Refrigerator Hatch Door Missing -- Pictures

[IndyAnne]

I need a new hatch door for the refrigerator compartment. I lost the original one somewhere between home and tailgating at a Colts game last fall.

I'll try to upload some photos here.

The white cover is my temporary fix. The hatch doors are from hatch access under the front bunk on the street side. The refrigerator is also on the street side.

Somewhere I have run across a company that made these exact hatch doors, but I cannot find it. I'll keep looking. I can't tell if the Inland RV doors are made this same way with the top edge that goes in first, and the lock at the bottom. If their product is as good or better, I would order from them.

My Airstream is a 1968 Trade Wind, twin, made in JS, OH. I'm hooked on the upgrading. I hate it when something like this happens because it cuts into the budget for other stuff.

[IndyAnne]

The dimensions of the missing door are 13 7/8" Wide x 11 5/8" High. The top edge of the door inserts into a channel by about 1/4" which makes the total finished dimension of height about 11 7/8".

The frame of the compartment opening seems to have pre-cut slots to receive different kinds of locks. The missing hatch door lock turned a tongue down into the long slot visible in the second photo below.

I just had all the hatch doors keyed to one key! Rats!

The workmanship is very detailed. In the pictures I posted previously, the hatch doors have weatherstripping visible at all joints and along all edges, including the edges of alumnimun skin and molding pieces.

The inside and outside skins of the hatch door are the same as the Airstream skin, al-clad aluminum, .32 or .40? and sandwiched between is a sheet of fiberglass insulation batting. The lock is nothing unusual, available at any RV repair shop or even office supply stores.

Where can I get this same quality of workmanship in a new hatch door?

[IndyAnne]

According to VintageAirstream.com, Airparts has the aluminum I seek, and the thickness is .032 or .040, not the .32 an .40 I wrote above (that would be a little thick!).

Aluminum Sheet and Coil-page 3

Now -- to find the right trim aluminum. The search continues.

[IndyAnne]

Here are a couple of sources for extruded aluminum trim and moldings. I wonder if they would accept photos or samples of the kind of trim I am looking for, to match with their products?

Yes! This one invites custom shape requests: Aluminum Extrusions Warehouse - EXTRUDE - A - TRIM

This one says they use stamping and roll-forming; not sure what that means, but it looks like something good for DIY:
ALTO MFG CO INC:Custom RollForming,Stamping,Aluminum Pictureframes & Hardware,Medicine Chest Frames,Raschig Rings

oo-oo-oo, look -- right here in Indy! I'll have to give them a call:
IQE casting - iron casting, ductile iron casting, gray iron casting, malleable iron casting, etc.

Here's a whole page of links to extrusion and other fabrications of aluminum:
Metal Edging Frames on ThomasNet.com