Door dispute with spouse?

[badkat]

We just started to fulltime in our 1999 Classic. So excited. We have not been able to travel out of our area due to puppy's health but will soon So we are in and out of the AS a little often during the day. My complaint with my husband is his closing of the door. I say gentler would be better..kind of forceful. Trailer shakes a little. Who is right?

Help BadKat (New Orleans)

[TG Twinkie]

You are right. Slamming the door will eventually cause problems. For instance, one day you will not be able to get in. Or you won't be able to lock the door. And the list goes on.

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by badkat

Who is right?

Um.. the answer depends on how comfortable the couch is

I agree however that an Airstream door being closed can sound loud and feel 'aggressive'. Can yours be closed quietly? Mine can't....

[TG Twinkie]

It's the screen door that makes the noise in my Argosy. The outside door opens very easily. To close it, we hold the handle in the open position close the door and with gentle pressure the door will latch by just letting go of the handle. This trailer has the infamous KT lock assembly. So we are very careful with it.

[reinergirl]

Is he forcefully slamming the door? That would be a no no... But sometimes the doors are harder to latch, especially if the trailer isn't completely level. I think Twinkie was right, hold the door latch so it's open, push the door against the trailer and release the latch. When Colin Hyde worked on my trailer he had to have someone tig weld one of my door hinges because it had cracked, better to prevent than to have to fix!

[dkottum]

Do not "flip" the door shut, but put your hand over the latch and shove it firmly, but not too slow or it won't catch. That's the gentlest method I have found.

doug k

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, sometimes if closed too gently it won't latch completely and you will have to do it again; Therefore it is better to be a little bit firmer and only have to close it once. Pulling from the inside takes more force than being able to flat-hand the door from the outside. On the newer trailers that have a latch similar to a car, you cannot hold the handle open. The older models that have door latches like in a house, can hold the handle until closed.

[Skater]

More often than not, with our '95, we have to open the handle to close the door fully. When everything is juuuuuuuuuuuuuusssst right, it'll close without much effort, but that's unusual enough that I'm surprised when it works.

[dznf0g]

I spent quite a bit of time with mine last summer and with all the info available for door adjustment on the forum and printed from AS. It seems to be a bit of art and science to learn...and courage to bend and flex the door.....but I finally got mine to where it closes with a nice "plinking" sound and with little effort, as opposed to the firm sorta slam I used to have to employ.

[badkat]

Thanks for all the advice. Since it comes from someone other than me its sinking in :-)). I like we need be to find a comfortable balance to protect the door..so we will work on technique.

So great to have all the help.

[vswingfield]

Some silicone spray on the lock and the door seal might help it to close much easier.

[Crusty]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Some silicone spray on the lock and the door seal might help it to close much easier.

Ding! We have a winnner. Most slamming door issues are due to the bolt not sliding into the catch plate due to friction. Keep it well lubed with a dry silicone lubricant and then door closing+latching is easy (and quiet).

[Zigidachs]

Ditto: make certain that the latch mechanisms are well lubricated. AS.com recommends a carbon based lubricant, but we use DW-40 or Silicone. We can also hold the latch slightly open and gently "push" the door closed without slamming it. Or from the inside, a gentle pull on the door handle closes the door without hassle.

Another point: "argument"????? nah!.....only slight difference of opinions.....slight!

Married 46 years!

[BAB]

You really do begin to understand how your trailer flexes....I can tell how level it is, and whether or not I've dropped stabilizers with how the door closes. I try NOT to slam it if possible. Even with all this caution, I had my door lock itself "automatically" last summer. Fortunately, I had a key to get back in...

[cwf]

Ok. Confession time.

I "apparently" need to spend time with my Airstream learning to properly "level"!!!!!!

This weekend was "maiden voyage", not far only 10 miles to campground... So more like "shakedown " cruise.
Get on site and realize not level. So I put aft stabilizers down then lifted tongue. I then " caught" the trailer on stabilizers. Only about 1 inch lift. Door hard to shut.

Today I towed to storage. I repeated the "lift" of trailer and settled on stabilizers. This time severe misalignment of door latch to striker pin. I let weight off the stabilizers and bingo! Door closes!

Like I said, I have trouble reading due to vision issue. But missed the part about really low pressure on stabilizers.

Recommendations welcome in messages, this way we can talk

[TG Twinkie]

The stabilizers are not intended to lift the coach. Only to keep it from rocking when you walk around inside.
DO NOT LIFT THE COACH WITH THE STABILIZERS.
Use leveling blocks along with the tongue jack to level the coach.

[Scott J-24]

Originally Posted by cwf

Ok. Confession time.

I "apparently" need to spend time with my Airstream learning to properly "level"!!!!!!

This weekend was "maiden voyage", not far only 10 miles to campground... So more like "shakedown " cruise.
Get on site and realize not level. So I put aft stabilizers down then lifted tongue. I then " caught" the trailer on stabilizers. Only about 1 inch lift. Door hard to shut.

Today I towed to storage. I repeated the "lift" of trailer and settled on stabilizers. This time severe misalignment of door latch to striker pin. I let weight off the stabilizers and bingo! Door closes!

Like I said, I have trouble reading due to vision issue. But missed the part about really low pressure on stabilizers.

Recommendations welcome in messages, this way we can talk

We have bubble levels on the front and curb side of our AS. We use the front one to see how level we are athwart ship (port-starboard/street side-curb side) and use leveling blocks under the wheels. After two years we can tell by just looking at how many degrees out of level we are, how high we need to stack the blocks (we have 3 sets currently and have only wanted a 4th set a couple of times at very uneven sites). Once we are level side to side we put the regular style tire chocks on the non lifted set of tires as soon as we have driven onto the blocks to safely prevent the trailer from rolling away. Then we use the tongue jack to level the trailer fore and aft. When, and only when we are as level as we are going to get, we put down the stabilizer jacks (snug, but not too tight). Finally we put on the X-Chock between the two tires that are on the leveling blocks. This method works for us, YMMV.

[cwf]

Thanks ! Like I said "confession time"...

A little "saying" I use is "the TRUTH will set you free!....but FIRST it WILL make you miserable!"

I assure you, I am miserable now.

Another saying;"Lose the lumps, not the lesson!" This is where I am now.

The thing that bothers me is that I had a feeling I was not leveling properly. Now I have solid evidence.

Thanks y'all!