Trillium Door Hinge in rotted wood

[Lise S]

Our '77 Trillium door's lower hinge became completed loose from the trailer wall. All 3 screws pulled out. It appears that the wood is full of rot and not able to hold screws. I tapped dry wall mounts into the rotten wood and used slightly longer screws to secure hinge- but this is a very temporary fix.

How do I fix this? I am not a fix-it yourself person. I need to know where to take the trailer and what to expect.

The windows also leak and I believe this is the same issue- screws are set in rotted wood.

Your suggestions will be very appreciated! Thanks

[Donna D.]

Lise, I see you're in Oregon. Depending where you're located you may want to contact Robert Johans, who's a member here. Robert does terrific work and is in the business of modifying/fixing molded trailers. He's in Bend, The Egg Plant

[Lise S]

Thanks Donna! I just sent off an email. Maybe a road trip is in our near future!

[Donna D.]

Best of luck! You need to join us at a NOG!

[Raya]

For the door hinges, you could probably drill the holes out larger and then fill them with thickened epoxy, then re-drill them. I say "probably" not because the concept is questionable, but just because I'm not looking at your hinge setup, nor can I see how extensive the rot is, and you may need to do more.

If the entire piece is rotted it might be better to get in behind the Ensolite and replace it. I'm not sure if it is also encased in fiberglass, but it might be (that can also be cut out if necessary).

However there is a chance that the moisture is localized and then the overdrill/fill routine would work, and is not too challenging. If you decide to go this way I can explain it in more detail. Photos of your problem area would be helpful.

On the windows, Trillium used pieces of plywood, tapered on the edges away from the window so that the Ensolite could rise up gracefully over the wood and be pinched under the window trim. Screws go in from the outside of the window (under those black cosmetic strips - they just pop out), sandwich the fiberglass, and go into the wood for holding power. Leaks eventually can rot out the wood.

The fix for that is to remove your windows, peel back the Ensolite and remove the wood strips, then make new wood strips and reinstall the windows the reverse of how you took it all apart. This is a good time to re-bed your windows (butyl tape works well - the sealant goes under the flange - not around it) and to replace the fasteners with new ones (consider stainless).

Raya

[Steve Hilby]

Here's a thread in which the first post describes a fix to a friend's trailer which had a similar problem; perhaps this might be helpful:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...-up-32394.html

[Roy in TO]

I did mine with a two part putty epoxy and a drill. A $20 fix unless you break a hinge. If you have ever played with plasticine and drilled a hole. You should be able to handle this one with an extra set of hands to hold the door while you are removing and reinstalling it.