Screen door for Burro

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Here is an idea I stole from the Boler folks.
Screen door for Burro.

http://www.geocities.com/bolerama/screendoor.html
http://members.shaw.ca/bolerama/scampscreendoor.html

I used clear Alpine shelving from Menard's instead of plywood.
Tyhe door part is a hanging screen split down the center, weighted at the bottom and magnets holding the two dies together.
I bought mine but after I got it figured if I could sew I could have done it myself.
The beauty of it is you can walk thru with your hands full, popcorn, margaritas, whatever and the screen snaps back to closed behind you.

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That's it, Pete. Magnets! :jump

I have friends in New Mexico who full-time in a cabin (their lifestyle is very similar to RVing). They've used this kind of screen door for several seasons. Last year they had “improved” it with velcro. But the MAGNETS would be so much better! Can't wait to tell them the idea...!

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It's the thin 1 /16 inch rubber magnets, about 2 inches square along the seam. Mind the polarity!

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Pete :sunny

My friend was very interested in your magnet idea. She has, in fact, thought of buying some strips of magnets, that she could sew onto her screen panels. (I imagine it's sort of like the cloth tape you can get that has snaps evenly spaced.) Of course, “screen door season” is already over in northern NM, so she has plenty of time to implement for next year. Thanks again for the tip - it's a winner!

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I gotta confess I stole that idea too.

http://www.bugoffscreen.com/

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Pete, I see from the link that the idea was patented.

Good thing you admitted right off that you “stole” it! :wink

(You can actually patent something as simple as sewing flat magnets into a length of screen cloth?)

Thanks again for passing along the great idea that you ran across!

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I've considered doing something similiar to the BugOff screen, but I 'm thinking about using an elastic edge and maybe some addl bottom bungees (low enuf to step over) and lots of screen overlap, more of a divided curtain than a screen with a seam.

Have rough cut the squaring frame parts for the doorway out of light cedar, but haven't gotten around to final fit or installation yet.:zz

Pete and Rats

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That's the hardest part! Cutting those side boards, getting that curve just right, grrrrr.
I made some cardboard templates, and added a cross piece at the top for extra strength and for attaching the screen.
It works quite well. I figured if the hanging screen didn't work I would make a folding door that would fold back against the closet.

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Pete
I made a folding screen door this summer for our Trillium. Initially it was to be a bifold but it didn't bifold properly all the time, something about the flexing of the trailer??? So not wanting to have a full width door in the way times that we didn't need the screen, I kept the folding part. The door is in two parts with a piano hinge down the middle. On the side inside the trailer it has two of those spring type latches that keep the two halves held tight when open. In other words it is then a full width door.

When we don't want the screen, we undo the latches and it folds together up against the closet and out of the way. It works great and cost about $40.
Nancy:sunny

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Sounds like a great idea Nancy,

Did it seem as though the trailer flex caused the binding at the top or the bottom of the door?
I was calculating that any flex would cause binding at the bottom by the floor so I thought a rubber sweep of about 3/4 inch would be the answer, but if the binding was at the top, then I must rethink it.

This is all for future use as the hanging screen is working well.
But there will be a time when someone clumsy ( me) will probably tear it to shreds.

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What about the folding screen door but making it like swinging bar room doors. if they swing both directions you could still have your hands full. _/ _

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Jan,
Good idea! I never thought of that.
I will mull it over

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A question please-has anyone any experience with the screen(No door) that is mentionned above(be it homemade or from the company).Any idea how durable or practical they are.I am just starting down that road with the door but became intrigued with this idea!Another straight line idea destroyed.Thanks for all the great info.

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Rob,
I have had the screen all summer. I am using the rod that came with it but may fix it permanantly. Not sure yet, because I can just take it off and roll it up if I want to.
Seems durable enough even tho I have crashed into it and pulled it off a couple of times ( it's a very small door and you have to duck a little more).
It has never fallen off by itself even with severe road bounce.
The bottom needs a gap so that it will close properly ( 1/4 inch)
I like it.

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Pete
The binding was mostly at the top. We used a normal bi-fold mechanism from house doors and it just did not run smooth, would pop off etc. Then the sides must have flexed and it would hit too tight top or bottom. The other problem we discovered is bifolds need quite a gap at the top and the hardware side. We couldn't really find anything to seal it well against the mosquitos. Sides we used foam but the top?????

We did the hanging screen thing for two summers and it worked fine but people/kids weren't always careful to ensure it was hanging properly to keep out the bugs.

We had thought about a bar-room door style but then you end up having half a door open against the front bed.

We had no bugs with the new door and being able to fold it out of the way on cool days when it wasn't needed was great.
Nancy

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Nancy,

That is why I built in the cross piece whe I put up the walls. I figured if I did put in a folding screen I could put foam tape there.
You can still put in a cross piece that will seal but not be in your heads way.

But your idea sounds very good, and if I go to a door I think your way is the way to go.

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Hi Pete
We had the cross piece at the top but the whole bi-fold plan just didn't easily, neatly or consistently work.

You know that even the door we did build binds if the trailer is not level. Thank God it was level when I built the door as so often we don't bother leveling it to sit in the driveway.
Nancy

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<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3da39ed9a79e8100-0095_IMG.jpg/> <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3da39ee5638b3101-0101_IMG.jpg/> <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3da39ef0615dc101-0102_IMG.jpg/>

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Pete, Did you wax that just prior to taking photo no.1, or does it always look that good?

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The inside always looks good. The outside is kind of dull except for the spot on the other side that I waxed with the Meguires paste wax.
It's awesome! Now I have to do the whole thing.
If I can pry that digital camera from my daughters hand I will post an after photo.