Sliding pocket door - rail screw fell out ?

[OffbeatRVing]

Hi all. A screw (near outside wall) of the sliding door separating the kitchen from bathroom has fallen out of the rail holding up the door. The door now hangs and is difficult to open/close. There is no way for my hand/arm to fit between 2 in. gap to replace the screw. Any ideas, other than making a hole in the kitchen wall or closet wall to reach in and replace the lost screw. Is there a tool I need to purchase or is this a "take it to the dealer" kind of issue.
The 2'in gap has a kitchen on one side and the closet wall on the other.

Thanks, in advance for any and all suggestions.

[DanB]

Welcome to the club I have three that have fallen in the same area.

I have purchased a right angle drill attachment that will fit in the slot in hope I can get a new screw in there. Alternatively, I will pull the fridge and cut a hole, but really don't want to do that.

[OffbeatRVing]

Thanks DanB. Hmmm...I was thinking about a right angle tool as well, but it would have to be at min 2ft long in order to reach that back screw. I'm really not looking forward to cutting any holes. Now I do have one other suggestion after looking at door slot for an hour ;( I can place 2 screws through the kitchen wall, near top, that would rest under the rail. Basically holding up the rail so the door could slide easily. I noticed the rail has a piece of wood attached to it so the screws could rest underneath. Just an idea.

[dznf0g]

Use multiple extensions...and gorilla glue the screws in place. Mine hasn't come loose now for 4 years.

[woodguy2]

That's the ticket...or you could put a 1x2 way in the back ...make sure it's long enough and wedge it tight to hold up the rail

[DanB]

And a special note to Airstream Inc: DON'T USE WOOD SCREWS UPSIDE DOWN VERTICALLY FOR ANYTHING!

Seriously, this isn't rocket science. Gravity + bouncy bouncy = screws on the floor.

[Pahaska]

I stopped by a local store that sells boat hardware and bought an 8" deck plate for about $10. I traced around the fixed part of the deck plate on the closet wall and cut out the circle with a sabre saw. I mounted the deck plate ring with two short wood screws. It was easy to reach in and replace the screw on the door rail. Over the life of the trailer (11 years), I have needed access several more times. It is easy to just unscrew the deck plate and reach in.

By the way, the cup that supports the clothes rod is actually mounted on the deck plate.

I also use a 12" deck plate in the closet floor for easy access to the water pump. Deck plates are 100% water proof and can be used in the shower if necessary.

[Kenaisalmon]

On our summer travels I lost screws out of both pocket doors. I wrestled with it on the road but was not able to make a repair. It is on my list for winter repairs. Thanks to the comments above I now have other ideas.

[Wingeezer]

Rich,

with such a long extension, what is the trick to keep the screwdriver bit from continually jumping from the screw head as you try to drive it?

That far away from the drill, I would think it must be hard to apply any upward force to keep the bit in place. No?

Must be hard to keep the screw in place on the bit also as you move it into position.

I suppose using hex head screws would help with both these issues - assuming there is enough clearance to use that type of screw in this application.




I haven't encountered the problem of screws falling out yet, but I suppose it is only a matter of time!

The only issue I have with one of our sliding doors is that I believe one of the internal stop blocks must have fallen out - if it ever had one, because that door goes fully into the pocket whereas the other door stops with maybe an inch of door sticking out.

It was like that when I bought the trailer (used). We can still get the door out ok so I've never really bothered trying to do anything about it.

Brian.

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Use multiple extensions...and gorilla glue the screws in place. Mine hasn't come loose now for 4 years.


Attachment 253598

Attachment 253599

Attachment 253600

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

Rich,

with such a long extension, what is the trick to keep the screwdriver bit from continually jumping from the screw head as you try to drive it?

That far away from the drill, I would think it must be hard to apply any upward force to keep the bit in place. No?

Must be hard to keep the screw in place on the bit also as you move it into position.

I suppose using hex head screws would help with both these issues - assuming there is enough clearance to use that type of screw in this application.




I haven't encountered the problem of screws falling out yet, but I suppose it is only a matter of time!

The only issue I have with one of our sliding doors is that I believe one of the internal stop blocks must have fallen out - if it ever had one, because that door goes fully into the pocket whereas the other door stops with maybe an inch of door sticking out.

It was like that when I bought the trailer (used). We can still get the door out ok so I've never really bothered trying to do anything about it.

Brian.

Yeah Brian, I suppose it would be helpful if I gave a few details!

With the handle design of the Milwaukee angle tool, you take a long 1 by 2 or 2 by 4 and angle it from the floor at the pocket opening. Have a helper wedge it up into the handle crotch while you operate the driver drill. I siliconed the screw head to the phillips bit to hold it in place and applied gorilla glue to the threads on all the screws.

My stop block also fell off, so while I was in there i wiggled it back in place with two sticks (operated like chop sticks, sorta) and drove two screws into it from the bathroom side of the wall. I got some of the same white screw head caps, like are at the top of the pocket walls in the bedroom. I went ahead and did the same repair to the bedroom pocket door as well, as a pre-preemptive strike. That one is easier. Remove all the screws at the top of the pocket wall in the bedroom. You can then tilt that wall enough to get your hands in there without removing the entire wall.

[dznf0g]

Actually, now that I review the picture, I did use a hex head in the farthest hole. As I recall, the hex interfered with the door rollers on the two closer ones, but doesn't roll all the way back to the farthest one.

[wolf146]

Originally Posted by OffbeatRVing

Hi all. A screw (near outside wall) of the sliding door separating the kitchen from bathroom has fallen out of the rail holding up the door.

Thanks, in advance for any and all suggestions.

I also have a 2004 Classic and had that issue of the pocket door between the bathroom and bedroom. I called Airstream and they told me what to do. I was able to fix the problem pretty quickly. Your pocket door issue might be more problematic so I would be interested to see how you fixed that problem. wolf146

[polarlyse]

I have a sliding door but without the pocket. When I remove the door the overhead track is easy to get to. I did need to put a larger screw in. From the looks of the above PIX I'm glad to NOT have any pocket doors. I do like the deck plate solution. Lots of good ideas pop up here on the forum. Keep up the good work

[Wingeezer]

Great tips Rich, thanks - I'll be all set now if I need to undertake a similar repair!

That Gorilla glue is good stuff - the one that you activate with water. I also use their version of crazy glue often - it works well for many jobs and has some flexibilty component added.


Brian.

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Yeah Brian, I suppose it would be helpful if I gave a few details!

With the handle design of the Milwaukee angle tool, you take a long 1 by 2 or 2 by 4 and angle it from the floor at the pocket opening. Have a helper wedge it up into the handle crotch while you operate the driver drill. I siliconed the screw head to the phillips bit to hold it in place and applied gorilla glue to the threads on all the screws.

My stop block also fell off, so while I was in there i wiggled it back in place with two sticks (operated like chop sticks, sorta) and drove two screws into it from the bathroom side of the wall. I got some of the same white screw head caps, like are at the top of the pocket walls in the bedroom. I went ahead and did the same repair to the bedroom pocket door as well, as a pre-preemptive strike. That one is easier. Remove all the screws at the top of the pocket wall in the bedroom. You can then tilt that wall enough to get your hands in there without removing the entire wall.

[jcanavera]

I had to have the door replaced from the pocket that separates the kitchen area from the trailer. A screw or nail that was between the walls protruded enough in the pocket to gouge the wood on the door as it slid closed. This occurred the first year I owned the trailer. I have no idea how they got to the metal that was producing the scratch. I got a brand new door to boot. No evidence on how they fixed this.

Jack

[minnstream]

My solution was to remove the pocket door entirely. I then enlarged the door opening by about 6". I like the extra space and we use a curtain. It lightened up the trailer too. That door had a mirror on it and weighed a ton.

[OffbeatRVing]

Thank you all for your help!!! Great tips!! Looks like I have a trip to the hardware store for a 1x2, gorilla clue, silicon, extensions and hex screws, plus a marine deck plate.

What a hassel - all over a lousy wood screw that Airstream could have fixed years ago.

Thanks, again, to each of you for taking time out of your day to help give some great tips and advice.

Greatly appreciated.