Fibreglass repair bigfoot door

[Deb Mac]

I am hunting again. The deal for the Casita fell through . I am looking at a few (mostly window shopping, but if the right one showed up, I am in a position to buy). There is a 90's Bigfoot B17 that is in very good nick but has some damage to the door - appears to have swung open hard, and damaged the fibreglass against that sharp 'corner' on the body. I haven't gone to see the unit yet (not exactly in my neighbourhood), but what would be involved in trying to repair this? I haven't approached the seller about it yet. Thought I might check in here first. Cheers.

[Kenny Strong]

easy repair, ( for Me ) door can be taken apart just screwed together. Repaired on the inside face leaving the out side with existing finish, and slight crack showing, or just sand down door, being left in place and std. fiberglass repair. then outside face would need to be refinished. making it look perfect with gel coat would need experienced help.

[John in Michigan]

Agree with Kenny. This is an easy repair. I recently dis-assembled the flat door on my 40 year old Boler 17 and patched dents and holes in the outside skin as well as completely rebuilt/replaced the wood structure in the door core.

[Kenny Strong]

good point John the wooden core parts of my door were totally rotten across the bottom and up a foot on the side styles I replaced the wooden parts. I drilled holes in the bottom aluminum rail to allow water to exit in the future.

[Deb Mac]

Thank you very much. I thought the repair job might not be too daunting, but the information on the potential rot in the core is a good point. Anyway to check that when and if I view the trailer? Will there be any sponginess to the door?

[John in Michigan]

Deb Mac, in my case the clue that the door core contained rot was that the aluminum frame wrapped around the core had expanded to the point that there were gaps between the mitered corners of the door. This in turn caused the door to chafe against the jamb making it difficult to open/close the door.

You probably won't notice any sponginess in the door.

[Deb Mac]

Thanks John. I am making a list to check twice when I get a chance to begin checking some of these in person.

[ZachO]

It's good to be picky and make sure any trailer you're going to buy is in good condition. But that crack is no big deal. I posted a photo of my door with the exact same crack a few days ago. Bigfoot doors, I'm pretty sure, are not a "vintage", original, one-of-a-kind part. Because of the Bigfoot shape, they're industry-standard and easily replaceable with a brand new unit.

Not that you want to replace the door...but it's a very minor "issue" in this case.

Mine's been like that for 4 years...I haven't even put it on my list of repairs yet...

[Deb Mac]

Thanks Zach. There are a couple of other things that the owner mentioned - bearing are due, tires are "in good shape" but at least 7 years old (I would replace them), there is a tear in the screen door. Those are things that I can do (and that I CAN do) but wasn't sure about the crack. The unit looks in good shape, a little wear in the interior finish, but otherwise, pretty decent. Before I went to see it, I would probably have an RV/Trailer inspection done - save myself 2 days of driving - in case there was anything untoward that no one is aware of.

[Glass House]

And smells. A unit of this vintage can have odors. My wife says mine does. Oh well.

[Eric Frye]

I also rebuilt my Boler 17 flat panel door and while I was at it updated the door latch with a new modern RV door latch. I had to replace the entire bottom half of the door frame. I may go back and re-skin the exterior with new material once I paint the camper.

[IMG]20190504_164308_resized by Eric Frye, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]20190512_142431_resized_1 by Eric Frye, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Deb Mac]

Nice to see under the skin. Good reference in case I have to make some repairs.

[dspitzer]

I just put a nice piece of stainless plat over the crack.. Looks fine and as an added bonus protects the door from this reoccurring.

[Deb Mac]

Thanks David. Nice idea! I may just give that a go.

[dspitzer]

I'll post a pic when I get a chance!

[mandnrisley]

I had my door blow open so I had to rebuild it. Good thing I did because all the bottom wood was rotton.

[ZachO]

I'll add mine to this list. I was thinking I'd eventually replace my door, but then saw the prices, at least on Camper World...over $500! Not surprising, but man.

My door finally hit the point that I couldn't ignore it anymore. Late last fall, the skin on the inside and outside started coming out of the aluminum framing, and things really didn't seem right on the bottom 1/4 of the door.

We've had a really mild winter, so I decided I'd better get after it now. Projects like this don't get done when I'm in it in the summer.

I pulled the door, and found what probably anyone else with a few decades old Bigfoot will find: completely rotted wood.



Pretty nice, huh? I sent the photo to a friend and he asked if there had been a fire!

Here's what my door was looking like when I decided I couldn't ignore it anymore





Yes, it had to get this bad before I decided to do anything about it...I really was planning to replace the door at some point, so I let it go.

Much better. It's no wonder I was having problems. There was nothing left of the bottom half! Not the best photo, but the old framing is on the right, my new framing on the left.



No more gap in the bottom, everything is nice and tight.





A new door would have been nice, but other than costing $500 more (this project cost me $32), it would have been off-color and wouldn't have my admittedly fading, crappy decals. $550 or so and wouldn't even match. It's also annoying, though, to have done all this work and the door doesn't look any better. It's just no longer falling apart. But, good enough! $32, a few hours work, and done.

There were a few upgrades I should have done while I had it apart, like some reinforcement here and there, a newer latch and a deadbolt, and better insulation, but none of that is really necessary, I'm low on money, and all this time it's winter and my camper is out in the back alley and there's no door on it!

[ZachO]

Originally Posted by mandnrisley

I had my door blow open so I had to rebuild it. Good thing I did because all the bottom wood was rotton.

Michael what material did you use for the door skin? Looks great. And the off-color-no-decal doesn't even clash as bad as I thought mine might. Should have looked back at this thread before starting my project!

[JonRaw]

Good fix. Imagine owning a travel trailer where the whole thing is made like the doors on these are?

[Eric Frye]

Nice job. it’s not that bad once you take that first step.