Paint work/wet bay door

[pincherman]

Hey fellow Newmar owners. I'm doing some planning to avoid screwing up . Sound familiar?
Anyway, I made a bad move pulling into a campsite a couple months back and managed to scrape and slightly dent the lower radius portion of my wet bay door. Besides being embarrassed about NOT seeing a giant rock guarding the utility island (what the hell kind of campground does that?) I'm trying to mitigate the impact by pulling this door off and taking it to a body shop. I've got the correct paint per a Newmar supplied code & diagram. Just wondering, is there anything I need to be thinking about before I release the two(2) lift supports and back out the 7/8 screws on each side at the hinges?
It looks pretty straight forward but trust me, I have a way of making things complicated.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave

[Dav L]

I had to look at your profile to know you have a 2005 Dutchstar. Ideally you would put that in your signature. If yours are like my 2002MA, then the doors slide off the rail. They don't unscrew. These are the doors that lift UP. There are screws holding little aluminum tabs that keep the doors separated and in place left to right on the rail.

You would have to figure out which side of the rail is easiest to get the door off, and remove all doors in the way to the end of the rail.

Use blue masking tape to protect paint areas that the doors just might hit (like towards the end of the rail).

I would also use the blue tape to mark exactly where each door is mounted, and keep the metal lock tabs for each location. You can tape the tabs to the area to keep them in the right places.

Apparently there is also a way to open the doors wide and "snap" them out of the rail....but I was never successful with that method.

You might bring two doors (the one next to it) to the body shop for color matching.

[pincherman]

Thanks for the input Dave L! Would have never guessed this.
I did notice the singular screws on each of the aluminum tabs up there but never put two & two together on the slide method.
Just went outside to the MH to review that option.
My wet bay door (approx. 48"L) will have to slide to it's LEFT requiring removal of two other doors( WTR. HTR. & narrow 16-18" baggage) I'll add a few pics for you to reference.

So, you're saying once I remove the silicon sealer from the rail end they'll be enough room to slide each section(door) out? Looks pretty tight there and I'd understand the need to put plenty of protective tape on affected areas. My concern is the lip of the framing at the slideout that may or may not have been there when the doors were first slid onto the rail. I'll of course find out whether I have clearance when I attempt the first one.

[Dutch Star Don]

Here's an idea. Often we do things, like change out furniture or upgrade TV's to to get excited again about our coaches.....you could ad the Summit stainless steel package along the lower edge of the coach and cover that boo boo, while dressing up the coach.

[bentjm]

There are companies that will come out and do that sort of touchup repair on site. It will not be as good as having it done in a paint booth, but probably would not be noticeable at all where the damage is.

[wildtoad]

In answer to your question, there are many instances where a camper runs into the pedestal, water spigot, sewer connection. I guess they figured you’d be more careful if a rock was there. Apparently they were wrong. ;-)

[pincherman]

Thanks, Tom.
Hey, I've taken enough abuse from my kids on this already. Now I have to deal with it on the internet too???

[Tigerfan1]

Originally Posted by pincherman

Thanks, Tom.

Hey, I've taken enough abuse from my kids on this already. Now I have to deal with it on the internet too???

It happens to everyone. Don’t beat yourself up. My wife and I were backing in once and were so focused on the low obstacles we missed a low hanging branch and damaged the roof.

[96 Wideglide]

Guy I met at a park last summer did exactly the same with his '18 King Aire.
Little higher up than yours, and cracked the fender fiberglass ahead of the axle.

Surprised how well he was taking it!

[Flanz]

To avoid having a problem like this there’s two things we do after we get our camp site assignment.

If we are not disconnecting our tow vehicle we’ll walk the route we’ll take to get our coach to the site. This way we will see and make note of any issues that will/can cause an issue.

If we are disconnecting the tow we’ll drive the route making sure there are no issues driving the coach in.

We also never pull in at night and also try to avoid driving in inclement weather. Having a 45ft coach is a challenge in its self, so we don’t want to complicate any further. This helps since we are fulltime rv’ers.

[hewebb]

When we bought our coach one of the bay doors had some scratches on the bottom of it. I took it to a local body shop and they matched the paint and did a great job. They did it outside because the coach would not go through the doors. Now I have some paint for touch up if I need it.

[LeslieGary]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Here's an idea. Often we do things, like change out furniture or upgrade TV's to to get excited again about our coaches.....you could ad the Summit stainless steel package along the lower edge of the coach and cover that boo boo, while dressing up the coach.

Count me among those with dings on the underside of a couple of basement doors. While hardly noticeable, I’m thinking I will do what Don suggests.

I suppose the key is ensuring the dents don’t adversely affect the adhesive or create a path for water intrusion. My guess is you could add more adhesive and/or seal any gap with silicone.

For those who have added the Summit trim, any comments or recommendations?