Fun / Projects / with my 1997 America Dream
Borrowed a trailer and getting ready for some fun in the sun (it's cold here now 30's again tonight) I went and bought a 8 inch drop hitch, the 6 inch had the deck at too much of an angle, and ...
Forum Discussion
So this project took several days to come to fruition.
Two threads on two different forums and help from American Coach.
I can now tie it all up and say it is almost done.
Last year the sliding panel on our inner door shattered. This is the story of replacing it.
Day One.
On my 1997 American Dream I have an inner door on the main entrance and exit door.
This inner door clips onto both the main door and the door frame.
Here is a picture of the inner door clipped to the main door.
The upper and lower panels on the door are a very clear heavy flexible plastic.
and here is the problem, the right piece of safety glass slides in the channel to allow access to the outer door handle, and when the inner door is closed on the door frame the panel can be slide open to allow access to the catch on the inside of the inner door so that it can be opened from the outside.
This piece of safety glass shattered last year, and I cannot figure out how to replace it.
As my description of this door must be confusing here are several pictures to show the operation of the door.
You have seen the inner door clipped to the outer door.
Here is one of the inner door closed in the boor frame.
A shot of the outer door with the inner door closed.
A shot of the entrance open with the inner door clipped to the outer door.
Both doors have their own hinges, the inner door hinge goes over the top of the main door hinge.
I have to believe this is original to the Motor Home. There is no way the aftermarket came up with something this elaborate.
There has to be a way to replace this glass.
Normally you would cut the piece so that you could slide it up into the upper slot (the upper slot being deeper than the lower slot, but it is not)
Swing the bottom edge of the glass over the lower slot and allow it to drop into place.
But as you can see the bottom slot is only 1/16 of an inch shallower than the top slot.
I am stumped as to how to do this.
I have three ideas none which I like.
One is to remove the inner edge of the slot, put the glass in place and that bolt a finished piece of metal over the top of the missing edge.
Two is to remove half of the inner edge of the lower slot. This would allow me to use the normal method of installing the piece of glass. This is the one I am leaning towards, but there has to be a way to installing this glass without modifying the door.
Three is to use Plexiglas which I could bend to get it into both slots. I do not want to cheapen the Motor Home up with a cheap solution.
This door is very useful when parked, the A/C or heat can be on in the Coach and you do not have to open and close the heavy outer door to get in and out.
I received may suggestions from taking the boor to a glass shop to using plexi-glass and bending the plexi to get it into the channel.
Day Two.
I received the answer from Mr_D .
There is a plastic runner in both the top and bottom channel of the frame for the sliding window.
This runner can be hooked and pulled out to supply the room to set the glass in place.
Now all I have to do is take the measurement to a glass shop, get the piece made and put it in place.
No need for pesky vendors.
(I would cut the glass, but this is safety glass, a skill I do not have.)
Guys, if you post a question, please, when you get the answer post that as well so we can all learn.
Thanks.
Day Three.
So I figured that the hard part was over.
I printed out the two largest glass places here in Rochester.
Took my drawing and parts (felt strips and knob) and went for a drive.
I guessed at the knob location as the original piece is long gone, as you will see I guessed wrong.
The first place said they only put metal on the edges of our safety glass.
The second place said they only put croak like substance on the edges, that they cannot drill the hole for the knob, that they have to custom order that from Syracuse and that takes a minimum of ten days.
So than I did what I should have done in the first place is a called American Coach to see if they sell the glass as a part.
The representative knew what I was talking about, but because of the age of my coach the records are not in the computer. She is going to look it and call me back.
Hopefully they sell the part.
Day Four
So I never got a call back.
I called again at 4:00 and was told they could find no record of anyone doing research on the glass panel for the inner door.
I gave them all the information again and was told the door was no longer available that I needed to call a scrap yard and they gave me two phone numbers.
I explain I was not looking for the door, just the glass panel, and suspect that that part is still available as it is a piece that gets broken and should be pretty expensive as it is safety glass (good profit margin).
I got the same response as I did the first time, they would research it and get back to me.
A quick search found an online place that will cut safety glass to order and mail it to you.
Tempered Glass | Custom Cut Safety Glass Delivered to Your Home
I may have to presue this as the local shops only want to do what they do and not provide what I need.
Day Five
I came to believe that I was going to have to have a custom piece made for me.
I knew this would take time so I decided to make a temporary piece until I could get the real thing.
I sent Anne (the better half) out to get the pieces.
She came back with a piece of acrylic. I have never built anything out of acrylic, so I googled cutting and drilling acrylic.
They said to use a saw blade with a loot of teeth which I happen to have.
This worked perfect.
To drill it they said to start small and work your way up, and let the bit do the work. This did not work so well, the acrylic "clouded" around the hole, but will be hidden by the base of the knob.
She could not fine black felt to match the original but was given a small piece of brown, as this is temporary I will have time to find the correct black.
I wanted self sticky back felt and could not find it either, so contact cement it is.
Now the touchy job of applying it, it actually went very nicely.
Now to roll the felt over the edge and up onto the other side.
The install was a breeze, the acrylic is flexible enough to set one edge in and flex the acrylic to pop the other edge in.
Here is where I made the mistake on the placement of the knob. The knob does not allow the panel to slide over far enough to allow clear access to the outer door handle from the inside. As this is temporary, in the finial drawing I send to the custom glass place I will make an adjustment for this.
The handle does not come out far enough to hit the glass.
I will be ordering the Safety glass as in the few trails I have made sliding the glass open and close the acrylic already has some scratches in it.
All done.
While I was walking up the driveway my cell phone rang. It is American Coach.
THEY HAVE THE GLASS, IN STOCK along with a couple other parts I'm looking for.
Not only do they have the part, it is cheaper than I have found through a glass shop. I was quoted $161.00 for custom and American Coach wants $69.19, done deal, send it to me.
So...I'm about to let the cat out of the bag and provide a glance into some future entertainment.
In addition they have the plastic covers for the weep holes for the sliding windows in the coach for $14.63 each, send five, a future project.
Also they have the exact replacement for my water heater for $461.80, Amazon.com wants $538.00 send that, another future project. I have spent that much at Caledonia RV in repairs on the one in the Motor Home and it still does not work right (in the rain on gas it shuts off, and on electric the water only get luke warm).
So stay tuned as there are two more projects coming your way. Not right away as next week I will be racing!
Two threads on two different forums and help from American Coach.
I can now tie it all up and say it is almost done.
Last year the sliding panel on our inner door shattered. This is the story of replacing it.
Day One.
On my 1997 American Dream I have an inner door on the main entrance and exit door.
This inner door clips onto both the main door and the door frame.
Here is a picture of the inner door clipped to the main door.
The upper and lower panels on the door are a very clear heavy flexible plastic.
and here is the problem, the right piece of safety glass slides in the channel to allow access to the outer door handle, and when the inner door is closed on the door frame the panel can be slide open to allow access to the catch on the inside of the inner door so that it can be opened from the outside.
This piece of safety glass shattered last year, and I cannot figure out how to replace it.
As my description of this door must be confusing here are several pictures to show the operation of the door.
You have seen the inner door clipped to the outer door.
Here is one of the inner door closed in the boor frame.
A shot of the outer door with the inner door closed.
A shot of the entrance open with the inner door clipped to the outer door.
Both doors have their own hinges, the inner door hinge goes over the top of the main door hinge.
I have to believe this is original to the Motor Home. There is no way the aftermarket came up with something this elaborate.
There has to be a way to replace this glass.
Normally you would cut the piece so that you could slide it up into the upper slot (the upper slot being deeper than the lower slot, but it is not)
Swing the bottom edge of the glass over the lower slot and allow it to drop into place.
But as you can see the bottom slot is only 1/16 of an inch shallower than the top slot.
I am stumped as to how to do this.
I have three ideas none which I like.
One is to remove the inner edge of the slot, put the glass in place and that bolt a finished piece of metal over the top of the missing edge.
Two is to remove half of the inner edge of the lower slot. This would allow me to use the normal method of installing the piece of glass. This is the one I am leaning towards, but there has to be a way to installing this glass without modifying the door.
Three is to use Plexiglas which I could bend to get it into both slots. I do not want to cheapen the Motor Home up with a cheap solution.
This door is very useful when parked, the A/C or heat can be on in the Coach and you do not have to open and close the heavy outer door to get in and out.
I received may suggestions from taking the boor to a glass shop to using plexi-glass and bending the plexi to get it into the channel.
Day Two.
I received the answer from Mr_D .
There is a plastic runner in both the top and bottom channel of the frame for the sliding window.
This runner can be hooked and pulled out to supply the room to set the glass in place.
Now all I have to do is take the measurement to a glass shop, get the piece made and put it in place.
No need for pesky vendors.
(I would cut the glass, but this is safety glass, a skill I do not have.)
Guys, if you post a question, please, when you get the answer post that as well so we can all learn.
Thanks.
Day Three.
So I figured that the hard part was over.
I printed out the two largest glass places here in Rochester.
Took my drawing and parts (felt strips and knob) and went for a drive.
I guessed at the knob location as the original piece is long gone, as you will see I guessed wrong.
The first place said they only put metal on the edges of our safety glass.
The second place said they only put croak like substance on the edges, that they cannot drill the hole for the knob, that they have to custom order that from Syracuse and that takes a minimum of ten days.
So than I did what I should have done in the first place is a called American Coach to see if they sell the glass as a part.
The representative knew what I was talking about, but because of the age of my coach the records are not in the computer. She is going to look it and call me back.
Hopefully they sell the part.
Day Four
So I never got a call back.
I called again at 4:00 and was told they could find no record of anyone doing research on the glass panel for the inner door.
I gave them all the information again and was told the door was no longer available that I needed to call a scrap yard and they gave me two phone numbers.
I explain I was not looking for the door, just the glass panel, and suspect that that part is still available as it is a piece that gets broken and should be pretty expensive as it is safety glass (good profit margin).
I got the same response as I did the first time, they would research it and get back to me.
A quick search found an online place that will cut safety glass to order and mail it to you.
Tempered Glass | Custom Cut Safety Glass Delivered to Your Home
I may have to presue this as the local shops only want to do what they do and not provide what I need.
Day Five
I came to believe that I was going to have to have a custom piece made for me.
I knew this would take time so I decided to make a temporary piece until I could get the real thing.
I sent Anne (the better half) out to get the pieces.
She came back with a piece of acrylic. I have never built anything out of acrylic, so I googled cutting and drilling acrylic.
They said to use a saw blade with a loot of teeth which I happen to have.
This worked perfect.
To drill it they said to start small and work your way up, and let the bit do the work. This did not work so well, the acrylic "clouded" around the hole, but will be hidden by the base of the knob.
She could not fine black felt to match the original but was given a small piece of brown, as this is temporary I will have time to find the correct black.
I wanted self sticky back felt and could not find it either, so contact cement it is.
Now the touchy job of applying it, it actually went very nicely.
Now to roll the felt over the edge and up onto the other side.
The install was a breeze, the acrylic is flexible enough to set one edge in and flex the acrylic to pop the other edge in.
Here is where I made the mistake on the placement of the knob. The knob does not allow the panel to slide over far enough to allow clear access to the outer door handle from the inside. As this is temporary, in the finial drawing I send to the custom glass place I will make an adjustment for this.
The handle does not come out far enough to hit the glass.
I will be ordering the Safety glass as in the few trails I have made sliding the glass open and close the acrylic already has some scratches in it.
All done.
While I was walking up the driveway my cell phone rang. It is American Coach.
THEY HAVE THE GLASS, IN STOCK along with a couple other parts I'm looking for.
Not only do they have the part, it is cheaper than I have found through a glass shop. I was quoted $161.00 for custom and American Coach wants $69.19, done deal, send it to me.
So...I'm about to let the cat out of the bag and provide a glance into some future entertainment.
In addition they have the plastic covers for the weep holes for the sliding windows in the coach for $14.63 each, send five, a future project.
Also they have the exact replacement for my water heater for $461.80, Amazon.com wants $538.00 send that, another future project. I have spent that much at Caledonia RV in repairs on the one in the Motor Home and it still does not work right (in the rain on gas it shuts off, and on electric the water only get luke warm).
So stay tuned as there are two more projects coming your way. Not right away as next week I will be racing!
