A question about cabinet construction???

[HD_RoadDog]

I recently toured a Cyclone 3010 in Central Fl noticed that the cabinet doors in this brand new unit were separating and the joints not just one or 2 of the cabinet doors but like 10 or 12 throughout the coach at the stile and rail joints. Having a little background on cabinetry I noticed that the joints appeared to be cut in a shaper or router table and were secured with a very small staple close to the edge of the vertical rail and that rail was splitting where it was stapled. I did not see and evidence of glue in the joint as is common practice with door construction of this type.
Has this been issue been brought to the attention of the production line and QC having just ordered a Cyclone 3612 was hoping I didn't have issues like this down the road.
Thanks for the input and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[aatauses]

I have a BH 3670 and have one door that is coming apart. After careful inspection I also noticed no glue marks, only some flimsy staples. I also have constructed several raised panel cabinets and will need to repair this one with glue rather than staples.
al
Since we are traveling, will have to come up with some type of clamp??

 

[2010augusta]

will have to come up with some type of clamp??

Ratchet straps.

 

[kinports]

just posted a question about the same thing.we just bought a 2010 3950 and the cabinet doors above the sofs are split. hopefully heartland will sovle this problem.

 

[JohnDar]

I have a BH 3670 and have one door that is coming apart. After careful inspection I also noticed no glue marks, only some flimsy staples. I also have constructed several raised panel cabinets and will need to repair this one with glue rather than staples.
al
Since we are traveling, will have to come up with some type of clamp??

Looking at photos of my cabinets, they are true rail and stile, not mitered corners. I don't remember if they were stapled on the back side. To answer your field expedient clamp question, you could glue it and wrap it with blue painter's tape to clamp it.

 

[5erWonk]

I'm not having problems with the door joints, but recently the entire door frame came off the cabinet above the commode, to my daughter's surprise.

The frame was attached to the cabinet interior with ten staples and no glue. It was an easy fix, just ran a bead of wood glue and the staples lined up nicely with the holes and pushed it back together.

 

[Tom_Diane]

I recently toured a Cyclone 3010 in Central Fl noticed that the cabinet doors in this brand new unit were separating and the joints not just one or 2 of the cabinet doors but like 10 or 12 throughout the coach at the stile and rail joints. Having a little background on cabinetry I noticed that the joints appeared to be cut in a shaper or router table and were secured with a very small staple close to the edge of the vertical rail and that rail was splitting where it was stapled. I did not see and evidence of glue in the joint as is common practice with door construction of this type.
Has this been issue been brought to the attention of the production line and QC having just ordered a Cyclone 3612 was hoping I didn't have issues like this down the road.
Thanks for the input and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a suggestion. When you get your Cyclone, you will obviously do a walk thru so take special notice of the doors which you have apparently done anyway. If all the doors are intact then maybe you could get somewhere that you can get access or use of an air pinner. Put about 2 to 4 pins in each corner to ensure the hold. These are like a 23 ga. and come in various lengths. Half or 3/8 inch should do just fine in rail and stile doors on the back side. I do alot of wood working and have built doors as well and never would consider using staples. In my earlier days, I tried but was never able to acheive that satifactory look of quality or hold. The problem with staples are that if you drive something between the grain you are ineffect splitting the wood and I'm guessing but I assume that the staples are maybe 16, 18 ga. maybe larger. Staples to me seem so old school for use in joints IMHO they are only good for holding papers together or in my work for securing bottoms in toy boxes and an occasional drawer if deemed neccesary. Not for connecting joints.

 

[Tom_Diane]

I have a BH 3670 and have one door that is coming apart. After careful inspection I also noticed no glue marks, only some flimsy staples. I also have constructed several raised panel cabinets and will need to repair this one with glue rather than staples.
al
Since we are traveling, will have to come up with some type of clamp??

See my reply to OP. 2010augusta is on track. A ratchet clamp might be a little akward to use. I suggest a strap also but I am able to manipulate a simple tie down strap that uses the slip type buckle. The trick is only have enough pressure for the joints to make contact, a ratchet strap might make it easy to over tighten the joint thus causing more damage. With the slip type buckle , you can only get it just so tight unless you are a brute or stand on the door and pull on the strap. So snug will do it. Also just because you cant see a glue line doesn't mean there is no glue in the joint. When I make doors or even half lap joints I like to just spot maybe 4 drops of glues on both mating surfaces ,then use the 23 ga. pins of the proper length. Another option might be to use "C" clamps and glue and clamp each corner and using a combo square to ensure the joints are square as you clamep them. Keep in mind, Glue alone will not hold forever and is subject to climate changes and since its in your rv it will experience more elements that can break joints.This would include opening and closing, a little slam here and there and I give that glue only joint a year at the most.

 

[JohnDar]

Just to follow-up, I went out to our trailer at the storage yard to take a look at the cabinet doors. They are indeed rail and stile, and on the back side, they've pegged them with a couple of brads, not staples, shot into the tenons. Even on the rail and stile raised panel doors, that I've made, you won't see glue unless you break the joints apart. If your doors have true mitered corners and they shot staples to hold them and no glue, that's 1/2-kiester work.

That brings up the question, does Heartland do their own cabinetry or is it brought in from a subcontractor?

 

[porthole]

When I was at the factory viewing the Cyclones they were building cabinets in the same building.

 

[JohnDar]

When I was at the factory viewing the Cyclones they were building cabinets in the same building.

Thanks, Duane. Did you see any glue being applied?

 

[porthole]

Didn't get that close

 

[JohnDar]

I took another look at the Construction Booklet, on the Heartland website. They are using a high frequency glue applicator, it appears, and include rubber "space balls" in the door frames to allow the raised panel to expand/contract with humidity and not rattle. In mine, they've shot a couple of brads into each joint as insurance, it would seem. My guess is that all of their door frames have brads in the joints.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Hey brother:

I have the brads in my doors also. Weather is starting to warm up down here. Getting back into the 70's tomorrow. Fish here I come.

 

[JohnDar]

Hey brother:

I have the brads in my doors also. Weather is starting to warm up down here. Getting back into the 70's tomorrow. Fish here I come.

Are you fishing in the surf zone or going out on a charter? When we go to Myrtle Beach, I see guys on the beach surf fishing a lot. Sometimes they catch some nice size fish. It's been hanging around the low/mid 30's here the past few days. My flannel lined jeans are real comfy under my bunker pants.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

clothes under bunkers? Heck, I used to take my trousers off, even in the winter and then put on my bunkers. Just did not like the feeling of wet trousers getting tangled in my bunkers.

 

[Handy]

Cabinet door construction

Oh yes, I had 9 of my doors open up and they was all the same size doors above the back side sofa and above the table on the slide out. Mine also had brad nails pinning the doors together. I think they use some glue but very little. My doors split apart in places where there was glue and the joins held but the wood didn’t. The doors were separatiatng at the miters and not just a little on most. I had openings from 1/8 to 3/8 inch. What happened in my case was I was in the NC mountains this summer and it rained a lot so we went to Ohio for some sunshine. I guess it rained all day long the 5 days we was gone and was down in the mid 50s at night an in the low 60s in the days. maybe it was to much rain but the doors should have held up. What is camping and not have rain. I think the doors was ok when we left and when we got back we had to use the heat to stay worm. My wife noticed one of the doors open and tried to close it and it hit the door frame and would not close. The latch that holds the door closed was hitting the frame. I looked at it and the joints one on each side had opened up about 1/4 inch. Looking at the rest of the doors I was in shock. All 9 doors was opening up and I had to replace them. The thing of it was that not one of the other 14 doors in the RV showed any signs of anything wrong. I am sure that Heartland knows of the problem and yes they have a subcontractor that makes doors for them. I would think that anyone that has a new RV and has this problem that Heartland would fix it right away.

 

[JohnDar]

clothes under bunkers? Heck, I used to take my trousers off, even in the winter and then put on my bunkers. Just did not like the feeling of wet trousers getting tangled in my bunkers.

I forgot. You came from the leather coat and 3/4 boot days. Bet you had a long beard that you dipped in water to filter the smoke, too. Did you have hoses, or just buckets? I just can't think about going "commando" under my gear.

 

[JohnDar]

Oh yes, I had 9 of my doors open up and they was all the same size doors above the back side sofa and above the table on the slide out. Mine also had brad nails pinning the doors together. I think they use some glue but very little. My doors split apart in places where there was glue and the joins held but the wood didn’t. The doors were separatiatng the miters and not just a little on most. I had openings from 1/8 to 3/8 inch. What happened in my case was I was in the NC mountains this summer and it rained a lot so we went to Ohio for some sunshine. I guess it rained all day long the 5 days we was gone and was down in the mid 50s at night an in the low 60s in the days. I think the doors was ok when we left and when we got back we had to use the heat to stay worm. My wife noticed one of the doors open and tried to close it and it hit the door frame and would not close. I looked at it and it the joints one on each side had opened up about 1/4 inch. Looking at the rest of the doors I was in shock. All 9 doors was opening up and I had to replace them. The thing of it was that not one of the other 14 doors in the RV showed any signs
Oh yes, I had 9 of my doors open up and they was all the same size doors above the back side sofa and above the table on the slide out. Mine also had brad nails pinning the doors together. I think they use some glue but very little. My doors split apart in places where there was glue and the joins held but the wood didn’t. The doors were separatiatng at the miters and not just a little on most. I had openings from 1/8 to 3/8 inch. What happened in my case was I was in the NC mountains this summer and it rained a lot so we went to Ohio for some sunshine. I guess it rained all day long the 5 days we was gone and was down in the mid 50s at night an in the low 60s in the days. maybe it was to much rain but the doors should have held up. What is camping and not have rain. I think the doors was ok when we left and when we got back we had to use the heat to stay worm. My wife noticed one of the doors open and tried to close it and it hit the door frame and would not close. The latch that holds the door closed was hitting the frame. I looked at it and the joints one on each side had opened up about 1/4 inch. Looking at the rest of the doors I was in shock. All 9 doors was opening up and I had to replace them. The thing of it was that not one of the other 14 doors in the RV showed any signs of anything wrong. I am sure that Heartland knows of the problem and yes they have a subcontractor that makes doors for them. I would think that anyone that has a new RV and has this problem that Heartland would fix it right away.

That does sound like a processing problem. How old was your rig and what was Heartland's reply when you contacted them with your problem?

 

[Natesi]

Are there any pictures of this problem?