Anyone do a total rebuild of a TH ramp?

Last summer I did a rebuild of the ramp door on my 2008 Fuzion 393. Kept the aluminum frame around the perimeter, gutted everything else. Used 4' x 8' sheets of 0.125" diamond plate aluminum for the inside and outside skin, and treated lumber for the structure with extruded polystyrene in between the wood for insulation.

I looked into buying a replacement from Keystone but it was going to be $3000 plus shipping, and I figure it would be the same poor quality and just have same issues again.

fred42 wrote:
Taurus18,

Not sure if you have the standard Lippert ramp door that a lot of us have, but I wanted to let you know about the structure of this door.

The first surprising thing is that there is absolutely no structural members, word or metal, anywhere within the interior of the door. Only the perimeter has a metal frame. The strength comes from high pressure lamination of otherwise weak materials.

The overall 1 5/8" cross-section looks like this: (values are approximate and I am calling the materials as they appear to me)

Outside
1/16" fiberglass
1/8" composite
1 1/4" white Styrofoam
1/8" luan plywood
1/16" non-skid material
Inside

This the 2016 model that I have, They may make other configurations.

That explains the mushiness of my 2014 Grand Design Momentum which is a Lippert frame. We have full-timed in ours for almost 2 years and recently the upper center portion of the ramp has gotten mushy feeling. A little concerning when I'm loading/unloading a 1,000 lb Goldwing at almost every stop. I always load it in the center of the garage, so that's the section that's weakening. Wonder if putting a strip of diamond plate painted with a non-slip paint would help? Not sure what the best way to attach something would be if there is no structural members?

I didn't think Jayco used lippert frames. Our new work and play has 1 1/2" tubing in the door rated for 3,000?lbs. you may want to call Jayco.

fred42 wrote:

The first surprising thing is that there is absolutely no structural members, word or metal, anywhere within the interior of the door. Only the perimeter has a metal frame. The strength comes from high pressure lamination of otherwise weak materials.

It sounds like rebuilding the door really isn't an option?

Taurus18,

Not sure if you have the standard Lippert ramp door that a lot of us have, but I wanted to let you know about the structure of this door.

The first surprising thing is that there is absolutely no structural members, word or metal, anywhere within the interior of the door. Only the perimeter has a metal frame. The strength comes from high pressure lamination of otherwise weak materials.

The overall 1 5/8" cross-section looks like this: (values are approximate and I am calling the materials as they appear to me)

Outside
1/16" fiberglass
1/8" composite
1 1/4" white Styrofoam
1/8" luan plywood
1/16" non-skid material
Inside

This the 2016 model that I have, They may make other configurations.

Maybe you can save some of the rebuilding work and just skin the inside with a sheet of 1/8" aluminum tread plate?

Id just buy a new one

If a man made it a man can rebuild it if a machine made it you may be out of luck, check Utube videos. Try google "how to repair toy hauler ramp door".