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Old 09-27-2004, 11:38 AM   #1
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1964 24' Tradewind
Big Bear Lake , California
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 184
Botched Entry Door?

Hi All,

I’ve got to post this query because it’s driving me nuts. The entry door on my coach is either a Monday Morning job from the Santa Fe factory or the door, or the coach for that matter, has been subjected to some sort of abuse that is causing an awkward condition.

I’ve read numerous threads about replacing entry door seals and all seem to be without issue. The condition that exists is that there is a 1/8” gap running the length between the hinges and then increases from ¼” to 11/32” around the balance of the door. This gap is the distance between the coach skin and the exterior edge of the door. These measurements were taken with no seals in place and the door closed. These gaps also translate to the inside where another seal is to be present. The first question is How Come the gap is not consistent? Or should there be no gap and the door sit flush with the exterior skin?

I went down to InlandRV and measured the proper replacement seal, part 45295, that has worked for everybody that’s used it. It was as much as a 1/16th too small in girth to handle the gaps present on my door. This points to the Monday door concept.

I used some ¾ x 3/8 ‘D’ rubber for the main seal. The problem is, of course, too much material at the door hinge and just enough at the latch set. You can close the door from the outside if you apply full body pressure to the latch side, which I could live with. But the door won’t close from the inside. My knee jerk reaction was to add a handle between the latch set and the dead bolt on the inside to gain leverage. The whole thing is just not proper, nor at this juncture is my knee jerk solution. I also looked at placing spacer plates behind the hinges to push the door out to equalize the gap. With 9 hardened bucked rivets holding each hinge, I’d only do that if it’s a proper solution.

Now the ride home from acquiring the trailer in Phoenix caused a few interior rivets to shear off as well as one of the curbside curtain holders. I had Inland replace the running gear to fix that. It leads me to think that an adverse impact to the door frame may have occurred from the running gear issue.


If the problem is structural, how do you go about determining the extent the frame has been tweeted and correct it?

If it’s just a Monday Morning door, I guess you just Mickey Mouse different thickness seals to make it work or add a handle to the inside. Or maybe space the hinge from the body. Can anyone comment on this mess?
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Old 09-27-2004, 04:08 PM   #2
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2002 25' Classic
Oro Valley , Arizona
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Today I/we visited our local dealer (Oasis in Tucson) for a wheel bearing pack, brake inspection.... and got to "do" the lot.

While there was talking wish a fellow from NM that had his '96 34' Excella 1000 in for a door repair....

The door was going to be replaced--$1,800 for the new door, the hours estimated to remove the door--10 hours....now this is at $80 and hour

And then you get the installation costs.

However, the total is probably going to be about $3,000 and to fix my wrinkle, the service manager estimated $4,000. Yikes I am going to wait until I get rear-ended to do this fix
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Old 09-27-2004, 04:28 PM   #3
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Wardinbb,
Having encountered door issues with my TradeWind, I can relate to your predicament. My door sprung open during travel and at one time came off the trailer while travling down the interstate. My door has lost some of its curvature and needs to be re-adjusted in order to fit properly at the top and bottom.

Is your door the suicide type? If so, has your door spring open during travel at some point in its lifetime? You can tell if there are dents on the body from the door handle hitting the side. Are your gaps equal distance at the door handle compared to the top and/or bottom? These are the symptoms I'm dealing with and hope to fix it this winter.

I've ordered door and window seals from Richard Rodrigues and have been quite pleased with the results. He has an ad in the VAC Classifieds in the Parts section.

FF
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Old 09-27-2004, 04:49 PM   #4
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1964 24' Tradewind
Big Bear Lake , California
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Yep

Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfshr
Wardinbb,
Having encountered door issues with my TradeWind, I can relate to your predicament. My door sprung open during travel and at one time came off the trailer while travling down the interstate. My door has lost some of its curvature and needs to be re-adjusted in order to fit properly at the top and bottom.

Is your door the suicide type? If so, has your door spring open during travel at some point in its lifetime? You can tell if there are dents on the body from the door handle hitting the side. Are your gaps equal distance at the door handle compared to the top and/or bottom? These are the symptoms I'm dealing with and hope to fix it this winter.

I've ordered door and window seals from Richard Rodrigues and have been quite pleased with the results. He has an ad in the VAC Classifieds in the Parts section.

FF
Yes, Suicide type door as the latch set is forward and if not locked would blow open to the trailer rear. There's no major dents on the trailer skin where the door knob would hit, however the door knob itself is crushed inward. It hasn't opened on me but no idea about the PO.
I too ordered the seals from Richard and just spoke with him. He says the door is probably out of allignment and needs to be tweeked back to some reasonable degree. He suggested small wooden dowels closed between the frame and door to assist with the adjustment. But a little bit at a time! So we'll see how it goes. Much better than a bent frame!
Ed
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Old 09-27-2004, 05:24 PM   #5
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1964 24' Tradewind
Big Bear Lake , California
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 184
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kistler
Today I/we visited our local dealer (Oasis in Tucson) for a wheel bearing pack, brake inspection.... and got to "do" the lot.

While there was talking wish a fellow from NM that had his '96 34' Excella 1000 in for a door repair....

The door was going to be replaced--$1,800 for the new door, the hours estimated to remove the door--10 hours....now this is at $80 and hour

And then you get the installation costs.

However, the total is probably going to be about $3,000 and to fix my wrinkle, the service manager estimated $4,000. Yikes I am going to wait until I get rear-ended to do this fix
What a nightmare storey! My door comes off by sliding the hinge pins out. Takes at least one minute. But it sounds like you have skin damage? Thanks for letting me know whats up.
Ed
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Old 09-27-2004, 05:36 PM   #6
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Mr. NM with the 34' did more than damage the door; he apparently hit a "workbench with the door open" and it really jammed the door back into the side of the tt....it looked really difficult to me. He wrinkled the side, hinge side, past the door....

Bye the bye, aren't all Airstream doors "suicide" types?

Just for the record...Oasis Lounge is something like the Symes Cadillac Lounge in Pasadena, CA....you meet very nice people.

Kistler
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Old 09-27-2004, 06:22 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kistler
Bye the bye, aren't all Airstream doors "suicide" types?
Nope...many of the vintage models are 'non-suicide' doors, they are hinged on the right hand side, ours included.

Shari
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Old 09-28-2004, 01:50 PM   #8
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1964 24' Tradewind
Big Bear Lake , California
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Done Good

Hi All, and thank you for your posts. I wanted to take a moment and issue a progress report on my door fix.

Richard's lead on how to work the door back into shape paid off. Its rather simple. Place a wood dowel parallel to the coach body and slide it behind the open door lip. Slowly close the door until contact with the dowel is met. Apply pressure to continue to close the door and watch the curve of the door lip disfigure, slightly and carefully. Stop, release door pressure and slide the dowel up or down to a new position and repeat the process. This process reshapes the curve minutely, maybe .020 or less at a time. By working up and down the area to be reshaped, you can dial it in to where you think it otta be.

My door gaps from the coach body were tight on the hinge side and wide on the latch/door knob side. I wound up going with a 3/4" diameter dowel (a broomstick handle will do as well). Now my work was on the hinge side so it was easy for the door to lever itself against the dowel and push itself out when in contact with the dowel.

When I started, with new rubber seal on the door, the door stayed open 5" from the jamb. After tweeking the hinge side, the door stayed open 2". So the proceedure worked.

The second element to this process is to leave it alone for a while. The new seal will eventually seat and permanently compress as it adjusts to it's positioning. And don't forget to silicone the seal, I was amazed that after flooding it, all material was absorbed. So after a week or more I'll reinspect and perhaps tweek it again.
Have fun,
Ed
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