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Old 03-16-2018, 10:56 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Yes, the hand method is recommended for a better feel of tightening which is critical with fiberglass, the dab of proflex keeps it waterproof. You will need a Torx bit driver for this operation.
Yes hand screwing the screws is important . Besides adding some waterproof protection to the screw holes , I have found the holes in the fiberglass to enlarge a little . So the caulking adds a little tightening to the holes also. I have also added to a hole a piece of toothpick to screw hole before . Another step I have added is a rubber gasket I made from bike tube . The first time I removed our door I found the original hinge dug into the fiberglass . I always felt there should be a gasket behind hinge so I made one . Pat
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Old 03-16-2018, 11:55 AM   #22
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A couple more thoughts with respect to the cause of your observed cracks near the door latch mechanism. Some owner's have had issues with their doors where they (while sitting inside the trailer) have been able to see daylight along various portions of the perimeter of the door when it is closed. The standard fix for this has typically been to place additional foam weatherstrip material under the existing weather strip that runs around the exterior of the doorway (I have done this myself on my 19'). On further thought, if you have to add a lot of additional foam near the top or bottom of the door in order to block out the daylight, then when you close the door, the centre of the door will have to be bowed inwards relative to the bottom or top of the door in order for the latch to catch. This will result in an increased bending stress exactly where the pictured cracking has occurred, and could potentially have contributed to the observed problem. Based on the reported cracking issues and the potential for making things worse by using excessive thicknesses of foam weatherstripping in the doorway, I am definitely going to inspect my door and make efforts to be careful when latching it shut.
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Old 03-16-2018, 05:56 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by currinh View Post
I just finished polishing our 2011 '19. Doing this I noticed a potential problem in the door latch area. Here is a picture of the door latch from the inside.


The second picture below shows a close up of the latch area.


The picture above shows two cracks highlighted by the two red circles. I think these start at the screws in the side holding the latch to the door but haven't taken the latch assembly off to verify this.

Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions on a fix before it fails.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Looking at the door latch there appears to be a lot of wear on the angled door latch strike area-the angle area that rides against the latch strike plate mounted to the trailer door jam.
I don’t have an escape to look at for comparison but door adjustment or some type of graphite lube might help?? Of interest is the very narrow band of wear marks. Is this normal on other door closers. There would appear to be unusual force being applied to the door latch mechanism that may be caused by a misalignment?
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Old 03-17-2018, 07:56 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
Just happen to have a bit of f.g. stuff handy.

The stuff on the left is f.g. cloth. That's what I would use inside the door.

The center is woven roving. Heavy duty stuff, one layer of that is pretty much a canoe shell.

The other material is matt. By itself it is very resin rich and and has a comparatively low strength.

Ron
Ron: Thanks for the pics. The terminology I used seems to be wrong. I meant the cloth would be best, thinnest. So I agree, thanks for the clarification.


Ron & AllanEdie: Thank you for the tips on fiberglass. I've done a little with it, but I sure appreciate the added information.

It sounds like taking the screws out of the door hinges isn't a problem. Thanks all for the tips, I know all this but would forget if not reminded. Thanks.

Thank you all. But there's more to the story...
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Old 03-17-2018, 07:56 PM   #25
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I decided to drill the ends of the cracks before heading home. So, I removed the striker plate and inside latch plate from the door. I was surprised at what I found. Here are two pictures with and without the latch plate. I haven't yet pulled the outer plate since it is caulked into place.




I thought the fiberglass came around and closed the hole where the latch comes though. i.e. the bolts holding the striker plate went through holes in the fiberglass. I thought these holes in the fiberglass were structurally tied to the striker. From the above pics a "large" hole is cut out for the striker to go though. The latch is held solidly by the four screws between the inner and outer plates. This clamps the door skins, the latch, and plates solidly together. That's the structure, not the part that is cracked. This is good news.

The latch assembly doesn't touch the fiberglass where it is cracked. It must have impacted it at some time, it seems obvious to me that's what caused the cracks.

The only thing I can think of is the screws holding the inner and outer plates together loosened. That might allow enough motion to impact the fiberglass. They weren't excessively loose, but applying some torque added rigidity to the latch.

But slamming the door would push the latch away from the fiberglass, so that can't be the cause.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Walter View Post
Some owner's have had issues with their doors where they (while sitting inside the trailer) have been able to see daylight along various portions of the perimeter of the door when it is closed. The standard fix for this has typically been to place additional foam weatherstrip material under the existing weather strip that runs around the exterior of the doorway (I have done this myself on my 19'). On further thought, if you have to add a lot of additional foam near the top or bottom of the door in order to block out the daylight, then when you close the door, the centre of the door will have to be bowed inwards relative to the bottom or top of the door in order for the latch to catch. This will result in an increased bending stress exactly where the pictured cracking has occurred, and could potentially have contributed to the observed problem. Based on the reported cracking issues and the potential for making things worse by using excessive thicknesses of foam weatherstripping in the doorway, I am definitely going to inspect my door and make efforts to be careful when latching it shut.
We bought our 2011 '19 used in 2013. The previous owner added weather stripping around the door. I'm sure this is to stop leaks as you suggest. It is about the only way the door could have been pushed outward, we haven't fallen against it. So this could be it, good thinking.

SO, the cracked fiberglass may be structural damage but isn't important to the function of the door. I think keeping the screws holding the inner and outer plates tight will go a long ways to prevent further damage. I'll repair the cracks when I get home, but am not nearly as worried as I was. I may even grind a little more relief between the fiberglass and the latch so they can hit.

What say you all??

Ha, life is good again!
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Old 03-17-2018, 08:29 PM   #26
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Door lockset

We had a 2010 with the defective lock cylinder. After I replaced the cylinder, it quit working again. I took things apart and that's when I found those screws loose. I tightened them up and no problem. Whenever I sensed the cylinder getting a little loose from then on, I snugged the screws back down. I considered some Locktite but they were metal screws into plastic which is a no no with locktite. Even though this latch is called a paddle slam latch, I believe one should refrain from slamming the door to latch it. As old Dad used to say. "Easy does it"
Glad your problem isn't too serious. Periodic checking and tightening of the screws should alleviate additional stress.
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Old 03-17-2018, 08:50 PM   #27
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Excellent news that! Minor structural reinforcement and some nice gel coat, and you will be golden. And it appears that after completely removing the door latch assembly, you can get at the inside of the crack reasonably well. Not the problem I initially expected.

Thanks to those mentioning those loose screws - I will be monitoring ours.

Cheers,

Allan Edie
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Old 03-17-2018, 09:12 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duer View Post
Looking at the door latch there appears to be a lot of wear on the angled door latch strike area-the angle area that rides against the latch strike plate mounted to the trailer door jam.
Duer: The wear is really not bad, likely looks worse in the pictures. I can't feel the wear pulling a fingernail across the edges. Also, the door works well and isn't hard to close. I'd worry a little if the wear was on one edge or the other, but it's right down the middle. Here is a pic of the door catch.


Hard to see much in a pic, but I don't see any wear in real life.

I'm curious what others say though. Thanks for the observation.
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Old 06-15-2018, 10:12 PM   #29
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Here is an update. I returned home and found time to work on the door. Pulled it off to get better access. (The screws do back up into wood which didn't shift during the process.) Once the door wasn't vertical I heard something knocking around inside. After some tilting and turning I was able to extract two boards that were loose inside. Maybe 1"x1"x8" obviously to hold the door skins apart. There weren't doing their job floating around the bottom of the door so I fished them out.

Once on the bench with the lock removed the cracks look like this.


Using a handheld belt sander I ground/sanded a groove over the worst four cracks. The others I think are just in the gel coat. I packed the inside with clay covered with a garbage bag. The resin won't stick to the plastic. This was to keep the resin out of the latch area and minimize clean up. The lock is a tight fit so no room for resin, at least at the corners.


I found a repair kit with small amounts of resin and cloth. The resin is West Epoxy and come in small pre-measured packets. Just squeeze both packet pockets and mix thoroughly. The cloth is of medium weight, same as I had on hand. A lighter cloth would have been better, but I used what I had. I put down two or three layers of cloth with resin infusion.


I sanded this down and used some filled resin to smooth out the surface. The filler gave the resin a gray color.


I did one more smoothing (gel) coat. In this I mixed in filler and a white colorant. The color was a lot whiter than with the filler alone, but still a little grayer than the original.


Putting the latch back in place covers most of the repair. You have to know it's there and look for it when the door is mounted.


I declare it a success. Could be better but It looks better than with cracks and is also stronger. I hope that is we keep the screws tight holding the latch in, and refrain from slamming the door, it'll last. Only time will tell though.

Thank you all for your help.
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