Sagging doors.... What to do?

Travelguy

Travelguy

Novice
Well her goes. I have a 2006 550 ultra that has traveled to Montana 2 times from LA with weather down to 0 degrees to Yuma, Az 6 times with heat up to 121 degrees. Not to mention forget all the trips to the High Sierras I took.
Last year when I went to prep my trailer for a trip found the door was dragging on the bottom and would not close so instead of looking at the hing I started filling the door a little... while doing that I noticed the screws on the hings looked loose and sure enough they were...when tightened the door closing was fixed....Yee Haa !!!

Except for one small problem. This year the door was again sagging (I once again tightened all the screws) and after a short trip to San Diego again the door was sagging. The screws are no longer holding.... What to do ? :cry:

So I ask all of you including Cary and Craig what is the best method to fix this issue ? At some point it will affect all of us. Esp if you do any miles like I have. I am sure the vibrations from the road are causing the door to vibrate up and down esp since I take my trailer on dirt roads.What would be the best way of fixing this? Had a friend that is a engineer say that I should drill a hole at the top and bottom of the hinge and put a flat head bolt and use lock washers behind it. Also thought about pulling each screw and putting in a toothpick and some glue and re-screwing. Another thought was using wood putty and then re-screwing after it dried.

I think the bolt idea will hold the longest because eventually the screws will again succumb to vibrations and fail. This will affect all of us eventually due to door design. The stainless hinge is a great idea... if it had been aluminum it would have failed by now. So I leave this up to all of you ( Craig and Cary please chime in any time since you guys are the builders). I would like a permanent solution if there is one or the next best thing. Just want to camp with out doing lots of work to keep my little investment working right. :grin:
 
Would it be possible to replace the screws with the next larger size diameter?
 
Todd,
I am interested in the answer from Cary and crew.
I would guess thru bolts would be a more permanent fix.
Keep us up dated.
Steve
 
Todd,

We have seen this happen on a few trailers. Possible causes are excessive road vibration, core material of the plywood may have had a weak spot or layer, or the screws were overtightened and stripped. It happened on my personal teardrop (#002).

Wood putty will not have enough strength.

You could go up a size in the screws, but the head will be larger and may not look right.

There are a few possible solutions:

The quickest, easiest to try is the one you already suggested.
Take out a couple screws at a time,
squirt in a little wood glue,
Push in some toothpicks,
Reinstall the screws,
Let fully dry, (24 hours)
Remove screws,
Add sealant (like silicone)
Reinstall screws.

Your engineer friend suggested the strongest solution. Although, my biggest concern with this approach is there may not be enough clearance for the nut next to the door trim.

I will check on one of the trailers at the shop and see if there is enough clearance. IF there is, I will recommend what hardware to use.

Craig
 
Hey everybody, snug up your door hinge screws. If they are a little loose the vibration/bumps will cause them to eat up the wood. Don't over tighten, just make sure they are not loose. All of them. If you detect a change in the way the door shuts, check the screws - now! An ounce, etc........

Hilditch
 
Well I glued and screwed my doors back. Will see how long that lasts. Thought came to mind.... why not make the hings wider- say add a 1/2 to 1 inch. That would allow you to stagger the screws and allow you to add bolts top and bottom. Could be sold as a refit like the sink and no more worrying about tightening the screws once a year or more... What do you think Craig and Carry ?
 
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