1974 Scamp Door Handle

[Todd Reed]

I cannot remove my door handles from my 1974 Scamp. All the screws are out and it is not locked. But I cannot remove either side's handle. It seems they are connected inside somehow and won't come apart. Could they be rusted together? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,


Todd

[Donna D.]

You should be able to see the outside handle square drive from inside the trailer. Squirt WD-40 or some other penetration oil/silicone(!) in the area and move the door handle back and forth, up and down, etc. Give it a minute to work. Then take a punch and whack it in the center of the square shaft. Not with a 10 pound sledge however. The two lockset pieces have to come apart to remove.

[Todd Reed]

Thanks Donna for the quick response. I've tried your advice for the past hour or so, with no luck. Not sure what to do next. Ugh

[Bill K]

Sometimes it take's a lot longer for the fluid to get in there and work.
Just keep squirting it and tapping.

Bill K

Originally Posted by Todd Reed

Thanks Donna for the quick response. I've tried your advice for the past hour or so, with no luck. Not sure what to do next. Ugh

[Reid Larsen]

My dad used to say "Never force anything-Just use a bigger hammer".

[Donna D.]

Can you pull the bezel back (on the outside) from the handle to see if there's any caulk/butyl holding the door handle tightly to the outside fiberglass? Run a piece of fishing line around the bezel to break loose any gunk. When I pulled off the handle on my Scamp, I discovered (at least) a 1/2 hole for the shaft to penetrate the door to the inside lockset. There was nothing in that hole however holding it in place... only the bezel and caulk on the outside. YMMV

Let us know how it goes.

[Todd Reed]

The door handles both rotate a full 360 degrees. It's definitely rusted together and it's not budging. I've used WD40, a tap out and a hammer several times. I'm going to bed frustrated, but still determined. I feel myself wanting to force it, and I know that is just going to lead to more trouble, like a crack in the door. Double ugh

[JeffJ]

Originally Posted by Todd Reed

The door handles both rotate a full 360 degrees. It's definitely rusted together and it's not budging. I've used WD40, a tap out and a hammer several times. I'm going to bed frustrated, but still determined. I feel myself wanting to force it, and I know that is just going to lead to more trouble, like a crack in the door. Double ugh

I have the same problem with my door handle... I considering trying to drill it out

[Kevin H.]

I did have to drill mine out. Drilled a pilot hole as centered as I could then drilled the bulk of the rusted shaft out. Was then able to pry the remaining square sides inward and finally hammer it out. I did end up drilling a bit into the inside square but it's not noticeable and doesn't affect the operation at all. Took a while but wasn't that hard to do. Use a sharp drill bit and some sort of lubricating oil. Take a good look at the replacement parts on Scamps website to understand how it's put together. I'd give the penetrating oil a good few days to soak in first in case that works.
Kevin

[Flygal]

My 77 scamp door (dang cannot find any of my restore photos) had three holes. One 1/2" center hole that went all the way thru. The door handle on the outside has a square shaft that goes all the way thru and glides into the inside handle which you can see in the above photos posted by another member, and two smaller screw holes from the outside looking in to attach it to your door. So if your leary go check out the door handle in your garage (yes its the exact same one in fact if you buy a replacement handle True value has them in the garage door section. So from the inside looking out get a drill bit slightly larger than the square tubing that is going all the way thru and center it up and start slow...assuming your not going crazy muscle man on it, it should not crack....just take it slow and easy, see if that won't start o twist it lose from the rusty hold. if not keep drilling ... Thats my 2 cents worth take it or leave it

[Flygal]

here is a two part image so you can see what I am referring to.

[Flygal]

I would recommend somehow securing the outside handle to keep it from spinning and mucking up your fiberglass

[Flygal]

Its probable rusted only about 1/4 inch deep the inner workings are not real hearty in depth

[Flygal]

maybe get some ultra thin screwdriver and try to slide it on top of each side of the square from the inside. Slide the blade in and see if you can't break free the rusted hold.

On the inside of the door (think of a peanut better and jelly sandwich) there is about an 8 inch board fiberglassed from left to right just about center this is what your handle screws into..My door became water logged and I had to correct my door problem but I can't locate my photos right now. In the future you may have to remedy this, perhaps this is why the two parts are rusted tight. If you see mushy wet wood try not to panic remember its all fixable you just have to take a second to absorb all the info...let me see if I can find my interior photos of the door guts.

[Flygal]

okay just so you know what the inside of your door looks like

[Greg H]

wholly crap, what happened there?

[Flygal]

Originally Posted by Greg H

wholly crap, what happened there?

Hey Greg...I get bored easy and like a challenging project...so My door was HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY and noted that water was in on and around it. I cut it open, scooped out the guts put in some wood spacers and supports, refiberglassed the panels back on and covered the door with vinyl viola..a lighter door. Sorry to hijack post

[Greg H]

Looks much better, is that a Boler door?

[Flygal]

Originally Posted by Greg H

Looks much better, is that a Boler door?

77 scamp.....I've seen some bolor and scamp doors that are completely hollow and quite different. Originally the door was filled with coir an almond smelling product that someone said is coconut shell casings that have been remade into boards...they are apparently mold resistant ect. but there was some fiber glassed wood pieces in my door around the window and across the middle for the door to grab onto. The coir was itchy scratchy like insulation. Its all good now I'd do it exactly the same if I had to do it over