2012 Int'l 23D Mod 04: Plexiglass inserts for screen door

[Hoonanea]

My 23D floor plan doesn't have much visibility to the outdoors on the curb side under the awning. When the weather is nice the view is great by leaving the outer door open. In the warmer and cooler weather when heat or A/C need to be on, there's a more closed-in feeling with the outer door closed.

I found a family owned hardware store in Pigeon Forge, TN that would sell and cut plexiglass to my dimensions. I measured the dimensions from inside the Airstream with the idea that the inserts would fit into the groove of the door and fit flush with the frame. The panels are held in place using existing holes from the perforated aluminum guards that I removed and some white clips available at a home improvement store. Four additional holes were drilled as well.

The fellow doing the cutting clearly had some good experience. He came out of the back room after about 2 minutes and had all 4 cuts made perfectly.

Fitting the lower panel was a breeze as all 4 corners are square. The upper panel, though, has 2 rounded corners. I placed the upper panel into the groove and held it in place while I used a Sharpie to transfer the curve of the corners to the plexiglass panel. A filing rasp and a good deal of patience took care of the rest. After a few fittings, I had it filed down to fit inside the curves perfectly.

The outcome is a "storm door" that allows me to leave the outer door open even with the heat or A/C on.

[ASwifey]

Great idea!

[Taylormade]

Originally Posted by ASwifey

Great idea!

Boy, I'll say, I like that idea a lot! Being in the south, most of our camping is done with the A/C on, so this is an idea I can really get in to.

[dwightdi]

I have seen quite a few Plexiglass panels made. Most times they work well but you need to be careful when you drill and fasten Plexiglass. Plexiglass is a trade name for acrylic. Acrylic is pretty brittle. That is why it is so easy to cut. It is like glass, all you need to do is score it and bend and it breaks. I have seen many plexiglass panels crack at the drilled holes and then progress into the other areas.

The better material for this application is polycarbonate, tradename Lexan, which has great ductility and clarity, but must be sawn to get the right size. I have found that a spiral RotoZip saw works best.

[Hoonanea]

Part of the beauty of this application is there were no holes that needed to be drilled into the plexiglass. The white plastic fasteners hold it in place with friction. I specifically wanted to avoid drilling holes for the very reasons you've mentioned. Let's just say that was a former "lesson learned."

[richinny]

let me know what happens when it rains. i suspect the rain will drip on the inside of the screen door and leak on the floor.

[Hoonanea]

When it rained today it wasn't a problem because the door is covered by the awning.

[blmitch5]

I like it! Great idea

[Wishing]

I love this mod! I'm thinking of doing this on the cheap with some clear plastic I have from some old IKEA picture frames. Hoonanea, can you tell me where you purchased the retainer clips you used?

[Hoonanea]

Hi Wishing. I got the plastic clips at one of the big box hardware stores -- can't remember which one for sure. Browse the aisle with the hardware for repairing window screens, storm doors, and sliding glass doors. That's where I found them. Also, if you live in an area with a lot of mobile home or RV parks you might find a hardware store that specializes in some of the hard-to-find mobile home parts. They would likely have the clips as well. I've seen them in white, brown, and gray. I like the gray the best because I think it blends well with the aluminum frame of the screen door.

[AWCHIEF]

Another current thread on this mod.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454...ml#post1637726

[Wishing]

Thanks to you both!

[Landrum]

Great idea. I'm going to do this before our next trip, but I'll probably put the panels on the outside since we have the screen "guards" on our door.
Did you simply screw the hardware into the screen door? I saw on the other thread that was referenced that Rivnuts were used. I'd rather not invest in more tools for this project.


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[Hoonanea]

Hi Landrum,

I removed the screen guards on my door since I don't have pets and I wanted to minimize the obstruction looking through the screen. I re-used the four screw holes from the guards for the plastic screen clips. I drilled two more holes at the top and one at the bottom. If you cut off the little tab on the clip and use a slightly longer screw, you might be able to use the same holes for both the clip and the guard.

I have attached a picture of the plastic clips I used. They're available at big box hardware stores, ACE, and mobile home supply stores.

[Landrum]

Perfect. Thanks.

I bought a sheet of acrylic today and found those plastic clips at Lowes. However, the clips I found don't have the longer "barrels", so they may work as is.


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