Cargo Door opening too high

AZBigMike

Member
We went to pick up our new 2013 Sequoia 2 weeks ago, and were going thru our PDI, and was very excited to go and try it out. During our inspection I discovered that the cargo door under the front bedroom slide out when opened was hitting the bottom of the slide out. I asked the guy going over the PDI with us and said yah you need to be careful. The service manager was there and came over and said oh yah you really need to be careful to make sure that the door is closed before you put the slide in, and proceeded to show me another model that 1 of there service techs forgot to close the door and when putting the slide in it caught the door and tore it off the hinge and basically trashed it and the panelling on the slide as well.
We proceeded to finish up the PDI, making the punch list of things that needed to be addressed and I opened the cargo door (bear in mind this is where all the controls for dump and cable and everything is) and didn't close it.
I was testing out the remote for the slides and when closing the front guess what happened. The slide caught the door on the slam latch and tore it to heck.
I only noticed when I went around to check a final time. I was dumbfounded, and frustrated as **** cause now I was responsible for my stupidity. The only saving grace is that I did it at the dealership before I took it off the lot, but it was my fault. The service manager couldn't believe it especially after he showed me the other one.
My beef is this in my opinion is a design flaw. There should be a limiter on the cable to prevent it from going as high.
This would have happened to me at a later date, and I'm sure that there will be more incidences of this happening by other users.
The good thing is that the manager agreed to pay for the labor of the door and paint (we have full body paint).
I would like to hear any thoughts or suggestions from other owners and if possible the factory.

Mike Simmons
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi AZBigMike,

This problem goes back a year or two and I think it was supposed to have been corrected by a production change at the factory. You might want to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. There may be some additional work that they will authorize to keep this from happening again.

Something else you can do is to put corner guards on the bedroom slideout. They're available at many RV dealers and from amazon.com. Here's a link. In addition to protecting your head from the hard corners, they'll hold the door just far enough away from the slideout that there should be no interference. Here's what it looks like installed on a Rushmore.
 

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klindgren

Retired Virginia Chapter Leaders
Dan, one question that I don't see answered on the website you listed. Do you remove these corner guards each time you bring the slide out in, or do you install them and just leave them on?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
They stay in place. The only time you know they're there is when you run your head into them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

dbbls59

Well-known member
This is strange because they have corrected this problem on the Big Country. The hinge is on the left and the door does not swing up. Makes you wonder why they don't do this on all models.
 

sengli

Well-known member
We have newer big horn, with a similiar front cargo bay door set up. Luckily the door doesn't quite reach the bottom of the bedroom slide. How were able to repair the damage after you crushed the door? I agree that should not have been made in that manner where it could ever come near that slide.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Hi AZBigMike,

This problem goes back a year or two and I think it was supposed to have been corrected by a production change at the factory. You might want to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. There may be some additional work that they will authorize to keep this from happening again.

Something else you can do is to put corner guards on the bedroom slideout. They're available at many RV dealers and from amazon.com. Here's a link. In addition to protecting your head from the hard corners, they'll hold the door just far enough away from the slideout that there should be no interference. Here's what it looks like installed on a Rushmore.

I don't have the door problem, but depending on the level and height of the ground, I have been known to smack my head on the corners of the bedroom slide. That ain't nice, either. Your corners might be a better alternative than the swim noodle I slip over the lower edge. I'll have to look for them.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
This is strange because they have corrected this problem on the Big Country. The hinge is on the left and the door does not swing up. Makes you wonder why they don't do this on all models.

Same on my BH. Cargo door opens right to left . . . kind of irritating in a wind, but I don't have to worry about smashing it.
 

murry135

New York Chapter Leaders - retired
Our 2013 Key Largo has the limiting opening struts installed. Came this way from the factory. If I want the door to swing all the way up I have to push it past the first locking position. I used the "Noodle Method" to prevent rub and damage when if full open position. I would check with HL to see if the limit type struts should of been put on your coach.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Same on my BH. Cargo door opens right to left . . . kind of irritating in a wind, but I don't have to worry about smashing it.

This is a simple fix for preventing the large ODS cargo door from swinging in the wind. I used the longer door latch to match the swing of the hinges. The shorter one will cause the door to be crushed into the latch on the propane cabinet (unless you mount it closer to the hinge and restrict the swing of the large door some). Stainless steel bolts w/nyloc nuts and some aluminum reinforcement on the inside of the door panel to distribute the load.

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pegmikef

Well-known member
This is a simple fix for preventing the large ODS cargo door from swinging in the wind. I used the longer door latch to match the swing of the hinges. The shorter one will cause the door to be crushed into the latch on the propane cabinet (unless you mount it closer to the hinge and restrict the swing of the large door some). Stainless steel bolts w/nyloc nuts and some aluminum reinforcement on the inside of the door panel to distribute the load.

Perfect John, where did you get the door latch? We have a couple of SOB rv dealers here, I think I go look at their stores. Thanks, Mike
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Perfect John, where did you get the door latch? We have a couple of SOB rv dealers here, I think I go look at their stores. Thanks, Mike

I think I picked it up at General RV a couple of years ago, where we bought the rig. It's a Camco product, so any RV parts store should have it or be able to get it for you. If all else fails, Ebay or Amazon.
 

rjr6150

Well-known member
Our 2013 Key Largo has the limiting opening struts installed. Came this way from the factory. If I want the door to swing all the way up I have to push it past the first locking position. I used the "Noodle Method" to prevent rub and damage when if full open position. I would check with HL to see if the limit type struts should of been put on your coach.

Our 2013 has the two stage struts. But also did the crush test right after we brought it home. Thanks to a local body shop and $175 later good as new.
 

AZBigMike

Member
That would have been really nice to have on the coach and would have prevented a ton of damage and saved about 5-6 weeks worth of waiting.
 

Cyberdave

Well-known member
The dual stage struts are only if the valves remain intact. If one fails it will push the other strut up.
After many close calls and one #$$# crap moment, I added safety cables to both struts. IMHO, dual stage struts are a patch and not a fix. A correctly sized strut that stops the door short of any interference with the slide is the fix.
 

murry135

New York Chapter Leaders - retired
Cyberdave,

Do you have a proper sized strut in mind? I have tried several but can't come up with one that works? Also worried about plate mounting site stress resulting in door panel mounting bracket being pulled off door panel.

Murry
 

danemayer

Well-known member
If you put inexpensive Corner Guards on your slide out, you'll not only save your scalp when you stand up and hit the corner of the slide, but they allow the door to open all the way while holding it far enough away from the slide that it won't catch when closing the slide.
 
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