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Ted66's avatar
Ted66
Explorer
Jan 26, 2015

Outside shower compartment door fell off :-( Now what?!

On our first BIG trip in the new-to-us LT Class B, I stopped on the way to the Grand Canyon to winterize as we approached cold weather. During the process, as I opened the outside short compartment door, it literally fell off in my hand. It seems that the adhesive used to affix the door to the hinge had failed after about 11 years of usage/age. I'm very glad that it came off in my hand and not while traveling I40 at 70MPH.

Has anyone else had a similar problem, and if so did you find an adhesive that you could trust to reattach it? I suspect I'll have to drill it out and use low profile stainless hardware and rubber seals to keep it on there for the long haul. And I probably should do the same to all of the other compartment doors before they too, have adhesive fail.

Appreciate any words of wisdom. Thanks!
Seeking Advice
  • Ted66's avatar
    Ted66
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2015
    I wish it were that easy. Ours is much different than that - the compartment door matches all other compartment doors, more like one would find on a Class A, not to mention its painted the same color as the coach is too.

    The one in this brochure is like ours, only in white and blue.

    Thanks though.
  • Ted66's avatar
    Ted66
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2015
    Thank you so much Veebyes! I had just gone out to look a the RV and imagined fasteners all over the compartment doors - not very pleasant to my otherwise very sharp little RV.

    I'll give the 3M product a try and safety wire the door on the inside via the lock mech, at least until I'm confident that the adhesive will hold long term.

    Much obliged!
  • Veebyes's avatar
    Veebyes
    Explorer II
    Jan 27, 2015
    If you want a sealer that will never ever...ever let go, get a tube of 3M 5200. Truly nasty stuff used in boats for bonding things that are never ever intended to be removed.

    A slightly more civilised version is 3M 4200. Removeable, but not without a good fight.
  • Ted66's avatar
    Ted66
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2015
    Thanks everyone (well, most of you :-) ) for your replies and suggestions. I don't like the idea of dotting the side of the little rv with fasteners, but I think it's needed. I may goes with these type of fastenersfasteners as some of the door/compartments are lockable.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Jan 27, 2015
    I would use some sort of mechanical fastener as well. I'm rather surprised they relied on an adhesive from the factory; apparently they never thought that anyone would need to replace the door or the hinges.

    If you want an adhesive, maybe epoxy (preferably with fiberglass reinforcements) would be reasonable, depending on how the door is constructed and skinned.
  • Sprink-Fitter's avatar
    Sprink-Fitter
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    Sell the camper or call a scrap yard, hardly worth keeping without the door on. ??

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