Cyclone-Rear door suggestions on a fix ?....

[dougw]

So I finally paid attention to why my hands started having black on them every time I handled the rear door. Seems that the aluminum of the locking handles are rubbing thru the door frame. So I found a fix for now, however I'm sure there must be a way to improve on it. So any suggestions are appreciated.

Here is the door and the wear spots.




What I did was I found some 1"id clear hose from Lowes and slit it down the middle. Then slid it on the handles. Unfortunately I ended up securing it with tie wraps. I'm not sure how long they are going to last. I'm not so worried about water getting trapped but who knows.

These photos show just some scrap pieces of the tubing. I used 41" on each arm with 4ea. Tie wraps.







While this should work and hopefully keep the wear down, I'm sure there must be a cleaner way to make this work. Any suggestions? One thought I was thinking about is cutting the tubing into smaller sections of "pads", maybe 4" x 1" wide and use some silicone and glue that to the latching tubes.

Thanks
Doug

 

[danemayer]

Nice creative fix.

 

[ILH]

I'll be interested to hear solutions too. I get the same 'black hands' when locking / unlocking the tailgate.

 

[Lynn1130]

I asked about this when I first bought the trailer and was told by someone other than Heartland and the dealer, that there was not much that could be done to correct this, adjustment wise.

 

[jmgratz]

Have you tried spraying it with clear lacquer? Or painting it with clear fingernail polish? Either should work.

 

[haulinem]

Buy some Polyethylene film tape and clean the door and locking bar. Then wipe both with alcohol and apply the tape to the door frame and locking bar where it contacts the door frame. I also placed it on the locking handles and brackets or anywhere else there is evidence of rubbing. It works for me. I got mine from FindTape.com, item JVCC UHMW-PE-10 UHMW.

 

[NWILSON]

Doug, Your concept is good but I would be concerned about the additional pressure put on the door seal.
I've made numerous calls to Lippert (they produce the door and latches) and haven't gotten much help so far.
If you search the site here you'll find some other discussions and suggestions on ways to deal with it. Over time the poles will wear very noticable ruts in the door edge if nothing is done to slow it down.

 

[porthole]

Personally I would not add something that thick to the arm. There is already enough pressure. Besides, you want to compress the seals, not crush them.
The black residue from rubbing is a pain, but if you keep your hands on the handle and off the door frame you stay clean.

I have considered using HDPE tape (High Density Polyethylene).
Popular woodworking item for making jigs or parts that need to slide.
February's woodworking show will be a stop for me.

 

[dougw]

Well, I kind of have to do something. Those indentation / wear in the door frame are almost 3/16" or deep. Sine these marks are basically at the top and bottom of the latching tube then that is pretty much the only place they meet. So the tube I'm putting is probably about the thickness do what is worn away. So I guess if any one with a new trailer and or no wear, then try the Teflon tape idea.

Maybe I'll cut this clear tube down and make pads where the wear is the most and find something thinner for the rest of the tube.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[jimtoo]

Just a thought here... they make a plastic cover for bathroom shower curtain rods that is split and very thin. It's to slide over the bar/rod to make the shower curtain slide easy. Why not check on one of these. Think they come in clear and white,, maybe even some colors.

Jim M

 

[NWILSON]

Doug, You might consider using thicker tubing in the middle as there is presently little or no contact between the pole and door there. That will relieve the contact and friction on the ends where it's wearing down and force more contact in between.