Flimsy rv door

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GARYJ

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2016
Posts
54
Location
Mexico
I got tired of searching for a solution to this on the net.
I have a travel trailer and it?s entrance door seems to be too weak, the white sheet seems to be made of plastic or some kind of resin and could be broken with just about anything.
Is there a way to strengthen the door security other than installing new latches or locks?
What about some aluminum bars?
Regards to all!
 
Hi, I felt the same way when I first got my RV.  Luckily I will soon live in a rural area of TX where we solve problems like that locally :) but its very low crime for that reason.

I thought about bars as well, but if you put bars then criminals will wonder what you have inside that you need bars for and well you know where that leads.  I also thought about replacing the door with a better model, until I found out how expensive they are.  Then I thought about strengthening the door on the inside, but then you end up putting too much weight on cheap hinges screwed into insufficient structure, and that would mean that just doing alittle bit would turn into a huge job. 

I finally just ended up puting a slide chain (like all homes have) from the door to the inside wall where I found a stud.  I had to find shorter screws because the door is not that thick, but it seems to do the job in that at least it will make alot of noise if someone tries to get in.

I also used to close my handrail over the door when I was gone not for making anything secure but just a bad habbit, then I realized I was just advertising that noone was home. 

The only other thing I did to the door (for energy savings) was to remove all the molding around the door on the inside and foam inside there.  It makes a huge difference  as there is a huge gap all the way around the door frame, just be carefull that molding is very easy to break.  But I put up new molding from Lowes anyway for a fresh new look :)

So just realize that you are in an RV and there are some things that an RV can't be, then go get you a slide chain and install it... :)

This is all assuming that your door is in good shape to start with.
 
Thanks for your opinion, but it doesn?t quite solve my issue
Yes, I would like to strengthen it on the inside, so that it will be harder for someone to break it as it is today and have access to my stuff
 
Build your own door

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKzu1NiXuNI

You said you are not interested in just improving the locks and hinges so that is out.

And if  that does not sound good you, then you may be forced to just add a camera so at least you will know who committed the crime.  For that see here

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,119441.0.html


 
Camera is out of the question
I don?t care to see how they steal my things
Yes, most probably I will have to order a sturdier door. Not a wood one
 
The next question is what have you done, or can do, to the windows?  Anybody that will take a crow bar to a door wouldn?t hesitate to pitch a concrete block through a window if they think the reward will be great enough.
 
Patnsuzanne said:
The next question is what have you done, or can do, to the windows?  Anybody that will take a crow bar to a door wouldn?t hesitate to pitch a concrete block through a window if they think the reward will be great enough.

True, or they could just bust over a storage compartment and have some small person enter and get into the RV that way ( many RV's have access to the inside via the storage bay).    The newer RV's have much lighter and much thinner side paneling. I helped a friend of mine work on his and that sheet metal was so thin you could almost push your finger through it.  I bet you could cut it with a box cutter even, and then its easy to get though the inside paneling.
 
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