Door hinge shims?

[Belegedhel]

I got very enthusiastic and reskinned the entry door of my '73 GT inside and out (mostly so I could replace the crapy KT latch with something new). I perused all of the best practices and built jigs that absolutely matched the curvature of the door frame so that I could clamp the door extrusion into it and make sure it maintained its shape during the rebuild. When I reinstalled the door, it seemed that it was a bit tight on the lower left corner (hinge side), and a little "loose" (gappy) across the top. Fiddled around plenty trying to figure out what went wrong, but the door still matched my jigs, so it seemed like the problem was that the top just needed to be brought in, and the bottom brought out. This was all done during my ever-present total rebuild of the trailer, so I never had decent weather stripping in the original door, and was not conscious of how well it fit into the frame. The sub floor was good and rotten around the door, so it could be that it has never fit well, and has leaked for its entire life.

All of the above work was done with the frame of the trailer leveled and supported on jack stands. Recently, I completed the installation of the shell on the frame, and took the trailer down off the jacks and set it back on its wheels. Well, now it looks like the gap at the top of my door is slightly larger still (though the door still latches, and doesn't experience any interference in closing).

So the evidence suggests that the door is the right shape, it is just too far out at the top, and too close at the bottom. I'm thinking that if I shimmed the bottom hinge (in between the hinge and the trailer, since I can no longer access the hinge studs inside the door) out, that I might be able to correct some of this mis-fit. Any thoughts?

[Belegedhel]

Here is a pic of the door just after its new installation.

[dkottum]

Have you seen this video on Airstream door adjustment. Kind of crude but that's how they do it. Not sure it would work for you because if you go too far you could bend or crease something. If you try it proceed carefully.

Airstream How To: Adjusting Trailer Main Doors - YouTube

doug

[Belegedhel]

Hmmm...I do have a big hammer...Kinda hate the idea of beating on a newly skinned door, though.

It does look like the doors are matched to the frames at the factory, so it should be no big surprise that mine is out of whack... Maybe I will try removing the hinges and checking the fit of the door again in the frame to decide whether the fit can be solved by bending the door or not.

[dznf0g]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Doug. I had a more minor issue than you, I think, and I used the process in the video and it worked beautifully. A little un-nerving to start, but it's not as easy to screw up as I thought.

The factory uses a jig like you built....and I suspect, uses the video method as well to "finesse" it.

[m.hony]

My door has been that way since day one on a new trailer.
I mentioned it to Airstream general manager Dave Schuman. He seemed to think as long as it closed/opened/latched easily that I should not lose sleep over it.

[Belegedhel]

My door opens and closes without any problem. My issue is that the bottom, especially the lower left corner, is so tight, that I can't keep weather stripping in place because the adhesive can't take the shear forces. The top of the door, on the other hand is gapped wide enough that I get rain inside (now that the trailer is down off the jacks). I suppose I could compensate at the top with some thicker weather strip, but the bottom will still be a problem, hence the thoughts on shims. Maybe I'll try tweaking it using the techniques from the video, and if it is still not close enough, I'll think on the thicker weather strip or shim.