Burro Door Problem

[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

[Rusty01]

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.

[Sue and Henry]

Rusty, thanks from me too! That is very helpful I was thinking of the process backwards. By the time I'm ready to go you two will have all the solutions set? Yay for me!!

[Sue and Henry]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

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.

Jane, I ordered new "original" hinges too. Are you keeping the original lock or replacing it?

[Jane D.]

Well I took the door window out and had a bit of success with the upper hinge area but have come to the conclusion that the only way to fix the lower hinge area, i.e., is to cut the bulge area off from the outside or to cut the door in half. Guess I'm gonna have to cut the bulge area, not inclined to cut the whole thing apart.

The area where the window clamps to the surface was glassed in some spots but I opened it up with a wide, thin blade scraper. It would only seperate just over a half inch before it started to feel like I shouldn't go any further so as not to crack. I could see in enough to tell that the original block was not as bad as first thought. Unlike the wood blocks on the body, this one was covered in glass all the way around the back of it. The block in the door looks to be no more than a half inch thick, you could see where the screws had come all the way through. As of now my plan is to make 2 new half inch blocks and glass/epoxy them to the existing one. Done one at a time, looks like there will be plenty of room and will firm up the area, hopefully spreading out the load of the door weight.

Door is standing on it's edge, propped open with half inch plywood pieces. Looking down at area where the window clamps to. jd

[Sue and Henry]

Jane, that looks scary to me. Can you tell me, from inside, does the door overlap to the inside look uniform? And if it does would you post a photo? Mine is not uniform and I don't know which part is correct. Sue

[Jane D.]

Sue,

The hardest part of getting new material in is getting it lined up on the backside of what is already there. I couldn't get my hands in there so I used 2 long screwdrivers, holding on the sides of the new wood, to butt it up against the existing. Took a few tries but finally got it done. After figuring out where it needed to go, I put thickened epoxy on the new stuff before sticking it in the last time and used a syringe to shoot some more down over the top and sides of where they met each other. Then while prying the pieces flush against each other I used the old screw holes, on the front side, to pull everything together with long fine screws so it would all bond together. Those will come out when dry and those holes filled with epoxy. The epoxy is still wet so won't know the end result until tomorrow. That was the top hinge area, gonna let it dry before tackling the bottom one.

As for overlap I'm not sure if I know which part you mean. If you will post a photo of the area you're speaking of I will help you out if I can.

[Sue and Henry]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

Sue,

The hardest part of getting new material in is getting it lined up on the backside of what is already there. I couldn't get my hands in there so I used 2 long screwdrivers, holding on the sides of the new wood, to butt it up against the existing. Took a few tries but finally got it done. After figuring out where it needed to go, I put thickened epoxy on the new stuff before sticking it in the last time and used a syringe to shoot some more down over the top and sides of where they met each other. Then while prying the pieces flush against each other I used the old screw holes, on the front side, to pull everything together with long fine screws so it would all bond together. Those will come out when dry and those holes filled with epoxy. The epoxy is still wet so won't know the end result until tomorrow. That was the top hinge area, gonna let it dry before tackling the bottom one.

As for overlap I'm not sure if I know which part you mean. If you will post a photo of the area you're speaking of I will help you out if I can.

I guess a better question is, "does the door align smoothly on the outside surface all the way top to bottom."

[Jane D.]

Sue,

My door is much worse than yours. I assume that yours sticks out due to the cracks that you showed in an earlier photo around your door lock. That must give it a lot of flex. Mine is badly warped or the body is warped, actually I think it's a little of both. It has a hole worn in the lower left corner it has been messed up for so long. At this point I have no idea of what I'm going to do to fix it. If it is flush on the hinge side then the upper left corner sticks way out. And if that corner is pushed in the lower right sticks way out.

I'd be happy to trade doors with you. I have no real idea of the extent of your door crack but do you think yours might could be fixed possibly by taking out the window and lock then put a brace, wood, or whatever, behind and doing the epoxy thing to bond it in place? thinking out loud.

If you got any tips for my dilemma, I'm all ears!!! Thanks,,,,, jd

[Sue and Henry]

I am looking forward to hearing how that epoxy holds. The top of my door will be okay when rehung correctly - there is a big gap now. That's going to mean putting in new support materials in the hinge wall. I think I might be able to do that without cutting into anything. First attempt I plan on the actual door will be to reform it when it is off the burro with straps to match the contour of the body. If that doesn't work, I'm going to try whatever works for you! So, good luck. I wish you success!!

[Rusty01]

Jane D, my door had the exact same hinges. I believe they are from the factory because there are no other holes in the glass. Also, I like the fact that the length strengthens the attachment because it is spread over a wider area. I was unable to tighten the hinge pins up enough so eventually replaced them with stainless steel marine hinges with the same hole pattern which I found on ebay.
My neighbor gave me some things which he got from a truck equipment place. Sorry I do not have the technical term for them but you drill a hole into the wood which is larger than the screw hole, then you insert these donut shaped inserts into the hole, they go in about 3/4 of an inch, with the donut part recessed into the surface. They come with a tool for expanding them when they are in the hole. Each of them comes with a little bolt. The bolt goes into the insert. It is almost impossible to remove the insert but the hinge is on there pretty darn good. I used some butyl to insure that no more water could enter. rb

[Sue and Henry]

Day one the locked door opened while we were on the road. Duct taped it in place and it seems to be holding. Day two the closet next to the door isn't holding either. Duct taping that too. Please tell me I can use duct tape all summer and not destroy the burro

[Donna D.]

Sue, there is duck tape and then there is duck tape. I unfortunately got a hold of a roll that was inferior and used it on the outside for a period of time.. the glue turned to concrete and was nearly impossible to get off! Nearly lost two thumbnails scrapping the dang stuff off. So, I'm just saying... keep an eye on it!

But, I have to wonder why the trailer is flexing so bad that doors are popping open..

[Jane D.]

Originally Posted by Sue and Henry

Day one the locked door opened while we were on the road. Duct taped it in place and it seems to be holding. Day two the closet next to the door isn't holding either. Duct taping that too. Please tell me I can use duct tape all summer and not destroy the burro

Sue,
I know you want to use the little thing but I wouldn't bet that the duct tape will keep it from more damage. It can't give enough support to overcome all the flexing from moving down the road. I used some tape on mine to hold it up so I could take the hinges off and it didn't stay on long at all. Just didn't stick well. Not cheap tape either, the good stuff. May be wise to at least do some type of temporary repair at the split before you tow it much more.

Please be careful you don't want to loose that door !!

JD