Wind-proof Your Camper Doors

This is a tip for dealing with particularly hot, gusty wind conditions.

Our camper is five years old and has probably seen more rodeos than the majority of Camp Inn campers, given that for about half the year we see a half dozen campsites per week. And we've probably been in more varied and extreme weather conditions than the average owner (though we don't really seek them out - others owners may be more inclined toward this form of self-abuse). Lately we've been in areas where strong afternoon winds are a nearly daily occurrence, and when late afternoon thunderstorms start brewing, the gusts can be particularly strong. These places tend to be hot, so keeping the camper doors open is highly beneficial to our comfort.

Recently some of the gusts have been strong enough to cause our open doors to slam close, especially since the wind direction can vary pretty dramatically in a very short period of time. In addition to worrying that the window glass might shatter in such a situation, our dog likes to sit in the door opening, in order to better survey her domain. Our really big fear is that the door would slam shut and cause her some sort of serious injury. Thus we were highly motivated to find a way to minimize the likelihood that this problem would re-occur.

We put some thought into how to solve this. Our first attempt was a piece of paracord with a loop on one end and a carabiner on the other, which was sufficient for us to attach the cord to our propane tank and wrap the loop around the door handle. It worked, but we needed two of them if we wanted both doors open, and we needed to figure out where to store the cords when not needed (which would be a high percentage of the time).

Our second attempt was a single piece of paracord with a loop at each end. It was long enough to reach between the two doors, with a loop wrapped around each door handle. But it only worked when we wanted both doors held open. We didn't want two solutions to one problem, so we kept at it.

Our current iteration has combined the best of both of the previous attempts. By simply adding a carabiner in the center of the paracord, we can attach the cord to the propane tank handle (or you could simply tie the cord onto the handle - we added the carabiner because we want to be able to easily remove it when necessary). Then we can put a loop over either or both door handles, as needed. And we can store the cord by looping it around the top of the propane tank, so that the loops slip over the tank knob - no need to figure out where to put it when we are in less windy (or cooler) conditions.






Bear - I hope these images are big enough on your device...

 

I really appreciate the thoughtful design. We were in North Dakota a couple of weeks ago - the home of wind (our friends packed up and left in the middle of the night fearful of the wind) and I thought about doing something like this. Is it crazy to worry about the strain on the door handle? That is what stopped me. I suppose it is a balance of the risks you mentioned and the strain on the door handle.

I appreciate your posts for the thoughtfulness and precision. Thank you.

 

I wouldn't think that strain on the door handle would be an issue, at least as long as there isn't a lot of slack in the line. After all, the existing door stops do an admirable job in all but the strongest gusts. These are only there to stop the door in really strong winds.

Thanks for the kudos!