Cupboard doors separating

[Goomba_BC]

Hi all.
I went to check on my travel trailer today. It is stored at an outdoor facility. I live in southern BC Canada which has had some cooler weather, a few days of snow and minus temps. But overall it's been a mild winter. I have the trailer covered with an Adco cover and used Dry z air to help with moisture.

I left the cupboard doors open as I've read it helps with airflow. Anyways I tried to close on of the cupboard doors and it wouldn't shut. I checked it over and noticed the corner had separated. it happened on quite a few of them. I took photos and they are below.
Any idea what caused this? How to keep this from happening and how to fix them???

This is my second trailer and I've had a camper as well before. I've never had this happen.

[mayo30]

Grandpakip has it right,you may want to ditch that rv cover and do some venting also.

[kend40]

Goomba: Those doors are called "raised Panel" doors. The centre panels have expanded and pushed the joint apart. When cabinet makers build doors like that they make sure that the small tongue around the panel is undersized in relation to the groove that it fits into, to allow for expansion and contraction. Problem is they can also rattle when too loose. A woodworking trick is to place small rubber strips into the grooves (after relieving the edges of the tongue's) that will allow for the swelling or contraction and still place a little pressure on the panel. Check with a local cabinet shop. they should be able to make then "like new" again.

[Goomba_BC]

Wow. What great replies and so much info! This is a great site and I'm very grateful for the info.

I will remove the doors and take close up shots to show. I will close the vents and add more dry z air containers. When i noticed the cupboard doors, the dry z air containers were empty of pellets and full of water. Must've been the higher humidity.

Thanks all.

[lembean]

I have to disagree with most of the advice here. I am a retired woodworker.

If the original glue joint was glued with a pva glue( tightbond) the glue has already sealed the pores of the wood and useing most glues as suggested, would not bond properly.In my opinion, and I may be wrong, your best bet would be to reglue the joint useing an epoxy adhesive. Any squeeze out can be cleaned up, while still wet, with white vinegar.Epoxy will bond to most everything and is stronger then the wood. But so is pva if done properly.Be sure the temp is over 50* for the entire cure time. Warmer is always better with epoxy.I would also avoid getting any glue on the raised panels, they need to be able to expand and contract.So just epoxy and pipe clamps and you should be good to go.

[bhh]

I do furniture repair work and have a couple of suggestions:

- Avoid the Gorilla Glue -- I see lots of failures and messes from foam out from it. A good PVA glue like Titebond or Elmer's would be my first choice. Remove the doors for ease of work. Inject glue with a syringe along the joint (known as a cope and stick), and not along the panel edge. Clamp and measure equal diagonals to ensure square.

- Wood expands and contracts minimally with changes in temperature, much more with changes in humidity. If it blew apart because of the raised panel expansion, I would expect it would be in higher humidity parts of year. The panel should be allowed to expand and contract (which is why raised panel rail and stile construction is used), you might remove the panels and plane off 1/8" or so from each edge (no reason to do the top and bottom because wood expands and contracts negligibly along that axis)

[GrandpaKip]

Before removing, regluing, clamping, etc., I would find out the humidity in the camper and the moisture content of the doors. From the photos, it looks like they are all solid wood. If you got enough moisture in there to bust the joints, there is way too much and I would be concerned about that first. On the other hand, being too dry can have the same effect and cause joints to come apart. From the look of one of the stiles that has the beading splitting off, it sure looks like excess moisture and a swelled panel. I would check to find out first, though.
Good luck.

[dadmomh]

Before DH discovered RC airplanes, he was an avid woodworker. Mostly used Gorilla Glue or an Elmer's Woodworkers glue - sort of a tanish color. Unless it was a small project that didn't matter, he always used glue and screws.

We have a spot on the back side of our dinette in the TT where just a wooden panel was used and it's been put on with staples. He tried some glue and clamps, but didn't hold. Believe the next step is to take off the loose cushion, add a slat of whatever size and the Gorilla Glue...can't use screws as it's a very visible spot.

[Bob_Landry]

That's a nice job. I wasn't as worried about the drawers themselves as I was the slides and the way they were supported. I also use glu for most project, but I occasionally use a nail(not staple) gun for projects depending on what I'm fastening and how mush stress it gets. There's a place for every tool, you just have to know when it's appropriate to use it.

[loulou57]

Sorry double

[loulou57]

Bob Landry wrote:
That includes cabinetry which is most likely mass produced by their vendors also. I've noticed that the builders tool of choice seems to be a staple gun because it's fast and cheap to use. It doesn't take much to pull a staple through a piece of 1/8" Luan. My big complaint is that they also use them to build drawer supports and those usually don't hold up more than a couple of trips if you load them up with kitchen stuff. At least mine didn't. I doubt that even with the custom one-offs, they don't let an assembly sit for several hours waiting for glue to dry. R

You are right mass produced is all about the end $. Hubby did our kitchen drawers over for that reason. He doesn't useca staple gun when building cabinets.

[Bob_Landry]

After thinking about it, Titebond is water soluble, Gorrila glue is not. With Titebond you you can clean off the excess with a wet rag after you squeeze it with the clamps. There's no need to try to recut or trim anything, it simply pulled apart at the joint.
One thing I noticed looking at my cabinet doors. They are all put together with staples as is everything else, at least in my trailer. You have to remember that trailer building is mass production, the cheapest they can do with the cheapest components they can buy. That includes cabinetry which is most likely mass produced by their vendors also. I've noticed that the builders tool of choice seems to be a staple gun because it's fast and cheap to use. It doesn't take much to pull a staple through a piece of 1/8" Luan. My big complaint is that they also use them to build drawer supports and those usually don't hold up more than a couple of trips if you load them up with kitchen stuff. At least mine didn't. I doubt that even with the custom one-offs, they don't let an assembly sit for several hours waiting for glue to dry. It feels like I've rebuilt everything on this trailer, which makes me less than anxious to trade it in on a new one and start over with the same issues.

[loulou57]

Goomba_BC wrote:
Hi all.
I went to check on my travel trailer today. It is stored at an outdoor facility. I live in southern BC Canada which has had some cooler weather, a few days of snow and minus temps. But overall it's been a mild winter. I have the trailer covered with an Adco cover and used Dry z air to help with moisture.

I left the cupboard doors open as I've read it helps with airflow. Anyways I tried to close on of the cupboard doors and it wouldn't shut. I checked it over and noticed the corner had separated. it happened on quite a few of them. I took photos and they are below.
Any idea what caused this? How to keep this from happening and how to fix them???

This is my second trailer and I've had a camper as well before. I've never had this happen.

Hubby the carpenter and cabinet builder suggests.....

Taking them to a cabinet shop to look at. Do not cut anything unless you have the knowledge and tools. You may not get the profile right.

If you want to try yourself and glue them...don't take them apart.
Use wood glue and bar clamps. Leave the clamps on for a few hours and then do not hang the doors for a day.

[wmoses]

So refreshing to read a good, sensible, and informative thread on these fora. Thanks to all contributors for sharing this knowledge for all of us to benefit. If all threads could be so fact- laden we'd be much better off.

To the OP - good luck in getting your doors back up to snuff. It is a PITA to have to do this in the first place, but it is good to hear that not only is a fix possible but there is a good chance that evidence of the problem would not be visible when fixed.

[Bob_Landry]

I think the manufacturers of the cabinets simply got a bad batch of glue. It happens. Any hard cabinet wood, properly processed is not going to expand or contract that much. If you look at it closely, what you are probably going to find is some kind of white wood that has been covered with a vinyl type material and shrunk to adhere to the wood base. It's very effective, can be cut to make tight clean joints, and is cheap. That's why the manufacturers use it. I would re-glue it with either Titebond II or Gorilla glue and clamp it.