Holding door half-open??

[bill benton]

We use a bungee cord and a tent stake when we want the door half open. We just put it below the end of the door. We use a large rock or a brick on the ground if the door is over concrete This is not high- tech but it works.

[ticki2]

Myoung
West Marine should have what you're looking for , or any marine store , even the small ones around lakes . The reason I went to marine is because you can find the eye hooks in stainless steel which is what I wanted . The rod I used was 3/8 and fit the eye hook snug so the door would not have any play . I'm sure the 1/4 rod is fine as long as the eye hook fits it . Good luck

[myoung]

Thanks, ticki2,

I plan to put rubber or silicone surgical tubing over the 1/4-inch rod ends to cushion the connection. That should keep the movement to a minimum.

[scottanlily]

Hello door fixers,

On my 60 tradewind it has a small chain about 4" long rivited to the top inside
upper wall just above the door opening ,a long spring is then attached to it
attached to the rivited (factory) buck rivit ,small bracket ,the door opens more than half way or more tension on the spring ,design so nothing gets bustd off if the door gets a shove further open by accident.You can unhook
the spring from the door bracket if you want and open the door all the way back .Nothing on the ground to trip over or to get ripped off the side of the trailer.

Scott

[ticki2]

Scott
That sounds like another good plan . However , my requirement was that the door be held in a fixed position . If it opened more it would hit the awning bracket and cause damage and I didn't want it to slam shut when a breeze came along .

Myoung
I like the tubing idea , sort of a replacable cushion

[davidz71]

I like the idea of the bunji cords. You can buy them in any color (how about blue) and you can even buy the cord and ends separately to make your own length. I would get 2 to form an upside down V from the inside door handle down to either tent stakes or better yet, those auger shaped rods you screw into the ground for your pooch when you don't want him to run off. There will be some movement in the door but not much.

[scottanlily]

Sounds like a aluminum cool ground up to the door holder is the ticket.Say somthing in the shape sort of like those aluminum stabalizer jack
stands ,Put one under the door edge and rotate the threaded shaft up to the
bottom door edge ,you could have a soft rubber cushion that touches the door itself and it will stay ,if windy ,then turn the shaft a little tighter to hold
the door and the base wont tip over .My tradewind had an original set in the rear trunk ,but the new ones they sell at rv stores look the same .Easy to
stow away and a couple minutes to put in place ,adjust high and low depending on the ground /terraine . simple ,maybe ??

Scott

[myoung]

Ticki2,

We did it. The design you suggested works well. We used a 1/4-inch rod which bent fairly easily and has enough rigidity to resist buckling. If the wind is ever so strong to buckle the rod, we probably should have the whole trailer tied down!!

I bought two small Omega-shaped fairleads at the local West Marine store. There were many options to choose from but I bought the smallest and least expensive I could find, which had an intended benefit. I hadn't considered the height of the fairleads on the side of the trailer and on the door, but when the door is opened fully and latched to the side of the trailer in its normal position, it is important that the height of the two fairleads be so little that they don't touch the side or door. I hope this makes sense.

The most expensive component was the shrink fit tubing, which as it turned out was not really necessary. There isn't enough movement where the rod enters the fairlead to warrant having this extra cushioning.

The hardest part of the job was screwing in the self-tapping #8 stainless steel screws. I was surprised how difficult it was to cut the thread into the aluminium skins of the door and trailer. I had to drill the hole as large as the root diameter of the screw or just a bit bigger. Even then I had to repeatedly screw them in and out a little at a time by hand. I suppose it's good to know that the skin is so tough.

The next time we revisit our trailer I take a picture or two for posting for those interested.

[ticki2]

Myoung

Glad to hear it worked for you , mine worked just as I hoped it would , which is always a pleasant suprise . Looking foward to your pictures .

[CanoeStream]

Yes -- pictures are gooder! Thanks Mike. This was a good idea to ask about. I've got the two fixed windows but the door sure blocks light coming through.

I seem to recall a member with one of the 2005 FB Safaris. They had a suicide door that only opened 90 degrees, then hooked to the awning arm. I've heard maybe five of these were made but that may be wrong. I did see one at a dealer in June '05 and the bracket on the door had already loosened, probably from the human factor and wind.

Some of these suggestions sounded like a variation of the Hold-Awn system.

[myoung]

Here are two pictures of the contraption that I use to hold the door open at about 90 degrees so as not to block the kitchen window. I used a 1/4-inch aluminum rod purchased at Home Depot. I bent both ends 90 degrees leaving about 2 inches on each end. I put shrink-wrap plastic over the rod, but this wasn't necessary and interestingly was the most expensive component, over $3 I think.

The two stainless steel attachment points on the trailer and the door are fairleads that I purchased at West Marine. They are fastened by self-tapping screws that took more effort than I had expected. Wow, the skin of an Airstream is tough stuff. I put silicone caulk in the holes just for good measure.

Each fairlead spans a rivet head as suggested in one of the earlier posts. This would help alleviate any rubbing on the body panels, but in reality nothing moves very much. As I said, the strink-fit cover also for guarding against rubbing seems unnecessary because this whole contraption is fairly rigid and the wind has little effect.

All in all, we are quite pleased with the installation. Now the door stays put and the window over the sink can be opened and we can see out without having the door block the view.

One note that might interest those who would replicate our contraption: be sure that the two fairleads are not the same distance from the hinge point otherwise they would interfere with each other when you open the door completely. The photo showing the rod attached shows the two locations we chose for the fairleads.

[AZstreamin]

Nice effort Mike!
I'll be in San Diego this weekend....You did such a fine job how about an installation on my AS. This door thing is a bit of a pain. I must say I like this solution. You should forward this idea to Airstream it could be incorporated into the holding clip very easily in future models. It would become officially known as the MYOUNG doodad.

[myoung]

Originally Posted by AZstreamin

Nice effort Mike!
I'll be in San Diego this weekend....You did such a fine job how about an installation on my AS.

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry to disappoint you but our home in San Rafael is about 500 miles north of San Diego. Just follow 101 north until you get to Lucas Valley Road, go west 3 miles and you will be almost here. Simple directions but a bit of a hike.

[wbrownrr]

Ah... after a bit of searching this is just the thread I was looking for. I'm making one of these "hold-openers" tomorrow. Again, the forum comes through!

[Al - K4GLU]

Good idea. Unfortunately if you have the beltline molding covering the rivets - and I do - it won't work.

[wbrownrr]

No, there is no beltline molding on my CCD. It looks like post #31 and should be an easy thing to do.