Key Largo off door side basement door

murry135

New York Chapter Leaders - retired
We have a new 2013 Key Largo and one of the items I am seeking info on is how to repostion or what equipment I may need to reposition the off door side basement compartment door. It is designed with short, 17" gas struts, to limit its opening action from the 6 o'clock position to the 12 o'clock position so it does not interfer with the bedroom slide out. I understand that in the past people have closed there bedroom slide and crushed the open basement door but man now it is too low and I have to bend over to get into and work from that side of the compartment. Keep in mind the UDC is excessible only from this door. I see that there is about 8-10 inches of space presently left between the door edge and the bottom of the slide so how can I alter or what can I buy to increase the opening angle of this door. I already tried moving the mounts but one side is mounted inside UDC and between skins of inner and outer walls and I also tried 19" gas struts but they open the door too much. I also tried moving the doorside mounts and inch or so and that creates a whole other issue of the door not staying up/open now. So any other ideas?:mad:
 

sengli

Well-known member
I feel your pain on this exact issue. I dont see any way to cleanly change this doors mounting. Short of getting a whole premounted door assembly. I have seen on other units this same door is hinged on the side, instead of the top. So it would be able to open all the way with the B/R slide in or out. I really would like to this to be changed too.
 

marvmarcy

Well-known member
If your Key Largo has the same door struts as our 2012 KL, you can lift the door until it hits the bedroom slide. The door has two positions, the first is too low for easy access as you know, but if you firmly lift the door when it hits the first stops, it will open until it hits the slide. I keep a large sponge in that bay to place between the door and the slide when fully open.

Marv
 

rjr6150

Well-known member
Ours is the same first stop on the struts door way to low. By pulling up again it will raise to fully open position. From what HL told me this was the design. Though do agree side hinged would be better. Trust me found out the hard way to not raise it to full height with slide out.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi murry135,

Here's a link to Corner Guards that go on the corners of the slide out to protect your head. A nice by-product is that they will hold the baggage door away from the slide out just enough so that it won't catch. Still a good idea to close the door before pulling the slide in, but this should protect you in case you forget. And it will help your head.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
I use a small Pool Noodle that I split. I put it on the edge of the trim on the slide. Keeps the door from making contact with the slide, protecting the paint. Also works well at keeping the door from being damaged if the slide is closed and the door is fully extended.
 

For20hunter

Pacific Region Directors-Retired
How about changing the door so it opens to the side instead of up? Then you could get the gas struts to hold it all the way open without interfering with the slide. Just a thought.

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Theresau

Well-known member
We strongly believe this is a design flaw with the newer BH's and Landmarks. Our 2010 had the "great" aluminum slam baggage doors - they were actually the reason that we pursued a Heartland product. We were just very impressed with them when we saw a BH in the dealer lot. From there we investigated Heartland and ended up ordering the BH.

When we began looking for a new RV this year, we checked out the BHs and didn't like the fiberglass doors at all and really didn't like how the struts worked - we found that the doors would not close evenly like the aluminum did. And then we noted that the driver's side door opened up rather than sideways and that it hit the bedroom slide when we opened it. We also looked at Landmarks and were suprised to see that they also had fiberglass doors (we had assumed that they would have the aluminum doors still).

Again, the baggage doors were a bit of a starting point for us when we eventually checked out BC's (there were other things about the BH that we didn't like such as the small dinette table) and Joe liked the way the baggage doors worked much better - especially on the driver's side as it opened sideways as our 2010 BH did. We were a bit skeptical about the magnet on the passenger side and considered ordering the struts but just didn't like the way they handled. Decided to go forward with the magnet (2014 has 2) and add struts ourselves later if needed. We do find it more convenient to have the passenger door completely open so that it's not in the way on the patio when it's open. Time will tell whether we made the right decision on the struts....
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
In my opinion its not a flaw. It was designed that way. If it was the other way, it would have so much stress on the hinges. It would always be hard to close. I like the way the door goes up. Put a noodle on the slide and you don't have to worry about it. It gives you more coverage from the rain and sun when working in that area.

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murry135

New York Chapter Leaders - retired
I want to say thanks to those who gave recommendations as to how to deal with the new design. I decided to take a pool noodle and slit it and slide it on and when I need to open the door all the way just lift it too its full open position. I believe the design change was instituted to prevent door crushing and unit damage so to have to deal with this change to prevent a major inconvienence is not the end of the world. Your suggestions were helpful. I do enjoy being protected from the rain when working on the off doorside of unit.
 
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boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
We bought the Grand Canyon model Landmark strictly because the door opened to the side (OK - there were some other reasons too :rolleyes:). No problems with rain because the big bedroom slide covers that area completely.
 

mountainlovers76

Mississippi Chapter Leaders
In my opinion its not a flaw. It was designed that way. If it was the other way, it would have so much stress on the hinges. It would always be hard to close. I like the way the door goes up. Put a noodle on the slide and you don't have to worry about it. It gives you more coverage from the rain and sun when working in that area.

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I agree completely. Not a design flaw but an improvement. I just traded my 2009 Bighorn which had the side hinged UDC door for a 2014 Key Largo with the top hinged slam baggage doors. Believe me, I prefer the top hinged door. The side hinged door on the Bighorn began sagging after a year or so due to the stress weight of the door when open. You may not think that door is heavy but even a small weight extended over 2 or 3 feet creates a lot of stress on the hinge. And I use the noodle as well, inexpensive, easy to use or replace and works great as a cushion to the door and my head.
 

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
After 2.5 years of near continuous use, we've had no sag issues whatsoever with the side opening door. Must vary by model.


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