Cabinet doors splitting.

[JanAndBill]

As I read these posts their are (2) very different problems.

1) Popping out of the hinges. I suspect this is the same thing that happened on our new BH 3260. The screws holding the hinge to the door on an overhead cabinet popped out. This was not a quality issue but a design flaw. The upper cabinet doors opened up and utilized a small gas/spring cylinder to hold the door open. Some designer somewhere thought it was more "cost effective" to drill hinge mounting holes as 1/4" blind holes in the door then insert plastic anchors in the holes. Problem is, that when you pull down on the door to overcome support cylinder, it forces the hinge away from the door, pulling out the insert. The solution was to take the door down and the hinges off. I then pulled the inserts out applied Gorilla glue and put them back in, let them dry then re-attached the hinges. I also adjusted/move the cylinder mounting points so there was less stress on the hinge when you pulled the door down. Problem has been solved.

2)Wood splitting. This is an entirely different problem. The one thing you have to remember is that "Wood is constantly moving across the grain". No amount of glue, or finish will ever stop it from moving as it constantly absorbs and gives up moisture in it's environment. A good finish slows it down or evens out the highs and lows, but no amount of finish will make up for a poorly designed joint. That said, though I suspect that the spliting discussed here is a more a case of excess humidity, or not allowing the temperature and humidity within the trailer to adjust slowly. The insulation and sealing in new trailers (like in houses) is much better. If you live in a trailer for a week, then come in close it up and turn the heat off, you are asking for problems. Having been a woodworker for years with a lot of custom cabinet work completed I can say that even the best of cabinets are constantly at the mercy of humidty.

 

[TeJay]

I didn't remember that I responded to this thread in 2011 post #7. I guess some are still having the door splitting problem. The only real answer lies in the construction. The panel must float within the wooden frame. It's been explained why wood splits when the panel and frame are glued together. Also sealing all sides and edges of the wood helps to keep the absorption close to the same on all sides of the wood. Having a camper that is exposed to extreme heat, moisture and cold is something I think we all have because we do. Try to minimize the extremes and fix and or correct what you can afford to do. After all there are worse things that could happen like not having a camper at all. In a way I don't mind the problems. I accept them as a challenge and it sure keeps me busy.
HAPPY CAMPING
TeJay

 

[depwojo]

I didn't remember that I responded to this thread in 2011 post #7. I guess some are still having the door splitting problem. The only real answer lies in the construction. The panel must float within the wooden frame. It's been explained why wood splits when the panel and frame are glued together. Also sealing all sides and edges of the wood helps to keep the absorption close to the same on all sides of the wood. Having a camper that is exposed to extreme heat, moisture and cold is something I think we all have because we do. Try to minimize the extremes and fix and or correct what you can afford to do. After all there are worse things that could happen like not having a camper at all. In a way I don't mind the problems. I accept them as a challenge and it sure keeps me busy.
HAPPY CAMPING
TeJay

I would have to say its more then some that are having the splitting problem. If you winterize the trailer according to manufacture recommendations then you shouldn't have a problem at all. I don't live in my trailer I store it over winter. Western Washington weather is not extreme by any measure. I didn't see where it said I had to heat it all winter to control the temperature and moisture. I put moisture control in the trailer in the last two years and my cabinets have cracked and split every year I have had it. I purchased 3 new cabinets doors last year and every one of them has split this year. Not having a camper can be bad, but having a camper that cost big time dollars to repair every spring is worse. I would like a point of contact with Heartland or the cabinet manufacture to help me with this and get to the bottom of this problem.

Thanks, Mark

 

[danemayer]

I would like a point of contact with Heartland or the cabinet manufacture to help me with this and get to the bottom of this problem.

Call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032. Have your VIN# ready along with pictures of the cabinet doors that clearly show the cracks. If the prior door replacements were through Heartland, they'll have a record.

 

[Ricoh]

I have a 2011 Bighorn 3185 and all the doors above the bed split open. I am no cabinet maker by any means but I took them down and inspected them and there was no glue in the frame joints at all. They seem to have been press fit or they forgot to glue them. Went and bought 2 clamps and some good wood glue. Applied the glue and clamped the doors tight. No more problems so far and that is over a year now, Talked to my service rep about it and he laughed and brought me back into the shop and showed me at least 20 doors that were brought in by customers and some from new trailers on his lot. He said it is a problem with some trailers.

Rick

 

[depwojo]

I thought I would post some pics of the cabinet door damages. Looks like I will end up replacing every cabinet door in the trailer. I'm still waiting on a return call from customer service.

 

[travis_g]

I am a woodworker and have built many a frame and panel door. For a bottle of wood glue and a $20 clamp from HD those doors could be fixed better than new. Pretty much the same story for the split wood although that could be a little more involved.
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[rnewk52]

those door separations look exactly like the ones we had on three doors in our 2012 Big Horn. A bottle of glue, a couple clamps, and about 30 minutes per door and all is good now. Ours had zero glue in the joints. I didn't bother to get Heartland involved because of the simplicity of the repairs.

 

[TeJay]

Those pictures in post #26 really helped a lot. When people were saying that the doors split I didn't think they came apart at the joint. I think of wood splitting like I'm making kindling. If your doors have separated at the rail and style joint just like the pictures in post #26 then as stated that's a relatively easy fix. Remember as previously stated no glue needs to be put on the edges of the panels that sit in the 1/4" slot cut on the inside of each frame piece spaced about 1/3 of the way from each end. This panel should float. I mentioned earlier that when I build a frame and panel door I place 8 large (1/2 the size of a green pea) BB shaped pieces of silicone, 2 on each side. This keeps the panel tight and allows for expansion and contraction without splitting any frame joints. Tight-Bond glue is the preferred glue by most cabinet makers. Do yourself a big favor and stay away from Gorilla glue. Just my opinion but I think it's awful. One more thing. If when you take the doors apart and it appears that the panels fit tight edge to edge then they need to be trimmed down some. Maybe the doors came apart at the frame ends because the panels expanded and forced them apart. Correctly constructed the panels should be about !/4" short. For those who have not built frame and panel doors before think of it as a picture frame with a piece of glass as the panel. The joint, where the glass sits would actually be a dado joint so the panel won't just fall out. The glass should fit loose when it's in the frame. Probably 1/16"-1/8" of an inch on each side. That's where those little BB's will keep things tight. Rockler sells them and they are called, "Space Balls."
TeJay

 

[JohnDar]

TeJay, I agree with everything you said about making raised panel doors, except using Space Balls. My experience with them is the durometer of the rubber is way too high. Little strips of cured silicone caulk works better.

And ditto on Gorilla glue, it's a PITA to work with.

 

[JanAndBill]

After seeing your pictures, you're fortunate that as the others said, they can be fixed relatively easy. The question not asked is why should you have to??? I've owned several units by other manufactrers over the years, and never had this type of problem. I suspect that they are using some type of RF cured glue and either it's being improperly cured or there's insuficient glue used. Surely they wouldn't be so dumb as to not allow clearance for the panel to move. In any case you wouldn't see a home builder telling a new home owner to repair his own cabinets, nor would you see a quality furniture manufacturer telling their customers to repair their own bedroom furniture, when it's an obvious manufacturing defect.

 

[JohnDar]

This problem was discussed in the past, but there was no resolution from Heartland that I recall. I would be curious to know what attempts at failure analysis were or will be undertaken to address this. Based on the common failure that seems to be at the root of it, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Just a good cabinet maker.

 

[depwojo]

Those pictures in post #26 really helped a lot. When people were saying that the doors split I didn't think they came apart at the joint. I think of wood splitting like I'm making kindling. If your doors have separated at the rail and style joint just like the pictures in post #26 then as stated that's a relatively easy fix. Remember as previously stated no glue needs to be put on the edges of the panels that sit in the 1/4" slot cut on the inside of each frame piece spaced about 1/3 of the way from each end. This panel should float. I mentioned earlier that when I build a frame and panel door I place 8 large (1/2 the size of a green pea) BB shaped pieces of silicone, 2 on each side. This keeps the panel tight and allows for expansion and contraction without splitting any frame joints. Tight-Bond glue is the preferred glue by most cabinet makers. Do yourself a big favor and stay away from Gorilla glue. Just my opinion but I think it's awful. One more thing. If when you take the doors apart and it appears that the panels fit tight edge to edge then they need to be trimmed down some. Maybe the doors came apart at the frame ends because the panels expanded and forced them apart. Correctly constructed the panels should be about !/4" short. For those who have not built frame and panel doors before think of it as a picture frame with a piece of glass as the panel. The joint, where the glass sits would actually be a dado joint so the panel won't just fall out. The glass should fit loose when it's in the frame. Probably 1/16"-1/8" of an inch on each side. That's where those little BB's will keep things tight. Rockler sells them and they are called, "Space Balls."
TeJay

Appreciate all the advise about how to repair these cabinets. I know some of them can be repaired, but I didn't buy this trailer to repair cracked/splitting cabinets every spring. I need to get to the bottom of WHY this is happening, repair them and get to the important things of why I bought trailer in the first place and that to go CAMPING. I did not buy the trailer to become a money pit every year. I have to price cabinets with Heartland (If they ever call me back) and replace the ones that already have been repaired and split again in different areas. Makes no sense to buy new ones like i did with several of them last year to have them split this year. One fustrated Heartland Owner Here.

Mark

 

[ParkIt]

We had the same thing happen in our 2011 BC...just a month over warranty. It's the end door in the dining slide out (just one slide on that side) and noticed it was more likely from stress than anything else because its kind of jammed on the slide wall. Just used a rubber mallet to see if it would tap back together which it did, took it off and used regular wood glue and clamps but I keep an eye on it since it carries more stress than the rest of the cabinet doors.

 

[TeJay]

You are absolutely correct we should not have to annually repair our campers because of mistakes or screw ups by the manufacturer. However I guess that seems to be the reality for some of us. If you lived closer to me I would gladly help you fix those doors free of charge and I don't believe you'd have any more problems with them. The next best thing is we can offer you advice on how we believe they could be fixed correctly. Heartland really needs to step up and repair what they produce. As mentioned this should not happen. Gluing a cabinet door correctly is not something just conceived. It's been done for years. I think sometimes they try to cut steps to increase the bottom line and then things and not built as they should be. Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask for more information.
TeJay

 

[BooBear]

FWIW - Add me to the list. RV Outlet repaired under warranty. Happens again, I'll have to. They were always great but 3.5 hours away. Definitely didn't buy an RV to spend my time as a carpenter, plumber, electrician, propane tech, antennae tech, HVAC tech, or water leak specialist. How do people without a jack-of-all-trades background keep these things operating? (without spending a ton of $ paying shops to do the work) Not like this was some kind of economy version.

 

[depwojo]

I have to replace 14 cupboard doors this season with NO resolution from Heartland as to why they are splitting. Heartland is gladly accepting my money to buy replacement doors at dealer cost. What a bargain. Stay tuned for the dollar amount. I'm getting rid of this trailer ASAP.