Friction hinges and door coming apart

[claytonbow]

The friction hinges on my entry door are marking it come apart. The hinges are too stiff and it bends the aluminum frame around the fiberglass door and doesn’t allow it to close properly and will not seal around the door jamb. I’ve noticed other people having this issue on other forums. Have any of you had this problem and did lippert or heartland step up and accept responsibility for this terrible design? Be it the hinges are too stiff or the doors being too flimsy?

 

[danemayer]

Have you reviewed your warranty, talked to your dealer, or called Heartland?

 

[claytonbow]

Haven’t called heartland yet.

 

[cipwood]

I personally really dislike the whole friction hinge idea. Would love to disable them totally, any ideas?

 

[jayc]

I looked at mine, wanting to do that and it appears that the only way is to replace the entire hinge. Since the trailer is painted, it would require a paint job on the new hinge which would likely be expensive.

 

[RickL]

Not real sure what my dealer did when my rig was new, but the hinges were super stiff and I found it a real PIA to close the door. My dealer did something to “loosen” up the hinges so now you can push the door closed from mid point. I installed a door latch to hold the door open which I prefer.

 

[cipwood]

Nice to know the dealer did "something" but what they did is the issue. No one seems to know what to do to correct this problem.

 

[KBurnham]

We purchased a 2018 Heartland North Trail in 2021 to live in while we build our home. After a year of living in it in Northern California, our door is coming apart. The frame has broken at the corner welding points and the hinge section of the frame is pulling away from the door. My husband blames it on the stiff, "unmoving" hinges. We were wondering if there is a way to remove the door and repair the frame. Or, in the alternative, has any ever replaced their door? It sounds like this is not an uncommon problem. Thank you for any help!

 

[KBurnham]

The friction hinges on my entry door are marking it come apart. The hinges are too stiff and it bends the aluminum frame around the fiberglass door and doesn’t allow it to close properly and will not seal around the door jamb. I’ve noticed other people having this issue on other forums. Have any of you had this problem and did lippert or heartland step up and accept responsibility for this terrible design? Be it the hinges are too stiff or the doors being too flimsy?

We are having the exact same problem on our 2018 Heartland North Trail Ultralite. We,ve lived in it for a year while building a house. It's gotten to the point where I don't know if it will stand up to much more use; even the screen door is pulling out of the framework at its lowest hinge. Have you had any success in addressing your problem?

 

[KBurnham]

Cu

Haven’t called heartland yet.

 

[KBurnham]

Curious . . . did you ever call Heartland? That is my next step I suppose.

 

[wdk450]

Has anyone tried a Google search?????

repairing rv door friction hinges - Google Search

 

[KBurnham]

Has anyone tried a Google search?????

repairing rv door friction hinges - Google Search

Thank you for the link. I will watch the videos asap. I believe our problem is waaay beyond replacing the hinges because the door frame has come apart and pulled away from the core as a result of it being bent back and forth when opened as the hinges were not working properly. But, clearly I'm no expert so we'll go from here. Again, thank you!

 

[LoriB22]

I just joined for forum tonight and this thread is exactly what I was looking for. Although my door isn't separating from the TT itself, one of my hinges has actually cracked and there is at least a 1/8 gap in between the door and the trailer where my AC escapes everyday. It's only 98 in Texas this week, and I need all the AC I can get! I guess my next step is to order a new hinge and have hubs repair it. I would like to get rid of the friction hinges, it makes the door so hard to open and close. What would be an option to use instead of the friction hinge?

 

[cipwood]

You can try this link to get replacement hinges that are non friction. They may not be exact but should work.

Lippert 204758 RV 6 Leaf Entry Door Hinge Assembly - Black

Replace your old and worn out 6 leaf RV entry door hinge with the Lippert RV 6 Leaf Entry Door Hinge Assembly.

www.rvupgradestore.com

 

[KBurnham]

Y

I just joined for forum tonight and this thread is exactly what I was looking for. Although my door isn't separating from the TT itself, one of my hinges has actually cracked and there is at least a 1/8 gap in between the door and the trailer where my AC escapes everyday. It's only 98 in Texas this week, and I need all the AC I can get! I guess my next step is to order a new hinge and have hubs repair it. I would like to get rid of the friction hinges, it makes the door so hard to open and close. What would be an option to use instead of the friction hinge?

I just joined for forum tonight and this thread is exactly what I was looking for. Although my door isn't separating from the TT itself, one of my hinges has actually cracked and there is at least a 1/8 gap in between the door and the trailer where my AC escapes everyday. It's only 98 in Texas this week, and I need all the AC I can get! I guess my next step is to order a new hinge and have hubs repair it. I would like to get rid of the friction hinges, it makes the door so hard to open and close. What would be an option to use instead of the friction hinge?

You may have lucked out . . . we had to order a whole new door. Fortunately, we can live with the plastic we used to cover the screen door until the replacement outer door arrives given that the evenings are warming and it's not dropping down into the 30's anymore. I read that friction hinges should be lubricated every three months, or at the start of each season, with a dry lubricant, like a dry WD40. It would have helped knowing that to begin with, but live and learn I guess. I hope your replacement hinges do the trick for you!

 

[2Stepn]

I have ordered two of the lippert 204758 hinges for my trailer. After contacting Lippert I was told these are the non friction hinges that are available for my 2021 Sundance. The friction hinges are nothing but a problem for my grandchildren when opening and closing the door.
Hopefully the install will go smoothly.

 

[cipwood]

I started to replace my frictions with free swings and upon inspection noticed that the factory frictions were riveted to the swing part of the door frame, problem. Trying to re-rivet the hinge to the door would be a problem. Yes even with a pop rivet as the are not so strong. So upon inspection, with the door all the way open, there is a small dimple in 3 of the hinge barrels. This dimple has a small steel center core, I drilled out the steel core and guess what, free swing hinges with no problems with re-riveting a new hinge. Filled the drill hole with black caulk and it's beautiful again. You must do upper and lower hinges.

Maybe this will help someone else as well.

 

[KBurnham]

I started to replace my frictions with free swings and upon inspection noticed that the factory frictions were riveted to the swing part of the door frame, problem. Trying to re-rivet the hinge to the door would be a problem. Yes even with a pop rivet as the are not so strong. So upon inspection, with the door all the way open, there is a small dimple in 3 of the hinge barrels. This dimple has a small steel center core, I drilled out the steel core and guess what, free swing hinges with no problems with re-riveting a new hinge. Filled the drill hole with black caulk and it's beautiful again. You must do upper and lower hinges.

Maybe this will help someone else as well.

I wish I had your know-how! I just shelled out $850 for a new door which will still have the friction hinges. My only option is to stay on top of the dry lubrication suggested every three months and hope I don't break another door! At least now I know what to be aware of (I think).

 

[cipwood]

I wish I had your know-how! I just shelled out $850 for a new door which will still have the friction hinges. My only option is to stay on top of the dry lubrication suggested every three months and hope I don't break another door! At least now I know what to be aware of (I think).

For me, I would still disable the friction to insure the door frame doesn't rip off again.

It's real easy to attach a "T" latch to hold the door open when you want.