Shower Door Removal???

[Rockhound100]

The shower door on my 2015 Signature 27FB has slid down and also separated at the upper right corner of the door frame. I have read the numerous posts regarding how to keep the door from sliding down on the hinges with nylon blocks, shims and bushings but I first need to tighten the frame corner where it has separated.

I can not figure out how to remove the door from the hinge/wall to repair the frame problem. Can someone shed some light on how to remove the door?

Thanks

Rockhound100
2015 International Signature 27FB

[trigal]

We have the exact same problem!

[engineshow]

Originally Posted by trigal

We have the exact same problem!

Our door fell apart glass fell out this should not happen in a airstream

[BAB]

There are quite a few threads and posts on this issue. I first encountered it on my 2012 28’ Intl CCD. I ended up pulling the door assembly out and installing a Sterling pivot shower door that I bought at Loew’s. If you use the shower enough, eventually it will drop down into the bottom of the shower, entrapping you until you LIFT the door up so it will swing. This is a long-standing and well known problem. Unfortunately, AS refuses to fix it.

The basis problem is the entire shower hangs from a small screw at the very top of the door hinge. Many folks do a workaround and insert a nylon washer at the bottom to lift it up over the bottom threshold. Eventually, if not properly hung, I suppose the glass will fall out.

I removed the door from my 2015 Classic about 6 months ago and installed a Stoett Nautilus shower. It’s like a roller blind. About 25 minutes to install and it does NOT swing into the trailer and weight about 3 pounds.

Removing the door from the shower entails removing the frame around it. The frame is glued to the sides of the opening. I have now removed two of these and have been unable to remove the framing without destroying it. A heat gun is the best I’ve been able to do, but the aluminum framing bends at some point

[engineshow]

Originally Posted by BAB

There are quite a few threads and posts on this issue. I first encountered it on my 2012 28’ Intl CCD. I ended up pulling the door assembly out and installing a Sterling pivot shower door that I bought at Loew’s. If you use the shower enough, eventually it will drop down into the bottom of the shower, entrapping you until you LIFT the door up so it will swing. This is a long-standing and well known problem. Unfortunately, AS refuses to fix it.



The basis problem is the entire shower hangs from a small screw at the very top of the door hinge. Many folks do a workaround and insert a nylon washer at the bottom to lift it up over the bottom threshold. Eventually, if not properly hung, I suppose the glass will fall out.



I removed the door from my 2015 Classic about 6 months ago and installed a Stoett Nautilus shower. It’s like a roller blind. About 25 minutes to install and it does NOT swing into the trailer and weight about 3 pounds.



Removing the door from the shower entails removing the frame around it. The frame is glued to the sides of the opening. I have now removed two of these and have been unable to remove the framing without destroying it. A heat gun is the best I’ve been able to do, but the aluminum framing bends at some point

The pivot door hold up I don't understand which door you are using now, what was the pivot doors model number.
Thanks,
Chuck Franklin

[tjdonahoe]

We took ours completely out ordered a new hinge assembly from SEA...shower enclosures of America.....also I use silicone rubber hose on the bottom edge to hold it up while traveling...no more problem....2 pieces 3” long shoved in at each corner.....

[chipr]

The shower door in our 30' International just failed a few weeks ago. Usually when this happens, the screw from the hinge side has usually pulled through the track where it is inserted. It's a pretty weak design, in my opinion.

I contacted Vinnie at Vinnie's Airstream and he suggested removing and reassembling the door with some silicone. Here are the steps I took.

1) Remove door from hinge.
2) Unscrew the for screws holding the metal frame around the glass.
3) Go to hardware store and get slightly longer versions of the screws.
4) Remove metal screws and metal frame.
5) Clean the vinyl gasket strip that encircles the glass.
6) Apply a small bead of silicone caulk to inside of vinyl gasket and reapply.
7) Apply a larger bead of silicone caulk to the inside tracks of the metal frame. (This results in the glass being bonded to the gasket and the gasket to the frame).
8) Install the new screws and plastic bushings.
9) Let set overnight.

Note, it looks a lot more effort to remove the door from the frame that attaches to the wall. You have to remove the three screws and apply a pulling force to slide the door from the exterior frame. The hinge side of the door often has a bed of silicone holding it to the exterior frame. I had to use a very flexible putty knife to get the process started. It wasn't easy but with two of us pulling, we were able to get the door off.

To re-install, we had to clean the silicone off the inside of the hinge and exterior frame. I reapplied some silicone, slide the door back on, the screw holes aligned easily and inserted the screws. It's been very solid for the last three weeks. If it fails again, I'll probably have to replace the whole unit but I don't think it will for some time.

[chipr]

Here is an image of the top edge of the shower door frame, still connected to the exterior frame. I've labeled it with the terms I was using to describe the parts, which are probably not their official names.

In our case, that screw at the top was fairly bent, making it hard to remove until we got the door off the exterior frame. I started the putty knife at the top where the two frames meet.

[BAB]

I don’t have the model number of the shower I installed in my ’12 Intl CCD. I sold the trailer in 2015. I bought the shower at Loews, it was in stock, and it was manufactured by Sterling (Kohler’s economy brand). It worked very well, but I like the Nautilus much better because it does not swing. It is to a shower door what a pocket door is to a regular door.

[Apontoni]

Originally Posted by engineshow

Our door fell apart glass fell out this should not happen in a airstream

Our shower shattered on our trip this week. This Is After a factory repair of the falling door issue. Stupid design by Airstream. I will rip the entire door assembly out and switch to the retreating door.

Crazy they they are STILL installing this failed design.

[jp77texags]

Hi BAB,
I am trying to install a Stoett shower curtain in my AS but I can’t get the side rails off after taking the 3 screws out. Looks like you have completed this amazing task.
Is it just as simple as applying a heat gun to it while prying it off???
My dad always told me not to use excessive force on some things.
Is this an exception?
Help in Texas. ����

[BAB]

Don’t be afraid! A good strong 2” putty knife and a heat gun will do it.

You’ll be covering the area with the new shower frame, and will caulk the edges from inside the shower so it will be fine.

[rperrym]

To BAB, what dimension door did you order? I understand they are custom made and not returnable if you order the wrong size.

Thanks,
Rick

[jp77texags]

Hi BAB,
Thank you, will try your suggestions this evening on getting those side rails off.

My wife ordered the Stoett Shower door directly from factory.

Off their web site. Stoett Industries, Hicksville, Ohio.
I bought the Nautilus 68" x 36" wide door.
They sell it in several different lengths. you just need to cut the width with a hacksaw, miter saw, or grinder.

[jp77texags]

their website for this door is:



https://shop.stoett.com/nautilus-ret...-doors-for-rv/




PS: get the tallest size possible to fit your opening.

Makes it easier to get into without hitting your head.

[mstrauss]

I did the full removal and replacement of the stock shower door with the Nautilus door. My 2014 International Serenity 25 had the same problem reported by others in this thread. In the middle of a long trip, the shower door dropped from the top frame. I kept it working by putting a small plastic shim underneath the bottom frame on the hinge side and duct-taping the frame together at the top. Eventually that fix failed too, and I found the entire door, loose from its frame, on the floor of the trailer after a particularly bumpy drive.

Once home, I ordered the Nautilus door, measuring to ensure it would fit. While waiting for it to arrive, I removed the old door. Removing the old door was not easy and required a significant amount of prying and hammering. The frame is attached to wall with some nails/staples and glue. I had it off after about two hours of hard work. Luckily, I managed to not damage any of the surrounding wood.

When the original door and frame are out, there is a metal threshold on the bottom that will remain. The sides, however, are bare wood. I sanded the wood and applied some sealant to the wood that was to be exposed to the frame of the new door.

The cross-beams on the Nautilus must be cut down to size using a handsaw. The instructions that come with the door explain how to make exact measurements. It was very easy.

The Nautilus side frames have a haphazardly positioned strip of two-sided tape that run from the top to the bottom. I say haphazard because the strip is by no means straight. Dealing with the strip of tape turned out to be one of the more frustrating parts of the door replacement. Once the wood was sealed, I exposed the outside of strip of tape and pressed each side, one at a time, to the wood. (I can't remember if you put the crossbars on before or after you install the sides, but the instructions walk you through the correct sequence.) The tape is very sticky, but part of it, because the factory did not put it on straight, was exposed. It took a long time to try to remove the exposed tape from the gap between the frame and the wood.

Once I put the crossbars in, the next step was to caulk the frame. The biggest problem here was that inside the door there is an unnatural fit between the new door and the existing shower structure. There are some exposed screw heads that mount the shower structure to the wood frame and a large gap that was previously covered by the original door. There are also some screw holes that were never occupied by screws. My remedy was to put a ton of caulk in the gap and over the screws and empty holes. I put painter's tape on either side of every gap -- front, back, and sides (not the top, since the door does not reach all the way to the top of the frame). I put a large amount of white shower caulk over the gaps, then smoothed over the caulk with a wet finger. The wet finger approach, which I picked up from YouTube, was critical, since it made the caulk smooth everywhere. Quickly remove the painter's tape before the caulk dries.

Once dry, I tested out the shower, found a couple of leaks, and sealed them with more caulk and silicone sealant.

The result is great. It looks like it could have been stock, at least from the hallway. The interior view is not as pretty, since the interior gap around the sides of the door still has some exposed screw heads covered with caulk. But it works great!

[Taroni]

My screw at the top actually broke while in Fredericksburg back in August 2021. I took it off and slid it under the mattress for safe keeping. In October I dropped it off at the Airstream dealer in Buda, Tx. On January 12 they called and said they could not repair it. They wanted $350 for a new one, $150 for shipping, and $150 for installation. I wonder how many they sale?

Very unhappy with them.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Can’t you just buy a new screw?

[Taroni]

I provided the Airstream Dealer with a new screw. They had my rig for over three months and they said they could not repair it. They wanted to order a new door just like the one that broke.

[VacuumKing]

Maybe the screw at the top and bottom hold the door on? The ones they talk about that breaks.