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Old 10-26-2006, 06:46 PM   #1
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1976 25' Caravanner
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suicide door

I have a '76 Caravanner with a non-suicide door . I have yet to see another AS with this set up . Are there others that have non-suicide doors or was this a factory custom?
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Old 10-26-2006, 06:54 PM   #2
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My 91 model came with a suicide door.
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Old 10-26-2006, 07:22 PM   #3
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It's a new thing

the 25' Safari FB SE has a non-suicide door. Started because the door slammed into the strut that supports the awning.

Seems to be a popular thing now.

Paula Ford
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Old 10-26-2006, 07:28 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Foiled Again
the 25' Safari FB SE has a non-suicide door. Started because the door slammed into the strut that supports the awning.

Seems to be a popular thing now.

Paula Ford
A suicide door hinges on the left (towards the back ) , a no-suicide door hinges on the right ( towards the front ). Which way is yours?
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Old 10-26-2006, 07:35 PM   #5
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http://www.vintageairstream.com/archives/index.html has pictures of a '76 and '78 Caravanner -- both with suicide doors. Awning struts interfere with doors opening into them. Does your Caravanner have an awning. How about a picture? Would be interesting.

The 2005 25' FB Safari has a rear suicide door that interferes with the awning strut. I was not happy with the OEM latch mechanism I saw on one before Airstream switched to non-suicide door for the 2006 models and beyond.

Curiously, the 2006 20' Safari has a mid-body door well away from the awning struts. Airstream chose to place a suicide door on that model.
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Old 10-26-2006, 07:46 PM   #6
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Non-suicide door
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Old 10-26-2006, 07:55 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Canoe stream
http://www.vintageairstream.com/archives/index.html has pictures of a '76 and '78 Caravanner -- both with suicide doors. Awning struts interfere with doors opening into them. Does your Caravanner have an awning. How about a picture? Would be interesting.
Yes it did interfear with the awning , I finally made a custom bracket to hold the door open at 90 deg.
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Old 10-26-2006, 08:50 PM   #8
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My 1963 Bambi and my 1979 Excella Motorhome both have Non suicide doors.
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Old 10-26-2006, 09:20 PM   #9
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Our '64 GlobeTrotter has a right-hand hinged (non-suicide) door. One of the main reasons we wanted a pole-style awning.

Shari
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Old 10-27-2006, 12:56 AM   #10
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what's the layout..

of your caravanner? Seems the midbody windows are mucho different from what I've seen. Probably the door was hung this way so as not to block the windows when open.. or shatter them.

A very unique unit I think. Is it 8 ft wide, or 7.5 ft?
Marc
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Old 10-27-2006, 07:52 AM   #11
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3M , yes it is 8 ft wide . I have seen pictures of other Caravanners , including a '76 , and the door opens against the windows ( hinged on the left ) . That is why I'm thinking this was a special order , but wanted to check with others.
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Old 10-27-2006, 08:22 AM   #12
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General rule but always exceptions ...

Ticki2: As a general but not absolute rule, Airstream entry doors swing away from adjacent windows if windows are installed next to the door. For some periods, such as 1965-68, all doors were suicide whether or not there was an window just ahead of it. I imagine this change was made to accommodate the increasing popularity of permanently mounted awnings. Before that, doors tended to be non-suicide unless there was a window forward of it, in which case they would be suicide. And there have been some trailers over the years where the door swings against the adjacent window when it just as easily could have swung the other way - go figure?
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Old 10-27-2006, 08:40 AM   #13
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47 Weewind , thaks for that backround information . From what I have seen all the units post '68 also have suicide doors except for some very new models . The "Go figure" is the stage I'm in right now.
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Old 10-27-2006, 09:52 AM   #14
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What's the origin of the term "suicide" door? Curious minds want to know, though facts will probably not be as interesting as my imagination on this one! ~G
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Old 10-27-2006, 10:29 AM   #15
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Georgia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_door -- anybody wanna alert Wikipedia to this list of suicide door vehicles?
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Old 10-27-2006, 11:10 AM   #16
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Thanks, Bob! More info than I dreamed I wanted to know Not as rich as my imagination, but interesting! ~G
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