remove sliding bathroom door

[retrocar66]

Does anyone have experience replacing roller hardware on the sliding bathroom doors?

The bathroom pocket door on my 67 Tradewind has been stuck for some time. I investigated the problem and found that one of the hanging rollers on which the door is suspended is missing a wheel (each hanger originally had two wheels) and this seems to be causing the problem -- the door hangs lower than it should because of the missing wheel, so it drags on the floor while closing, and while opening it catches on the floor and jams, and you have to physically lift the door (squatting on the floor) to get it to slide into the pocket.

The roller that is damaged is the one that's harder to access, because it remains inside the pocket even when the bathroom door is fully closed. I have managed to remove the front roller, with the intention of turning the door into the bathroom to remove it from the track, but I still can't turn it far enough to access the rear roller.

It looks like the only option is to remove one side of the bathroom wall or the other, in order to get access to the track and the rear roller. This seems like it will be a great deal of work, so if anyone knows another trick for getting this door out or replacing the hardware while leaving the door in place, I'd like to hear about it.

[gregtx]

I hope someone knows how to do this! I have the same problem, and yes it looks like alot of work/destruction to just get to it!

[Foiled Again]

Don't know about Airstreams, but in a home sliding door I had success by lifting the door straight UP, then pushing it back away from the track, and then lowering it to the floor, then sort of angling it toward me until the hanger/wheel assembly was free. Once out I replaced the hangers & wheels and reversed the process. It was tricky. The clearances were really tight. I think I had to use a rag on the floor so the door didn't scrape the floor, but it did come out.

Any chance the overhead track itself is removable? Wouldn't it be just too easy if you could remove both together, disassemble, repair and reinstall?

Paula

[retrocar66]

I finally got this out by removing the hardware with the door in place. It took several hours of finagling.

Even with the hardware removed, the door itself cannot be removed from the pocket. There isn't enough clearance to bend it around the corner in either direction. Seems I may have to mount the replacement hardware using the same torturous process in reverse.

Also, unfortunately the track is mounted to the trailer frame inside the pocket with wood screws that are far out of reach -- so removing the track is also not an option.

When I remount the new hardware, I'll be sure to mount the rear slider closer to the opening so it is easier to access in case this happens again. What a pain!

By the way, the closest I've come to a replacement roller so far is here:

Amazon.com: Slide-Co 162168 Pocket Door Top Roller Assembly with 7/8-Inch Nylon Wheel: Home Improvement

The wheels are the correct size, and the design is similar, although not the same. No way to know if it'll work until I try it.

I haven't checked with Inland yet. Vintage Trailer Supply doesn't seem to have anything. If anyone comes across a better replacement, would love to hear about it.