Tilted door?

[ericw]

I have a 2009 13' scamp. The door latch is a little low (the strike plate is too high?). If I lift up on the door handle I can get it to fully latch, but normally, it just barely catches. None of the hardware looks loose. Any simple solutions or trouble shooting ideas?

Eric

[john warren]

hmmmm thats an odd thing.
does the door have slop in it? can you lift it any amount? that could be worn hinges.
if not it doesn't take much of an error with the strike plate. maybe it needs to be a little lower. if you can't adjust it down, you could file the lower edge a little to allow the latch to engage it. if its like a normal door latch that is. if you have to move it down you can plug the original holes and reposition it.
i'll be interested to see what others say about this.

[ericw]

It does not have much slop in it. Obviously it has some because lifting it makes a difference, but there is not noticeable looseness in the door or strike plate.

[john warren]

are there screws in the hinge? if they loosen the door could sag just enough.
is the gap all around the door even?

[john warren]

ok i went to the scamp site and looked over the hardware section in the parts store.

the way that latch works i can't see it being moved out of alignment with out showing some sign of movement. look carefully at the surface around the plate for a ghost, an area where it was ,,,,but isn't now. i don't think you will find one. if thats the case i bet the repair hinge kit is what you need.

[ericw]

It "looks" like everything is in place and the gap appears even around the door. I am tempted to try the repair hinge set just to see if it is slightly worn and caused this.

[Harvey]

On my '84 Scamp 13 the door lockset 'tongue' does not match the striker plate either. On mine the tongue is lower than the striker but probably 75% of the tongue engages the striker. I'm not sure this is the original door on my trailer so that may be a contributing factor?? It had a 'barrel bolt/hasp' type arrangement when I bought it (can still see the 'filled' holes). I've removed that & plan to add a 'flush' type door lockset per instructions by Floyd & DavidSo -

Here's what my lockset looks like now, & the lockset I plan to install by the time my 're-build' is done

[john warren]

you should be able to move the striker plate and redrill the holes...but ya gotta ask,,,,,what the hey?

[Donna D.]

Hummmm... my 24 year old Scamp has never NOT engaged the lockset to the striker plate. I cannot imagine a 2-3 year old Scamp that has worn out brass ball, etc. in the hinge area. That typically happens after YEARS of opening and closing the door.. not just after a couple of years. Double and triple check the frame. Make CERTAIN there are no cracks in the frame which would cause it to flex and allow the door to not fully engage the strike plate.

[Harvey]

Not having seen many (any?) Scamps the vintage of mine with the 'elephant skin' interior, I'm unable to say whether my door is original or not. It definitely has a different color/texture vinyl 'skin' on the inside. The 'elephant skin' ensolite in my trailer is a very light 'off white' color (now that I've cleaned it ) with the deep vertical ridges of the typical 'elephant skin' ensolite, but the door inner skin is more of a beige color & the texture is smooth with a somewhat 'tooled' appearance. I believe my door may have been either rebuilt or replaced??

After close examination of many Scamp pix in the 'Trailer Registry' it appears that the door lockset mounting location may have varied an inch or so up or down (in relation to the belly band) so if my door (or ericw's) has been replaced that might account for the mismatch of lockset/striker?

notice the difference between my door & the wall covering inside

[Deb & Chuck]

I had a 1995 Scamp 16ft. The inside door handle spring was worn out so I ordered a new door latch from Scamp. The screws securing the door latch were loose. When installing the new latch I put Gorilla Glue in the screw holes and clamped it overnight. I had one door hinge the lower one was loose so I tightened it the door closed better. Our door had gray rat fur on it.
Good luck
Chuck

[RogerDat]

I have a 1977 scamp with the same ensolite walls and different surface on the door as Harvey has. Pretty sure mine is stock.

Makes sense that door would not use insulated covering since it is insulated by virtue of being hollow. And that it would use a surface less prone to tear since it is glued to the door and not foam underneath like the ensolite.

[Harvey]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

I have a 1977 scamp with the same ensolite walls and different surface on the door as Harvey has. Pretty sure mine is stock.

Makes sense that door would not use insulated covering since it is insulated by virtue of being hollow. And that it would use a surface less prone to tear since it is glued to the door and not foam underneath like the ensolite.

Sounds reasonable to me.

[Carol S.]

Harvey - Wondering what you cleaned the 'elephant skin' (Ensolite) with? We just purchased a 1981 with the Ensolite interior walls and it needs some (medium-duty) cleaning. I tried Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner on a small area, but it did not clean well without some (actual) scrubbing, and I'm afraid to scrub with too stiff a brush because I don't want to damage it. Any suggestions you could give me would be much appreciated.

Regarding the difference in the wall color and interior door color in your pics, our door is also a different color and texture, same as yours.

[Donna D.]

Carol, here's a topic for you! http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ean-43009.html

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Harvey

On my '84 Scamp 13 the door lockset 'tongue' does not match the striker plate either. On mine the tongue is lower than the striker but probably 75% of the tongue engages the striker. I'm not sure this is the original door on my trailer so that may be a contributing factor?? It had a 'barrel bolt/hasp' type arrangement when I bought it (can still see the 'filled' holes). I've removed that & plan to add a 'flush' type door lockset per instructions by Floyd & DavidSo -

Here's what my lockset looks like now, & the lockset I plan to install by the time my 're-build' is done

One of Eggy-Sue's best mods...
but maybe simply making a wider striker would do the trick.

[Harvey]

Originally Posted by Carol S.

Harvey - Wondering what you cleaned the 'elephant skin' (Ensolite) with? We just purchased a 1981 with the Ensolite interior walls and it needs some (medium-duty) cleaning. I tried Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner on a small area, but it did not clean well without some (actual) scrubbing, and I'm afraid to scrub with too stiff a brush because I don't want to damage it. Any suggestions you could give me would be much appreciated.

Regarding the difference in the wall color and interior door color in your pics, our door is also a different color and texture, same as yours.

Carol, here's pic of everything I used (except the buckets of clean water) - I went to Lowes following suggestion from Sam & Jess, see this thread - http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ing-45101.html - & bought a bottle of Tilex Mildew Root Penetrator. Was a little hesitant about it at first (that stuff is stout!) but after trying it under one of the dinette benches I decided it'd work OK. My trailer was absolutely cruddy inside (it had sat with moisture inside after a leak in the roof vent; most of the elephant skin had at least some mildew & much of it had LOTS). After a few false starts I developed a technique that eventually worked out well for the entire interior. I'd spray the stuff full strength on a small area, maybe 2' square, let it set for 5-10 min & then brush vigorously with the pictured brush (the brush has medium stiff but not harsh bristles) 'til the area was covered with a gray foam. Then I'd take a large synthetic sponge, wet it, wring it out & wipe off the foam, rinse the sponge & continue 'til I'd removed all the foam from that area. Takes a lot of rinsing to remove all traces of the cleaner. Usually a 10qt pail of clean water would last thru 3 or 4 areas before I'd hafta change water. The Tilex cleaner has a very stong, acrid odor so I left the door & all windows open while working, & still had to step outside every few minutes. After cleaning the entire inside & rinsing well it left a nice clean, fresh smell in the trailer. I have a roll of the seam tape from Scamp & after making sure there is no trace of the cleaner still on the ensolite I'm gonna try the s tuff & see if it'll stick, otherwise I'll probably caulk & paint the interior including seams. I still haven't done much 're-build' work inside but that starts this week. Oh yeah, the Tilex works good on mildew & 'tree dirt' outside too. My Scamp had no gelcoat left so I cleaned it well with the Tilex & then applied several coats of Red Max Pro to bring back a shine to the exterior.