Bending the door holdback thing

[constan]

Hi All,

Does anyone know how to bend the door holdback on a Scamp 13? We recently bought a Scamp, but the holdback piece is straight and needs to be bent. I have tried using a heatgun and vice pliers but no luck... I just put "teeth" marks on it.

Thanks!

Constan

[steve dunham]

The door hold on our old Scamp and our present Casita were / are flat or in other words without a bend . Using a heat gun you are more likely to damage the fiberglass long before you soften the metal enough to bend easily. If you really want to bend it , then remove the piece from the trailer and place it in a vise and then bend it
Be aware that if the piece is plated you may damage / crack the plating.

[Donna D.]

Mine is straight too. Hummm. Constan, what is the condition that you believe it should be bent?

[Eddie Longest]

I usually replace the Scamp door hold back arm with the longer stainless brackets. I put the new bracket in vice and lightly whack it with a hammer to get the correct angle before attaching it to a shell.
Eddie

[constan]

Steve - Yeah, I realized that so I stopped with the heat gun thing. I really want to be able to do it without having to drill out the rivets, but I think thats the what I need to do. Thank you!

Donna - The door hold doesn't align into the latch, its off about 25° in the straight config.

Eddie - Thanks, I guess thats what it looks like I need to do. I'm just trying to avoid having to drill out the existing rivets.

Thanks guys!

Constan

PS. Thanks for being so prompt with the replies! This board is !

[steve dunham]

Be aware that placing the hold back arm into the door bracket is not an easy fit. My wife struggle when she attempts to deploy it .
My point is that it is designed to work when flat and if you bend it will you gain enough to warrant drilling it out and then riveting it back in place . Not a criticism just something to ponder .

[constan]

Steve- got it, thanks! Yeah, I think it will be worth it. One other thing that the hold back arm does is that it prevents the door from opening too wide and then cracking the gel coat & fiber at the hinges. This Scamp already has some wear from over-opening the door. Not sure why they let it off the lot with the arm not working though. Maybe it was replaced at one point and the old owner didn't do his/her homework on the bending thing before it was riveted on.

[constan]

Jon - Oops the issue is in the center, not at the hinges. The bracket IS misaligned, not sure if it was from the factory or from a previous owner.

images: https://postimg.org/gallery/m3gqmdsw/

[constan]

[Jon in AZ]

I deleted my earlier post because I figured out what the issue is. When I looked at the part on Scamp's website, it states clearly that the bracket has to be bent before installation. Looks like a PO replaced the bracket and didn't read the fine print. I doubt it came from the factory that way.

I don't know if it is possible to bend it while attached to the trailer without doing damage, but Eddie's suggestion now makes perfect sense.

If you remove it, replacing it with a stainless steel version makes a lot of sense as well. You'll never have to do it again.

[Darral T.]

Are yall SURE that the door's hinges arent the culprit????? They can do some weird things and if they have shifted, that latch will be off. That's one thing I dont think I've ever seen Scamp boo boo on.

[constan]

Got it. Thanks Jon. Where can I get a stainless steel one from?

[constan]

Darral - I don't think it's the hinges, they look like they are normal and they operate normally too (no need to lift door to close or anything).

[Darral T.]

It was just a "to make sure" gesture. AND to make sure, close the door and stand on the outside and look around the perimeter and the door should be fairly centered in the recess of the Scamp body. Doesnt hurt to check.

If I think about it at lunch, I'll check mine and see if it's bent. Of course depending on where the installers locate it on the door depends where it will hit. Just hard to imagine that hasnt worked since the factory though. Anyway.... interesting find.

Originally Posted by constan

Darral - I don't think it's the hinges, they look like they are normal and they operate normally too (no need to lift door to close or anything).

[Captleemo]

If you can remove both pieces rotate them both 90 degrees counter clockwise, rivet them back on, problem solved.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by constan

Got it. Thanks Jon. Where can I get a stainless steel one from?

Not sure. Mine are original. They're starting to rust, but not badly enough to need replacing yet. You can google "RV T-style door holder" and see what comes up. You might send Eddie (post #4) a private message. He could probably tell you where he got his.

Originally Posted by Captleemo

If you can remove both pieces rotate them both 90 degrees counter clockwise, rivet them back on, problem solved.

They're not square, so the holes won't line up. I don't know how well they'd hold on a breezy day in that orientation, either. In the normal orientation, gravity keeps the bracket in the catch.

[Eddie Longest]

This is the one I use. Some doors will hit the belly band and put he door in a bind. That is why I use the 6" one.
Self Closing Entry Door Holders - Stainless Steel T, 6 Inch - RV Designer E226 - Entry Door Hardware - Camping World
I bend the rod to align with the slot. Then bend the T to fit the slot. I also put a slight bend up where the rod touches the base so the rod stays off the fiberglass when not in use. I then attach to the trailer with butyl tape under the bracket. With the longer rod I can get a little more leverage and can tweak it by hand.
CW sells a 4" latch with a 45 deg. bend but that angle is wrong WO bending it again.
Eddie

[floyd]

Mine was binding against the belly band and needed to be longer. I extended it by welding steel rod of the same diameter.
Another way you might fix yours if it is not binding is to simply move your receiver over and reinstall it with an escutcheon made from stainless, aluminum, or plastic just large enough cover the old holes.
Here's mine...

[constan]

Yep, been looking at it all day. Looks centered and its not loose at all. Though, it can use some new weather stripping.

Maybe the door was changed on it? Ugh, this is what happens when you go Scamp shopping on craigslist.

Thx for your input though!

* this reply was for Darryl for a post earlier, I just saw the new ones.

[constan]

Originally Posted by floyd

Mine was binding against the belly band and needed to be longer. I extended it by welding steel rod of the same diameter.
Another way you might fix yours if it is not binding is to simply move your receiver over and reinstall it with an escutcheon made from stainless, aluminum, or plastic just large enough cover the old holes.
Here's mine...

Thanks! I'm going to learn to weld now! Sweet. Getting a used Scamp you pick up some new skills:

1. trailer/tow knowhow -- I know that a 2" ball won't fit into a 1-7/8" hitch coupler, and spraying WD-40 on the ball and jumping on the tongue won't make it fit.

2. I can FIBERGLASS! 10 drops hardener for every ounce resin!

3. Wood fixer, filler, sander, just put resin in it

upcoming: welding!

thx!