Repairing Basement Doors on a Discovery

[D-n-Tyke]

The paint on the basement storage doors on our '98 Discovery has started to not look so good. Spider Web cracking all over the place. So I took it to paint shop to get a quote and was told that the spider webing is in the fiber glass and not the actual paint (paint is cracking but it is the fiberglass cracking first, causing matching cracks in the paint). So I was looking at the doors and it looks like the outer skin of the doors is just a thin sheet of fiberglass. Doesn't give much support to repairs. I figured the easiest, best way to repair the doors is to just remove and replace the skin. But before I jump into this I was wondering if anyone has done this? Anyone have pictures of how the doors are constructed? I saw rivets at the bottom corners of the outer frame, don't know if I take those rivets out with the skin just slide down. Looking for some guidence on this.

Thanks,

[deaton]

I can't help you much but I'll tell what my very recent experience was on the baggage doors on my Monaco. Rock jumped up and bit me in the dark in a campground. Hate those rocks!

Bottom edge of two doors were damaged. Mine are skinned iin aluminum sheet. You really can't straighten aluminum, although my body shop tried. I took the doors back and went to the local sheet metal guy who bent me some new metal in his brake press. They are now back at the body shop for paint and should be good as new by the weekend.

Anyway, I had to strip those doors down to the component parts and the way Monaco builds them (at least on my coach) is they make a metal frame out of aluminum channel. The aluminum panel is folded over the channel frame on the top and pop riveted on the top edge (five rivets). Then they use double sided tape on the sides and the bottom to fasten the sheet to the channel frame in those areas. (Home Depot sells the 3M tape for about $10, for enough to do two doors)

There is a backer sheet of aluminum that slides inside the channel frame on the back side and it is pop-riveted to the frame all the way around. The center is filled with about an inch thick piece of high density styrofoam. I was able to reuse both the backer sheet and the styrofoam from my original doors.

The rivets are easy to drill out, but it's a bunch of work to get that double sided tape to "give up" and then remove all the tape gunk from the frame. I'm real good at rebuilding them now! Don't know if this will help with your Fleetwood. Good luck!

Oh yeah, Monaco wanted about $900 each for new doors, plus I would have had to pay to get them painted up plus freight. My rebuild work cost me about $300 total.

[ga traveler]

what year model discovery?

[D-n-Tyke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga traveler what year model discovery?

1998

[Bobmn]

Hello; Well, I just done 2 doors last week on our 2001 Discovery. A gouge 30'' long on the first door, and just the alum. edging on the next. The doors are 3/4'' thick, and there are 4 small screws on the ends, 2 at the top, and 2 at the bottom. I called Fleetwood and ordered the alum. edge. You have to buy 10' of it! I did bodywork for yrs, so was ready for that. 32 bucks and change...shipped it for 9.99. Came in a 2" abs pipe, and a tractor, trailer! Good service. I took the handle off, then I used a putty knife, very carefully to remove the trim. I put it under the trim and tapped lighty. Then, the latch came off with the trim...Fleetwood uses a bolt and a nut to mount the latch to the trim. I used clips..so IF I should have to change this latch, it will be easy. I used fiberglass to fill the deepest part, then mudded over that. Used my DA to sand the gel coat, and my straight line for the dent. Then hand sanding. Had the paint matched at the paint store, and bought a pint, then had 4 sprays made up. I just posted some pics under "vacuum cleaner" a days ago. I have more if you want. Just go slow....use face masks, something we never had till the later yrs!! Did the rear bumper also. Use wet sandpaper to sand primer, and use SUNLIGHT to ck primer for pits, etc. Then primer some more....then sand...the......!! Your paint store will help you a lot. Have fun. Bobmn

[ga traveler]

Bobmn is right on the disass. and reass. of the door. but your best bet is not to repair the fiberglass, but go back with aluminum. Just make sure you buy alum. sheets that are the same thickness as the fiberglass. the finished panel has to slide in the aluminum edgeing, If you go thicker, it will be hard to slide in. If you go thinner, it will not fit tight enough. A couple of thousands will not hurt. You will not need new edgeing, since yours was not damaged.