Rob from Arkansas

[rsoukup]

I just joined the forum to find out information and meet other RVer's.  I am currently living in my fifth wheel.
I am looking for any help in how to repair the sliding door between rooms.  Yes I forgot to lock it down and it came off the track.
Anyone have any experience in how the door is attached and how to repair I would appreciate the help.
Thanks Rob 

 

[Mike Goad]

Seeing how I suggested you join, Rob, let me be the first to welcome you to the forum!

(Rob and I share an office at work and the topic sometimes turns to RVs. )

The folks here have lots of information.  So far, I've spent over 6 hours just exploring.  Have fun exploring and, hopefully, someone will have an answer for you.

 

[Tom]

Hi Rob and let me add my welcome to the forum.

I've had both sliding doors in our motorhome come off and, quite honestly, it's a bitch when that happens. I wish I had photos to explain it better. The top of the door has a couple of plastic parts that rotate to engage with a couple of metal pins screwed into the slider part that slides in the track. In my case, leaving the door unlocked caused one occurrence, but the pins have also unscrewed due to a lack of locking nuts.

The hardest one, when it comes off, is the inner one (the one you can't reach). I have to use the awning hook or a straightened coat hanger to fish the slider out. Then, with my wife on one side of the door to hold it level, I reattach the door. My wife acknowledges I'm not a happy camper when this stuff happens.

I had the factory fix one of the doors, but I don't know what they did for a "permanent" fix. It didn't occur to me to tell them to do both doors, until the second door came off some time later.

When we first saw the coach at the dealership, one of the doors was in pieces, apparently because one of their delivery drivers hadn't checked it was locked before driving off.

 

[Tom]

Stop the presses! Just found a drawing of the door slider showing the two parts I mentioned. See attached image.

 

[Ned]

On our pocket door, when the front slider is unlatched, the door can be swung out until the rear slider is accessible in the opening.  Reinstall is just the reverse.

The hard job is when the track inside the pocket comes loose as the screws vibrate out.  We cut a 11"x11" hole in the side of our closet to allow us to access the rear of the track.  Covered the hole with a 12"x12" piece of masonite.  Could have used a matching piece of paneling, but the hole is buried in the closet and not visible normally.

 

[rsoukup]

Thanks Tom for the info and drawing.  I kind of figured it was something like that when I looked at.  You guessed it the one that fell off is the inside runner.  Now that I know better I should be able to fix it myself.  I will write back after I make the repairs and give some details on what I used and how I fixed it.  I also am not a happy camper when things go wrong so might just rip the door off LOL.  Great place to find info glad I joined.

Rob

 

[Tom]

when the front slider is unlatched, the door can be swung out until the rear slider is accessible in the opening.

True, but that doesn't work on mine if the door came off the inner slider  ;D  Usually, when it does, even if I take the door off altogether, Murphy dictates that the inner slider is beyond reach.

Good idea to cut an access hole but, in our case, we'd need to remove the refridgerator for one of the doors or cut a hole in the shower for the other. We took the easy way out - we don't open the rear sliding door and only occasionally open the front one.

 

[Tom]

FWIW I think that pocket doors are a dumb idea. I'd find it a lot less painful to run into a hinged door that's open that to keep fixing the darned pocket door that keeps falling off.

The only thing that compares for a dumb door idea is the semi-circular concertina door we had on our Pace Arrow. The day we bought the Pace I told Chris I'd probably curse that door for as long as we owned the coach. I was right  ;D

 

[Ned]

If you can remove the door, then pulling the inner slider out to where you can remount the door shouldn't be a problem.  Do as you do and use the awning hook.  Then remove the door from the front slider, attach to the rear one, slide the door partly into the pocket and remount to the front slider.

Pocket doors are space saving and work well IF properly installed.  Our rear track wasn't fastened very well and kept falling down until we cut the large hole and put in proper screws.  If it drops down again, we now have easy access.

We have an accordion fold door too, but only use it when we have a guest staying over.  It's between the bedroom and the bathroom and should have been a pocket door.

 

[Tom]

Do as you do and use the awning hook.

That's what we do  ;D

... kept falling down until we cut the large hole and put in proper screws.

Maybe Terry will cut an access panel in our shower  ;D

It's between the bedroom and the bathroom and should have been a pocket door.

That's where ours was. Like you, we only used it when we had guests. Not sure how a pocket door would have worked for the semi-circular opening.

 

[Ned]

A curved door?   Ours is straight and there is room for a solid door.

 

[Tom]

The floorplan of that coach dictated a curved door. No room for anything else. As with all RVs, there was a tradeoff between features. This was a 29 foot motorhome that had a dinette, queen sofabed, two armchairs and a table, a full galley and the ability to turn the front captains chairs around. So, lots of utility in the living area for a 29 foot coach which we appreciated when the kids were with us. The tradeoff was a double "master" bed north-south in the rear of the coach with a tub/shower, head and vanity in the corner alongside the bed. The only way to get any "privacy" in the head or shower was that dumb curved concertina door.

 

[RLSharp]

We took the easy way out - we don't open the rear sliding door and only occasionally open the front one.

Tom,

I am curious. How do you get though the doorways if you don't open the rear sliding door and only occasionally open the front one??  Doesn't this sort of limit your movement in your coach?? ???

Richard

 

[Tom]

LOL Richard, good catch. I should have said I don't slide the doors closed. They stay in the open position  :-[

BTW I have a real concern that this ongoing problem could result in someone getting trapped in the rear of the coach. When an inner slider falls off the hanger, the door sits diagnonally across the doorway. It's not exactly easy to pick it up and nurse it back into the pocket on one hanger. I can imagine that this could be a real issue in a panic if wheover is trapped doesn't think about the egress window.