Burro Door Problem

[Sue and Henry]

Andy - That sounds amazing. I'm thinking I can do that. I'm going to start with all the little fiberglass and gel coat fixes elsewhere on the little beast to build confidence. Then I'll collage all the wonderful help you and the other pros offered and attack the beast!

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by AndyW

......Then I cut the curve I wanted into a 2X4 and ....

I think making a cardboard template as I suggested but cutting it into a wood form you can work against as AndyW suggested is an excellent idea.

Echo his good luck too. Post pictures of your work, love to see peoples progress.

[Sue and Henry]

Thank you and I will! My baby is at the shop for them to check out electrical questions. So, today this is what I'm working on.



I am getting so ready to go on an adventure!

A thank you is owed to: Awning Instructions « This Montana Life

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by Sue and Henry

Help! I just brought home a new-to-me burro around 30 years old. It has some issues - the first one I want to tackle is the door since it is the most serious. It does still latch and lock, but there are cracks in the fiberglass around the latch and the door has distorted a bit so that there is a gap on the bottom 1//2 side edge. Can the door be repaired?

As for the gap at the bottom, I once fixed a similar issue on my Boler door by cutting horizontal kerfs in the bottom of the door on the inside only, so they did not go through to the outside layer, and then bending and fibreglassing it in place. It worked great and you could not tell from the outside that it had ever been fixed (and hardly from the inside either once painted). A link to my post describing that is here:http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f54/scamp-boler-bottom-door-bar-hook-37682.html
The whole thread is interesting as it discusses various options for bad-fitting doors, but we don't get to any solutions until starting around post #13, down to the end.

I presume that your door has inside and outside layers that are separated by a spacer, as most do, so this might work for you too.

Good luck.
Rick

[Rick G]

Also, I think that $3950 is a decent price for a Burro that is in modestly good condition. Fibreglass trailers tend to be much more expensive than stickies, because they last longer and are way cool. I paid $4500 for my 1974 Boler and $5500 for my 1980 Trillium 4500, and both of those were reasonable prices. I made back the investment (plus some) when I sold the Boler, which was in much better condition when I sold it.

Rick G

[Sue and Henry]

Thanks Rick. I didn't consider that I could cut the inside only. That sounds like a really logical option and not nearly as scary crazy as cutting the outside skin. We will see how much moving the hinge does for me. It could be that the combination of the hinge move and a slit would make it really do-able. I have a friend who has worked on surfboards who says she will help!

[john warren]

love that fabric.
i have heard all sorts of ways of fixing those door problems. i feel well prepared if it ever happens to mine. but i sure hope it never does.

[john warren]

i do hope you tackle this repair for yourself. i think you will amaise yourself at what you can do with fiberglass. once you play with it a bit a figure out how it works. its sort of like playing with playdough. takes a bit to figure out what it can,,,and will do. but its really not hard.
first thing is always wear protective gloves. that stuff is sticky. and almost nothing washes it off. and wear old clothing.
otherwise its like paper mache sort of,, you put this goopy stuff, resin, on this fabric, glass matt, and brush it in so it soaks the fabric real well. then wait till it sets up.
other then that its a matter of thinking ahead so everything is in the right shape and trying to remember its easier to apply another layer,,then to sand too much off.

[Sue and Henry]

Gee, John. I'd be more than willing to let you practice on mine! I love the fabric too. I just visited the Burro at the RV place to see about the awning rail. They had one in back (a sack awning) that was a floor model with out the poles going to the ground. They offered it to me for $40 which I think is quite a deal, but I'm having fun with this one and I like the retro look even though it is 20 years older than the Cracked Egg. There it is - way back there, buried behind huge Winnebego type giants.

[Sue and Henry]

John, I really am looking forward to starting the job after a trip or two this summer. I am curious to see how much closer the correction on the hinge will take me. I figure doing the door will really make it feel like mine.

[Jane D.]

Don't mean to hijack this thread just trying to keep similar info together.

I am in the midst of a complete reno of my '82 Burro. The wood that holds the door hinges, both places, that inside the door and inside the body is completely rotten. In the last couple of days, I have removed and replaced both pieces that are on the body. I did this from the inside, not cutting holes on the outside of the body.

Now, I need to do the places on the door itself. Even though I don't want to, it appears that I will have to cut the bulges on the outside of the door to fix this. Would appreciate any input from those who attempted this as how best to tackle it and what steps do I need to take to fix it? Fiberglass and epoxy for the new wood I know, but how do I attach the flaps back on the bulges? Bondo, epoxy, or both???? Pictures wold be sooooooo great.

Many thanks,
JD

[Sue and Henry]

Please Jane, do hijack. You are doing now what I will need to do in the fall. I'll read solutions with attention. Please post pictures of your process! Sue

[Rusty Baker]

Hello Sue and Henry and Jane D. As I recall, when you remove the window in the door and the door handle, you can actually reach the wooden blocks. There is no inner liner or fibre board or whatever inside of the door. I did mine some time ago and of course don't remember as well as I used to. If I were to do it again, I would substitute a plastic for the wood. Something like a scrap piece of that stuff they use for outside decks. That way, thirty years from now you won't have to do it again. Also you would be able to use some of the newer glues or adhesives rather than fiberglass. Before you redo the door, it may be wise to repair the hinges which may in fact correct much of the problem. Also, I found that putting the weather stripping on the door opening instead of on the door worked better. I used the bulb type of weatherstripping in two different sizes on my door. The larger 1 inch went on the bottom and the hinge side and the narrower stuff on the other two sides. Yours may vary but you won't know until the hinges are repaired. Congratulations on your new purchases and try to enjoy the little repairs as much as the traveling and camping experiences. rb

[Jane D.]

Originally Posted by Rusty Baker

Hello Sue and Henry and Jane D. As I recall, when you remove the window in the door and the door handle, you can actually reach the wooden blocks. rb

Thanks Rusty for the tip about the window. I am going to remove it today and see if I can make any headway. I can't reach the blocks from the handle area, I've had it out for about a week now.

As for the hinges, they are toast, complete junk and not the originals so there is nothing that can be done to them. I have new ones, the original type, that will be installed if I can ever get to that point.