I have a project coming up soon that I have to tackle, and I wanted to get your input on what I might need. I have pretty good skills with saws, drills, etc., so I'm not worried about that part.Our TT is a '95 Sunnybrook 26DB. It has been awesome for us as a family, and we hope to get many more years out of it. We bought it in '13, and the two previous owners (brothers) kept it sheltered, and it's condition showed it. However, we don't have that luxury. It sits under oak trees now.Our entry door has started coming apart at the bottom, making it hard to open. I think the internal core, whatever that is, has rotted, and it doesn't allow the perimeter aluminum pieces to hold the door together. I need to take it apart and rebuild it.Does anyone know what material I should expect to find in the core? Plywood? Marine plywood? Is it something I can get at Lowe's or Home Depot, or will it need to be somewhere else?Thanks for any help you can give me.

On a 1995 Prowler we had I rebuilt the door frame. As I recall when I took it apart I found a 2x2 wood outer frame with some 2x2 cross bracing all put together with staples which were rusted and the wood rotted. What I did was replace the bad wood and placed some metal 'L' brackets in the 4 corners to give it support along with some metal brackets to support the cross bracing (no staples). It never gave me any more problems. Hope this helps.

4aSong wrote:On a 1995 Prowler we had I rebuilt the door frame. As I recall when I took it apart I found a 2x2 wood outer frame with some 2x2 cross bracing all put together with staples which were rusted and the wood rotted. What I did was replace the bad wood and placed some metal 'L' brackets in the 4 corners to give it support along with some metal brackets to support the cross bracing (no staples). It never gave me any more problems. Hope this helps. You know, it's very possible that's what I will find. There may be a perimeter frame made out of wood, and then foam board in the middle for weight savings. If so, that wouldn't be too much trouble to rebuild. Thanks for letting me know your experience.

fallsrider wrote: You know, it's very possible that's what I will find. There may be a perimeter frame made out of wood, and then foam board in the middle for weight savings. If so, that wouldn't be too much trouble to rebuild. Thanks for letting me know your experience.You refreshed my mind, I do recall foam board in between the wood framing. :)

When I see these kind of posts I also wonder how others have done it and what they found. My next step is to go to YouTube it is amazing what you will find.:B

IAMICHABOD wrote:When I see these kind of posts I also wonder how others have done it and what they found. My next step is to go to YouTube it is amazing what you will find.:B No doubt. I use YouTube a lot myself. I just had it on my mind yesterday morning, and I had to head out to work, so I didn't have time to look on YouTube. I just wondered what others have run into.

Entry Door Rebuild | Good Sam Community

fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 07, 2019
CavemanCharlie wrote:
....Looks really nice. If you ever get to SW MN of NW Iowa let me know and I'll give you some money to rebuild mine so that I can get rid of my Caveman fix. :B
Ha ha. I think I'll pass! One door is enough!
fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 07, 2019
Duane4238 wrote:
Viewing your pictures was like looking at my door project a few years ago. After you reseal the window inside and out, put the black frame back on and then seal all the way around where the glass and plastic touch, and also where the fiberglass and the plastic meet. That will completely seal the window. That's what I did to mine. Looks like a professional job.
Duane
Hope the memories weren't too bad! It makes sense to seal the window. I think I'll do that soon.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Aug 07, 2019
fallsrider wrote:
I tackled the door repair yesterday. Thankfully, the wood frame perimeter was only three sides, with the strike side being a full-length galvanized channel. This made it possible to insert the new frame without removing either fiberglass skin. The bottom strip, and part of the lower hinge side strip were pretty rotten.

I hope to keep this trailer for quite some time, so I didn't want to have to do this again. The wood strips were 1-3/8" thick, and ranged from 1-3/16" wide to 1-5/8" wide. I considered doing them in douglas fir because it is more rot resistant, and it is more stable dimensionally (less likely to bow, twist, etc.) I instead bought a 4x4x8 douglas fir post, and ripped it down to the dimensions I needed. Problem solved.

I'm happy with the results. I think this door should last quite a while.

Looks really nice. If you ever get to SW MN of NW Iowa let me know and I'll give you some money to rebuild mine so that I can get rid of my Caveman fix. :B
Duane4238
Explorer
Aug 06, 2019
Viewing your pictures was like looking at my door project a few years ago. After you reseal the window inside and out, put the black frame back on and then seal all the way around where the glass and plastic touch, and also where the fiberglass and the plastic meet. That will completely seal the window. That's what I did to mine. Looks like a professional job.
Duane
4aSong
Explorer
Aug 06, 2019
fallsrider wrote:
4aSong wrote:
Fallsrider,

The pictures did no come thru.

I don't know what happened. They showed up on my desktop where I created the post, but they didn't show up later on my phone. I posted them to another hosting site. Hope they show up now.

Pictures are showing now, by looking at the pictures I don't believe you will have any further issues with the door.
I would follow up with the suggestion from DUANE4238 for sealing around the window just to eliminate any possible leaks.
fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 06, 2019
Duane4238 wrote:
Just a little additional info to help keep your rebuilt door going for a long time, All of these TT doors eventually rot out because the window frame seals (caulking) give out over time. Take the frame, probably plastic, off and reseal the window to the door on the outside and the inside. That will keep any water from running down the window and back inside the door. I did a rebuild on my old '92 Wilderness and the door was better than new when done.
Duane
That's a good idea. I actually had the glass out on Saturday, not knowing at the time that I didn't have to do that to rebuild the frame. I thought one of the fiberglass skins would have to come off, but that wasn't the case. I'll get me some of the sealing strips and redo the glass.
fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 06, 2019
4aSong wrote:
Fallsrider,

The pictures did no come thru.

I don't know what happened. They showed up on my desktop where I created the post, but they didn't show up later on my phone. I posted them to another hosting site. Hope they show up now.
4aSong
Explorer
Aug 05, 2019
Fallsrider,

The pictures did no come thru.
Duane4238
Explorer
Aug 05, 2019
Just a little additional info to help keep your rebuilt door going for a long time, All of these TT doors eventually rot out because the window frame seals (caulking) give out over time. Take the frame, probably plastic, off and reseal the window to the door on the outside and the inside. That will keep any water from running down the window and back inside the door. I did a rebuild on my old '92 Wilderness and the door was better than new when done.
Duane
fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 05, 2019
I tackled the door repair yesterday. Thankfully, the wood frame perimeter was only three sides, with the strike side being a full-length galvanized channel. This made it possible to insert the new frame without removing either fiberglass skin. The bottom strip, and part of the lower hinge side strip were pretty rotten.

I hope to keep this trailer for quite some time, so I didn't want to have to do this again. The wood strips were 1-3/8" thick, and ranged from 1-3/16" wide to 1-5/8" wide. I considered doing them in douglas fir because it is more rot resistant, and it is more stable dimensionally (less likely to bow, twist, etc.) I instead bought a 4x4x8 douglas fir post, and ripped it down to the dimensions I needed. Problem solved.

I'm happy with the results. I think this door should last quite a while.

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