Community Forums

brulaz · 05-03-2018, 04:18 PM

There are threads here about the screen hinges on these things breaking. And people complaining about the friction hinges being too tight.

Tightness has not been an issue here until recently. Prolly the Florida Sand and Salt after 5 years. Then the hinges started squealing a lot. Then I noticed a fair amount of dust getting in on dirt roads, and then the bottom of the door (non-hinge side) started hitting the frame.

Finally

I took a look and saw the bottom of the door had pulled away from the frame on the hinge side, there was maybe a 1 cm air gap. The screws were tight, but it looks like the bottom hinge has bent/stretched out, possibly from the friction?

Pretty sure the best solution is a new frame+door. But for now, I've lubed the hinges with SAE 20 oil (squeeks stopped and door swings *much* more freely), removed a round head screw on the bottom of the door that was hitting the frame, and screwed in some Al+Rubber screen door trim to cover the bottom gap.

We'll see how that works. Oh, and this is the wide rear door on my 24RKS. The front, more narrow door is fine.

Anyway, if your friction door starts getting stiffer and starts squealing, there may be a problem.

60sumtin · 05-03-2018, 04:36 PM

I had never heard of friction hinges until we started looking at new trailers last year. Adding friction to light weight (aka cheap) RV door hinges that you had to push and pull to operate just didn't seem like a lasting idea.

No friction hinges on mine but thanks for the heads up anyway. Someone will likely find this useful.

Rylrider · 05-03-2018, 07:14 PM

Spray dry silicone on mine. No problems.

brulaz · 05-03-2018, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rylrider

Spray dry silicone on mine. No problems.

Yes, I've done that in the past too.

I should add that we live in the trailer 4 months/year.
And have taken it to Florida 5 winters.
So it gets heavy use.

plasma800 · 05-05-2018, 08:20 PM

Here's what I would try.

Bicycle Spray degreaser and then wax based cross country bicycle chain lube.

https://www.westernbikeworks.com/pro...UaAuvFEALw_wcB

Review: Rock 'n' Roll Gold Chain Lubricant | road.cc

These two items in combination are magic. I've used them on all sorts of things from my creaking dodge ram door hinges, to my sticking hot foot pedal in my bass boat, to my friction hinge door. The degreaser is more like a blaster and it dries almost as fast as you spray it on, and the lube never attracts dust or dirt, and works for a very long time. I also use this combo on my steps pivot points.

60sumtin · 05-06-2018, 07:38 PM

I forget the brand name but I've used chain lube like that when I had a bike and it works great.

brulaz · 05-07-2018, 06:21 AM

I may try the wax based chain lube next time. I have a spray can with some that includes teflon that I use on the ram slide and stab jacks.

But those are all exposed surfaces. The wax sprays on and sticks; it doesn't move.

Not sure how it would work with the door hinges as the friction surfaces are mostly enclosed. It took a while for the SAE 20 oil to penetrate and seep down inside.

Highway 4x4 · 05-07-2018, 12:39 PM

I have used a graphite lock oil with good results.

brulaz · 05-07-2018, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Highway 4x4

I have used a graphite lock oil with good results.

Yes, that sounds like it would work well.

To continue the saga:
Not sure why I said above that "the screws were tight". They "looked" tight, but today I put a Robertson to them, and three had completely stripped sockets. Two in the bottom hinge and one in the middle hinge.

The screws only thread into a thin piece of Al framing in the door AFAIK. I replaced them with some wider sheet metal screws successfully, and tightened up all the others, but the bottom of the door still has the gap.

For some reason it's mostly the bottom hinge that has stretched out and has stripped threads. More dust and so more friction? Improperly hung? Anyway, keeping these hinges lubricated is now high on my list of things to do regularly.