Door issues

[Don ravinerat]

I am having a problem with the way my door sits. When I bought my Trillium the door was a little off. About 1/2". Reading this says it is a frame problem. My frame is in good shape with no cracks or broken places.

I have had a new Axle put on and now the door has dropped a bit more. While traveling last weekend the door came open twice. I see that the latch is barely catching and hitting a bump probably releases the door.

When we changed the Axle we had a good look at the frame and did some measurements to insure it is not twisted, damaged or anything.

Last night I removed the mounting bolts and jacked up the front corner to see if this levels the door out. I was thinking the egg had maybe twisted causing the door to be out. Lifting the one corner did not change much. Lifting the front did not change anymore either.

I removed the screws from the hinges and they don't look in bad shape and the hinges weren't wiggling or anything. I pulled the pins and can line the door up to pretty good but not perfect. There may be enough room to move the hinges to accomplish this but not much.

Any more ideas?

I will try to add some pics when I get home tonight.

[John Linck]

I would move one or two hinges a smidge. Then adjust the latch too. Not easy, but should solve the problem.

[Steve DeWeese]

I have the same problem. I tried to place spacers under the front and tightened the bolts which worked a little. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be an easy fix. I plan on taking advice given here and place sandbags under both front corners this winter hoping it will bend the front back up. I don't expect much because of the cold.


I hope this spring to fix the front sag. If you notice, the boards in the floor end at the front of the door. I had intended to do major changes to my camper years ago and 2016 might be the year (way to make a commitment). I intend to take the floor all the way to the front and place side braces to help push everything up. This will also give me the frame I want for a screen door and the support needed for a roof A/C.


My wife wants a larger trailer anyways and again this spring it might happen. This will leave me a lot of time to play with my Trillium. I have no intentions of selling it because it looks great behind my Jeep and works for me when I go somewhere by myself.

[Steve DeWeese]

By the way, I tried moving my hinges as well and it did not work. I did add a plate below the other plate so that the dead bolt would catch. This has worked for this summer.


Here is the thread about my camper:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f55/body-sag-68946.html


David Tilston has a lot of good info and I view him as an expert. I don't think I would have caught on if it were not for his help. Now if I can't fix it next spring I'll say something different. I am kidding.

[Bob in Mb]

I removed the plate and re-installed it in line with the latch , it was the only fix I could see .

[Don ravinerat]

Thanks for all the replies. I feel better to know this is not an isolated incident. I've read over all the threads that were linked and they are very interesting. Even with a background in fiberglassing I don't want to cut out and add supports and reinforcements. I think if I rehang the door back to as close as it was that should be good. It didn't leak before and closed properly. I'm going to take a day and re measure thing before I re do anything. I pass by a couple of Trilliums in my travels and I'm going to stop and have a look at there doors just out of curiousity.

[Steve DeWeese]

I know very little about fiberglass work. Please keep posting because I would love to know if you are able to fix it and how. I know my method will be extreme and will definitely not allow mine to be original again but I just want to enjoy it.


This summer I began working on my Willys Jeep Ambulance and it got out of hand. More rust than anyone that seen it imagined and I'm way over my head with that. What difference will another project where I'm over my head make.

[Don ravinerat]

Will do. I have a lot of stuff to update on my thread about my Trillium and the stuff we have done to it.
I'd love to see the pics of your Willy's. I'm a Paramedic.

[Jim Bennett]

This was a design flaw in the moulds right from the start. I believe every Trillium 1300 from the 70's suffered this offset in the mouldings from the door to the body.

Try sighting along the body of the trailer, without considering the door, and you will see that the belly band on either side of the door opening is offset by about 1/2". I even used a long straight edge to confirm this.

When I first picked up the Trillium I am working on, I looked at moving the door, tilting it, etc, but soon realized that there was nothing I could do. The door aligned fairly straight to the body on the sides and top, so tilting it was out of the question. If it had of been a result of any settling in the body, there would be visible cracks as a result of this.

[Steve DeWeese]

This was what it looked like when I got it. As it turned out nothing but rust. I'm replacing everything except the truck frame.

[Steve DeWeese]

That is true about the door and belly band lines from the factory. If that was all that was wrong the door would still close, line up with the strike plate, and remain close when going down the highway. The fact that it pops open during travel means something changed.

[David Tilston]

Don, you are definitely not alone on this one. The door is one of the four required fixes on a Trillium.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post548575

I have never opened up the pillar that the door hinges screw into. I understand that there was wood inside the pillar that the door screwed into. This eventually degrades some how and the door sags.

My current opinion is that it is necessary to install metal plates on the inside of this pillar to keep the door hinges in place. I am undecided if this should be one plate that spans the two hinges, or two smaller plates that just act as a big, three holed washer. I plan to glass over the interior plate,(s), to keep the door from moving in the future.

BTW: Thanks for the vote of confidence Steve. But, I will consider myself a student for the foreseeable future.

[Don ravinerat]

Jim the belly band does seem to be off set a bit. I have gone over many pictures of Trilliums and stopped and looked at a few I know of locally. Everyone of them is off somewhat.

That is quite the project for an old Ambulance. You've sure got a long summer project there Steve. Please keep in in the loop with a finished project or almost finished with some pics. I have some people at work who collect old pics of Ambulances.

David if I move the hinges a bit the door will line up better. It will still be a bit out but it will close, lock and not let water in while traveling. The holes the screws are in seem solid when I put a little tool in and poke around. I hope to look at the job on Fri this week.

Still lots of camping left this season. Besides my heater is in great shape so bring on the cold.

[Don ravinerat]

I have adjusted the top hinge and it has helped level the door out. The egg is definitely off though as the belly bands don't line up as well as other things. I have now checked out a lot of Trilliums and they all seem to be off at lest 1/2"