topper
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Post by topper on Oct 4, 2014 17:50:12 GMT -8
I own a 62' Shasta Airflyte and I am able to close, lock, and latch the door; however, when I am driving down the road the door inexplicably comes open. This is easily remedied through use of a bungee cord in fair weather, but I am getting ready to go cross country with the trailer in tow.
Is it possible to somehow adjust the bargman l-66 latch bolt to go deeper into the strike plate. Or is it possible the spring may be worn and it is just coming out of the strike plate? is it possible to find bargman replacement parts? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Oct 4, 2014 19:14:11 GMT -8
The door, and/or the door frame "are moving".
Are both rebuilt, and are "both" are fully secure/stiff?
The last thing to check is the striker plate.
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Post by bigbill on Oct 4, 2014 20:18:28 GMT -8
My opinion is that john is right. If the door a frame have been rebuilt and are not flexing then you might have to space the striker plate out to get a deeper connection with the latch.
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topper
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Post by topper on Oct 5, 2014 4:23:41 GMT -8
I have owned the camper for several years. It had hundreds of miles on it, being towed by me, before this stated happening. Therefore, I am going to attempt the repositioning of the striker plate.
Just to clarify, the latch bolt is not adjustable right?
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soup
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Post by soup on Oct 5, 2014 6:42:56 GMT -8
The door, and/or the door frame "are moving". Are both rebuilt, and are "both" are fully secure/stiff? The last thing to check is the striker plate. No matter the years owned or towed, Please see above^ again.
The older it is and the more it gets towed is the more likely the door's frame inside the door panel is loose or the door jamb frame is loose and or rotted to where it has finally become loose at the corners. At the corners of both the door jamb frame and the actual door panel interior frame were only held together with staples anyway. Over time from moisture, age and movement, those staple holes become more and more loose to finally allowing enough movement to open your door while in motion with side to side and front to back movement/vibration.
First striker plate. (Even though there might not be enough clearance in the space between the actual door and jamb frame to even to be able to space the striker plate out a bit). Over more time and movement, spacing the striker plate out from the jamb surface won't be enough to keep the door closed either, if you have never rebuilt the door panel frame and door jamb frame.
Second actual door panel disassembly, frame rebuild, reassembly and re-install.
Third, Door out again and reframing the door jamb frame that the door mounts to and latches into.
Those door handles are problematic to begin with and are not adjustable. Not made anymore and hard to come by used ones too.
Some percentages to think about. I've done about 20 trailers in 5 years. Every one of them needed the actual door panel interior frame rebuilt. About 75% of them needed the door jamb frame rebuilt under the exterior skins around the door. 90% of them were the sub quality built Shasta brand.
Just sayin' As usual I agree with John Palmer and bigbill. Soup
Here's a look into your future if not already accomplished;
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Oct 5, 2014 9:49:34 GMT -8
Soup "nailed it", and supplied the photos to back it up.
You will never have enough tools to do every job, so I adjust my builds to accommodate my available tools. I only have a 48" sheet metal brake, which limits me from bending six foot door skins.
One thing that I have done with success is to use 1" by 3" poplar for the door framing. I use a radial saw to cut lap joints for the corners, some glue, some screws and some staples. Then I make a second frame to glue to the first frame, that brings the thickness up to the 1 1/2". You need to carefully lay it out so the window frame, and the door handle are in the correct positions. I then fill in the empty spots with hard Styrofoam, and house wrap it before the metal is applied. It makes a very stiff door, and the hard wood really holds the hinge and handle screws very well.
There's a huge difference when you slam a door closed that "is stiff and rigid".
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yankiwi
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now where does THIS screw go??
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Post by yankiwi on Oct 5, 2014 13:31:07 GMT -8
hi folks, i'm just about to rebuild Flo's door - love the photos and the input - and yes it was rotted out on the bottom and the door frame was rotted. the PO tried to fix it - but seemed more like they were hiding the fact that they just patched it - i shouldn't have been surprised when we opened her up to see it all black with nothing stabilizing it. but i digress, i hadn't thought of putting insulation in the door. but that makes sense, i'm just afraid of it being too thick so that it doesn't close. i'm not reskining the metal but am the birch.
thanks.
t
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Oct 5, 2014 19:31:47 GMT -8
hi folks, i'm just about to rebuild Flo's door - love the photos and the input - and yes it was rotted out on the bottom and the door frame was rotted. the PO tried to fix it - but seemed more like they were hiding the fact that they just patched it - i shouldn't have been surprised when we opened her up to see it all black with nothing stabilizing it. but i digress, i hadn't thought of putting insulation in the door. but that makes sense, i'm just afraid of it being too thick so that it doesn't close. i'm not reskining the metal but am the birch. thanks. t The insulation won't get "too thick" unless you make it too thick. You can buy Styrofoam sheet at any Big Box store that also sells building materials.
You will usually find the Home Depot stores (no they are not all the same) that carry building materials in the older established neighborhoods. In my area, Irvine is a newer home area, and the Home Depots don't carry any inventory of specialty building materials (ie: NO Styrofoam), so pick your store location based on your needs.
You can buy Styrofoam sheets in 1/2", 3/4", 1", and thicker sizes, and it's cheap! By using several different thickness layers, you can make up any thickness you desire.
I live in a very mild climate, the hard insulation is not installed for the insulation quality. I use it to make for a lightweight, rigid, solid wall to back up the very thin aluminum skin, to reduce future dents.
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Post by bigbill on Oct 6, 2014 7:42:06 GMT -8
I do my doors very similar to Soup an John only I like to use Oak on the latch side as it is very hard and the screws hold very well when screwed into it. Lately I have been doubling the frame it adds about 6 pound to the door but it really increases the rigidity and when you close it you think to are closing a quality door. I also like to lube my hinge with a dry silicon lube to prevent wear and allow a smooth operation.
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yankiwi
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Post by yankiwi on Oct 6, 2014 17:39:27 GMT -8
thanks John and BigBill! great advise. looks like i know what i will be doing this weekend. oh and john - we're in the IE. nice and hot still!  tracy |
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Bow_Tied
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Post by Bow_Tied on Oct 6, 2014 18:39:25 GMT -8
I had the same problem on my '59. A possible contributing factor was the outside edge of the bolt in the door handle was well worn creating a bit of a chamfer where it should have been straight. I had also applied my own weatherstrip to the door that was likely a bit thicker than it should've been causing some outward force on the door when closed. This, likely combined with a bit of flex, would cause the door to open on the road. I replaced the entire handle assy with one I got on ebay that was supposed to be NOS but was actually a new china repop. Problem went away after that. Never did rebuild the frame. It likely needs it.
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