Airstream rollup doors repair

[Jimmy Turner]

I have a 1973 International Landyaught, it has several of the rollup doors that have come apart, I think I have most of the slats for the doors and don't want to go the expense of purchasing the roll up material at over five hundred dollars for a 4X8 sheet. I need ideas on how to repair, I have thought about gluing the slats to cloth, what kind of glue would work best in this place where the doors still have to roll into a circle as they are pushed up?

[overlander64]

Greetings Jimmy Turner!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!

Originally Posted by Jimmy Turner

I have a 1973 International Landyaught, it has several of the rollup doors that have come apart, I think I have most of the slats for the doors and don't want to go the expense of purchasing the roll up material at over five hundred dollars for a 4X8 sheet. I need ideas on how to repair, I have thought about gluing the slats to cloth, what kind of glue would work best in this place where the doors still have to roll into a circle as they are pushed up?

When I was faced with Tambour problems on my Minuet, I read through the threads on Tambour repair and decided that new material was the route for me (the vinyl tambour in my Minuet had bowed as it aged and couldn't be successfully straightened). Basically, a jig helps to provide a stable form to contain the tambour strips while they are re-glued. The one that I saw had fixed bottom and right side rails with a moveable left rail and top rail. The tambour strips are placed in the jig face down and a piece of canvas is glued across the back leaving about a half-inch of exposed tambour along each edge (the canvas needs to be held clear of the tracks that the tambour runs in to keep jamming to a minimum). I am sure that there are photos and step-by-step directions for the restoration process here on the Forums . . . try a Forums Google Search for "Tambour Repair" and/or "Tambour Restoration".

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

[moparjohn]

I have a solution that has worked VERY WELL! for me. I use carpet seam tape, which is a weave material coated with glue. You remove the tambour from the overhead or under bunk storage, lay it face down on a clean flat surface. The handle/pull down will need to be positioned so it is level with the rest of the "slats" . Cut a piece of the seam tape to run up and down the tambour, I use 3 per door, and do attach some to the Almun handle/pulldown. Using an iron on high you "iron" the seam tape to the carefully aligned pieces (I remove the paper backing, seems better that way) until the glue melts and then bonds the seam tape to the back of the tambour. Let it fully dry and insert it back into the plastic rollers and reinstall. Only 1 seam in my trailer pulled apart in 2 years. And thats probably because I glued/iron the tambour under my stove,while it was still in the track, from the water heater opening, to say it was a stretch/tight fit is true, BTW do you want to see my iron tattoo? I hope this helps, John
ps got my seam tape at the orange box store

[Skatiero]

Jon, that's a great solution!

[Jimmy Turner]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Jimmy Turner!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!



When I was faced with Tambour problems on my Minuet, I read through the threads on Tambour repair and decided that new material was the route for me (the vinyl tambour in my Minuet had bowed as it aged and couldn't be successfully straightened). Basically, a jig helps to provide a stable form to contain the tambour strips while they are re-glued. The one that I saw had fixed bottom and right side rails with a moveable left rail and top rail. The tambour strips are placed in the jig face down and a piece of canvas is glued across the back leaving about a half-inch of exposed tambour along each edge (the canvas needs to be held clear of the tracks that the tambour runs in to keep jamming to a minimum). I am sure that there are photos and step-by-step directions for the restoration process here on the Forums . . . try a Forums Google Search for "Tambour Repair" and/or "Tambour Restoration".

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

Thank you Kevin This will help lots.

[Jimmy Turner]

John that sounds like a real sound idea, you said you took the paper backing off the Tambour, how did you manage to get it off clean. I would really like to try this method
Thank you so much.

[moparjohn]

Jim, I took the paper backing off the seam tape, not the tambour .And it did not come off 100%. john

[Jimmy Turner]

Originally Posted by moparjohn

Jim, I took the paper backing off the seam tape, not the tambour .And it did not come off 100%. john

Sorry I misunderstood, but this idea sounds like a really good idea, I appreciate
this info John.