and front of the trailer. Any suggestions on this topic will be appreciated as well.
You'll find working with PEX much easier than working with copper. Note that you can use the shark-bite fittings with copper as well. so if there are bits of the existing system you'd rather leave in place that's easy as well. Since we didn't gut our trailer, we're replacing the plumbing as we redo each section - and this makes it easy. Do be careful to press the PEX fully into the fitting; you will get a leak sooner or later if the PEX doesn't bottom. This means that relatively short lengths of straight PEX between fixed endpoints are to be avoided. Some ideas:

  • Consider using 3/8 PEX (harder to find, but available) for the hot water. You don't typically need the flow afforded by 1/2", and this helps reduce the amount of water wasted while trying to start & adjust the shower. Of course, if you don't boondock, this isn't important. You can also get creative and save the water, of course.
  • Some people use compressed air at 30 psi or so to winterize their Airstreams. This works quite well; I've used this on our boat but we don't freeze here, so haven't done the Airstream this way. This lets one skip some of the drain plumbing since you just crack the valves until they run just air, and then open them further. You'll still need a way to drain the pump, etc.
  • I'd add some water strainers before the pump and on the city water inlet. Check valves (in the pump, on the output of the pump and the inlet of the city water) will hang up (permit flow in both directions) when they get small bits of stuff stuck in them. Shurflow makes some. There's a small filter in the pump suction line on our trailer, but considering the size of the rust chunks I've seen in houses, I'd definitely add one on the city water inlet.
- Bart
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Old 02-19-2012, 08:48 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barts View Post
You'll find working with PEX much easier than working with copper. Note that you can use the shark-bite fittings with copper as well. so if there are bits of the existing system you'd rather leave in place that's easy as well. Since we didn't gut our trailer, we're replacing the plumbing as we redo each section - and this makes it easy. Do be careful to press the PEX fully into the fitting; you will get a leak sooner or later if the PEX doesn't bottom. This means that relatively short lengths of straight PEX between fixed endpoints are to be avoided. Some ideas:

  • Consider using 3/8 PEX (harder to find, but available) for the hot water. You don't typically need the flow afforded by 1/2", and this helps reduce the amount of water wasted while trying to start & adjust the shower. Of course, if you don't boondock, this isn't important. You can also get creative and save the water, of course.
  • Some people use compressed air at 30 psi or so to winterize their Airstreams. This works quite well; I've used this on our boat but we don't freeze here, so haven't done the Airstream this way. This lets one skip some of the drain plumbing since you just crack the valves until they run just air, and then open them further. You'll still need a way to drain the pump, etc.
  • I'd add some water strainers before the pump and on the city water inlet. Check valves (in the pump, on the output of the pump and the inlet of the city water) will hang up (permit flow in both directions) when they get small bits of stuff stuck in them. Shurflow makes some. There's a small filter in the pump suction line on our trailer, but considering the size of the rust chunks I've seen in houses, I'd definitely add one on the city water inlet.
- Bart
Thanks, Bart. I've got most of these things covered but I do need to get another strainer/filter for the city water inlet line as you suggest. I've already got one in the pump suction line. I'll have three check valves; one near the city water inlet, one in the pump suction line, and another (redundant) at the pump discharge to insure against city water overflowing my fresh water tank.

Bob
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