Parkliner hinges rusting!

[frank_a]

We have a 2012 Parkliner that back in 2014 we brought all the way down to the factory in NC for a week of warranty stuff. Not much happened that week. When I asked Chandler (the owner) over the phone the Friday afternoon we had driven down to get the trailer (he was not at the plant) about the rusty hinges, his response was that we lived in the NE. I was dumbfounded, as he must have thought we rv'ed in the winter on salty roads?



Nevertheless, we have these rusty hinges I believe coming from steel washers used in the aluminum hinges. Do other Parkliner owners have the same problem? What did you do about it?

The only thing I can see to do is remove the door and replace the washers with stainless steel of even better, aluminum if I can find it. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Frank

[frank_a]

Hmm, can anyone see the pic I posted in my post above?

Apparently I am now prohibited from using photobucket at work...

Frank

[Bob Miller]

I don't know much about Parkliners, but I do know a bit about stainless steel and oxidation transfer.


A complete clean-up and refinishing of all surfaces, and the use of 316 stainless steel washers should take care of the rusty washer problem, but that "U" joint is a different animal.


As it appears that the plated surface on the pivot piece has been compromised, the "U" joint should be disassembled, stripped and refinished/replated. A plating shop may be able to suggest a better quality surface finish for your environmental issues. If even the slightest speck of oxidation is left, it will all return.


if all of the Parkliner hinges were built in an identical manner we will be hearing about this from others in due time.


FWIW: I'd also get the void in the lower hinge weld cleaned up at the same time, it looks like a perfect storm for future problems as well.

Last thought, take the whole hinge into a marine repair shop for advice. This is something that they deal with on a daily basis on salt water based water craft.

[Jack L]

It also might be possible to have new U joint pivots machined from stainless steel bar stock and use stainless roll pins to secure the assembly. Stainless washers would be a big help or maybe nylon washers. I think aluminum washers would be too soft. If you just change the washers and clean up the rest of the stains then use one of the better corrosion prevention products I think you would see some improvement. There are some pretty good corrosion protection aerosol products. WD-40 is the most popular but certainly not the best available.

[mary and bob]

Maybe the question is can you get replacements, and where, and of course at what price

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Maybe the question is can you get replacements, and where, and of course at what price

In as much as Parkliner is for sale and is, apparently, out of business, about the best hope one can have for spare parts is at a BK auction.

[frank_a]

I very much appreciate all your comments. Plating shops are few and far between around here, and having new hinges (the bottom one is in the same shape) machined is just out of the question financially, or at least I think it is. I do have a fellow who does machining for me once in a while, I'll run it by him, see what he says. But how would I keep the egg sealed while the door is off?

Thanks,

Frank

[mary and bob]

I was thinking those hinges were an off the shelf part from some source. That would be the best hope. They are an odd hinge though, but would it have been cost effective for Parkliner to have hinges custom made. Best solution, get a set if possible and put them on, then a machinist could take his time to work on them. I know I wouldn't set up my milling machine to fabricate something without charging a price to make it worth my time.

[stevebaz]

If it were mine I would take the hinge apart and wire brush everything. I would replace the washers with 316 series stainless steel washers. I would repaint the hinges with quality paint. Before reassembling the hinges I would spray everything with BIOSHIELD T9. I use this on my salt water boat motor and its really good stuff.keeps all external corrosion at bay. I would respray those hinges again every few months just because replacing might be impossible in the future.

Why Boeshield | Boeshield T-9®

[mary and bob]

Frank; Here's a project if you get bored at work. Look through the hundred or so different hinges that McMaster Carr sells to see if you can find a match. I took a quick look, but the question is what are they called, obviously not "Parkliner" hinges. Or is there any Parkliner owner on good terms with Chandler that could ask him the source of the hinges.

[Bob Miller]

I you had to have new stainless steel parts machined up I'd bet that there is a ready market for them. Just spend a few dollars more and have 10 or so sets made up and you will recover your costs from other Parkiner owners who will want/need them..
As mentioned, the big expense for custom machining work is in the set-up, multiple parts are cheap.

[Jack L]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

If it were mine I would take the hinge apart and wire brush everything. I would replace the washers with 316 series stainless steel washers. I would repaint the hinges with quality paint. Before reassembling the hinges I would spray everything with BIOSHIELD T9. I use this on my salt water boat motor and its really good stuff.keeps all external corrosion at bay. I would respray those hinges again every few months just because replacing might be impossible in the future.

Why Boeshield | Boeshield T-9®

Boeshield is probably the best of all of these type product. I was in the Boeing facilities and that's where I first saw it. Boeing Aircraft was instrumental in the formulation. It's not easily available like WD-40 but it's much better.

[Mike Magee]

How to keep the egg sealed? Why, with duct tape, of course! Either tape the door in place or tape some plastic over the doorway.

You need to watch more 'Red Green Show'... duct tape fixes everything!

[Brian M. in NY]

Hi Frank,
If I recall correctly, I believe Chandler told me that he designed the hinges and had them custom fabricated. I was not only having the rust issue but also had difficulty locking the deadbolt because Chandler only used two washers on each hinge. I removed the door this past weekend and cleaned everything up and replaced the 2 original washers with 4 3/8" stainless steel washers and coated everything with white spray lithium grease. The deadbolt works fine now with the door raised by the height of two additional washers. You can remove the door by lifting it straight up off the hinge pins. It will require two people to reinstall the door. One to lift and one to align the pins.

[Sid]

Frank,
Here is a pic of my hinge. It is from our 2014 Parkliner and while similar it does have some differences. I have 2 rings around the outer housing as well as what appears to be serial numbers and manufacture ID. The company is Kobalt and the # is 377347. Hope that helps. I'm out now to spray some rust inhibitor on mine!
Sid


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Eddie Longest]

It looks like it was a socket universal joint in a past life. I would clean and lube it and get some white shrink tubing and cover it up. Or slide some clear tubing over it and try to seal the top half then you can keep an eye on it.
Eddie

[deryk]

Frank, Mine looks like yours. I keep spraying it up with silicone to keep the rust to a minimum. Maybe in the fall if I can get a friend to help I might take the door off.

deryk

[Brian M. in NY]

Originally Posted by Sid

Attachment 87404
Frank,
Here is a pic of my hinge. It is from our 2014 Parkliner and while similar it does have some differences. I have 2 rings around the outer housing as well as what appears to be serial numbers and manufacture ID. The company is Kobalt and the # is 377347. Hope that helps. I'm out now to spray some rust inhibitor on mine!
Sid

So, If I get what you are not saying explicitly, a parkliner door hinge could be fabricated relatively inexpensively and easily by a competent welder using a Kobalt flex socket as sold by Lowe's and a couple pieces of steel rod? Using stainless rod, the weakest link would be the flex socket. I think I'll discuss this with my neighbor who is a certified bridge welder. Certainly sounds within his skill set. I guess the only limiting factor of making a $million on this deal would be the limited pool of potential buyers.

[deryk]

hey if he can do it a reasonable price I will grab 2 spare sets just in case for the future! But come to think of it last year someone said that is what the hinge looked like to him.

[Brian M. in NY]

Originally Posted by deryk

hey if he can do it a reasonable price I will grab 2 spare sets just in case for the future! But come to think of it last year someone said that is what the hinge looked like to him.

Sorry Deryk,
I haven't even approached him with the idea, but I know he closed his home welding shop a few years back due to the $1,000,000 liability insurance he had to carry to do any work on trailer hitches.