Basement Door Removal #2

[chasfm11]

I didn't want to hijack Johnboy's thread with all of the details that I'm about to share so I'm starting another one.

Here's my story. The hinge on one of my compartment doors is cracked about 1/4 of the way across the top of the door. I want to try to take the door off. Getting the door apart is easy and I've done it to one of the doors on the other side before. I've hesitated to take the lower part of the door off until I have a solution to the hinge. That solution comes in two parts
- getting the hinge in my hands
- getting replacement material or figuring out how to repair the cracked part.

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot..._problem_2.jpg This is a picture of the broken door and the right side of the track on which is is mounted.

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot...problem_2a.jpg This is a close up of the right side of the track and the right end of the broken door hinge

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot..._problem_3.jpg This is a picture of the left side of the track. As you can see, taking off the adjacent area to the track would be an extensive piece of work.

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot..._problem_4.jpg Here is the real detail. This is taken updwards, with the piston removed on the broken door and that door positioned up against the side of the MH.

A former Georgie Boy dealer, who has seen these same pictures claims that the metal piece shown above the screw (with the partially covered head near the center of the picture) is "snap trim" that can be pried off with caution. He warned me that prying too hard would start to distort the metal of the trim. I tried multiple times, from above, below and from the end of the piece and all I can doe is distort the metal. There is no sign that the trim is releasing. In fact, as I pry, it looks like I'm pulling the hinge area itself. Before prying, I did remove that screw with the half covered head. It makes no difference.

All inputs are welcome.

Charlie

[Hooligan]

Charles: That trim strip or Screw cover is very hard to remove without major distortion.
I had problems with compartment door alignment when my MH was new, The screw cover on the passenger side was removed by the dealer, it was in pieces, twisted and bent. It was put back in sections until a replacement strip came from GBM. My dealer here is no longer in business, but Chris Doyle from that dealer has his own RV body shop and fiberglass repair. I called this morning, he agrees it is unlikely that strip can be re-used. It will come off with a flat blade screwdriver or putty knife.....
Coachmen may have that strip available or Chris can get an aftermarket trim to match from a source in Atlanta, if it comes to that.
Doyle Enterprises 850-944-4518
7342 8 Mile Creek Rd
Pensacola, Fl 32526

Good luck.

[chasfm11]

Hooligan, you are once again a lifesaver. You have to tell me though - is there any part of your RV that hasn't been repaired? You certainly have a history of "been there, done that" that must have been at least traumatic. Thank you very, very much again for sharing your experience and contact. I plan to call him tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get enough information to get Coachman to supply the required parts locally. You have come through for me yet again.

I'll post about my success or lack of it as I work through this situation. If I can get all of the parts in my hands, putting them on shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again.

Charlie

[chasfm11]

Update:

Calling Chris as Hooligan suggested brought up the idea of being able to lift the hinge off of the rod at just a little less than 90 degrees. I tried it and it almost works. The problem is that the tear in the hinge makes it hard to get the hinge at the same angle the whole way across. I might work with that.

Trying to track down the hinge part, I:

• called the new local dealer for Coachman/GBM. They gave me a number to call Forest River, the new owner of Coachman.
• The number that I got was for the Forest River corporate offices. left a message
• They called back the next day and gave me the number for Forest River parts
• Called Forest River Parts and they gave me a number for Coachman parts.
• Called Coachman parts and left a message yesterday morning. No answer
• Called Coachman parts again today and finally go a human. He said that their work load was doubled up and they didn't have to time to look up parts (what do parts people do?) Asked him if there was a way to get the part numbers myself and he said no. He sent me back to the local dealer
• called the local dealer and they wanted pictures. sent them the pictures. No response so far - didn't acknowledge receipt of the pictures.

Gotta love it.

[chasfm11]

Update.....and the beat goes on.

After e-mailing pictures of my compartment door twice, the local dealer cam through.


This is the broken part that I need


This is the part the covers the screws that hold the track in place



This is the track itself

As you might guess, the latter two are available at reasonable prices and the first one, the one that I need is not available.

So now I'm on a hunt to find a dealer that might have it in stock. I start the search tomorrow. I need less than 2 feet of it.

Gotta love it.

[chasfm11]

Update:

The old GBM dealer searched his on site stock and found 8 feet of the hinge part.

I tried again to remove the cover (3754673) and was actually able to get about 2" of it loose, away from the other parts. It appeared that I might be damaging the small hook end that holds it in place so I decided to order the other two parts (about $50 plus shipping) and wait for them to come in before attempting the removal. I'm trying hard not to cripple the RV with this repair. I will have to paint the cover and hinge to match. Hopefully, I'll get the other two parts in a week or so. I expect the shipping charges to exceed the parts costs since the two parts come in 14 and 16 foot lengths.

I sure am glad that I'm not broken down somewhere and trying to get parts to get back on the road.

Charlie