Friction hinges on a forest river,,, FIX??

[oldbeek]

Anybody know of a fix? Doors jamb. Every new parking situation it is something new.

[mike91eagle]

You have two choices, replace the hinges with non friction ones or remove the friction points on the upper and lower hinges. I removed the friction points using a small die grinder bit on a drill motor. Filled the grinder marks with black silicone and touched up the scuff marks with a small brush and flat black paint. Hinge works fine and looks great.

Open the door all the way, you'll see a small dimple in the top, middle and bottom of the hinge barrel, that is the friction point that needs to be removed. I've heard of people drilling out the friction points but that point is very hard and tough to drill.

[MtCamper]

Mine is a lot happier if I park level and WD40 the hinges periodically. Beyond that, I'd inspect the frame closely for a crack or shift. Either the door or the coach frame has shifted.

[mike91eagle]

With the friction points disabled I can park without being concerned about the door not working properly and I don't have to worry about the door frame being destroyed by the hinge.
Pretty nuts we have to be concerned about the door frame being damaged by the hinges.

[oldbeek]

Originally Posted by mike91eagle

You have two choices, replace the hinges with non friction ones or remove the friction points on the upper and lower hinges. I removed the friction points using a small die grinder bit on a drill motor. Filled the grinder marks with black silicone and touched up the scuff marks with a small brush and flat black paint. Hinge works fine and looks great.

Open the door all the way, you'll see a small dimple in the top, middle and bottom of the hinge barrel, that is the friction point that needs to be removed. I've heard of people drilling out the friction points but that point is very hard and tough to drill.

Thanks Mike, Best answer I have seen. I have small die grinders. Hinges warp the light door frame.My sons Forrest river is a flimsy piece of crap. I have an old iron maiden Alpenlite with a 6 inch I beam frame.

[oldbeek]

These hinges don't show a dimple. ((Anybody know where to buy the center hinge that is not friction?)) I google Lippert door hinge without friction and all I get is adds for friction hinges. Lots of them must go bad because amazon sells a pair of friction hinges for $24.00

[mike91eagle]

These may not be an exact match to the original and the mounting points but they should work if you have a 6 leaf hinge. And they are non-friction.

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Lippe...y-p/204758.htm

[mike91eagle]

Here's a photo of the hinge showing the dimples on the wall side of the barrels.

[oldbeek]

Thanks Mike. I am telling you these hinges don't show a dimple. I am a master mechanic. Got my air grinders out and was all set to grind them out. No indication of where to grind. Guess I could shoot in the dark. Have a query in to Lippert for the non friction hinge which is the center hinge on the door. Will see if Lippert answers my e-mail tomorrow.

[oldbeek]

I was so in to looking at the friction hinges , I may not have counted the leaves on the center hinge. Just breezed over the thought that the center hinge may be 6 leaves. Thanks for the P/n. Going back to look for those dimples again and look closer at the center hinge to see if i can use it in place of the friction hinges.

[Boogie_]

I've got the same problem with my door.

Have gone over them very thoroughly (a couple times) and found no dimples.

I'll oil them about every other day when on a cruise. But I can see where it will eventually destroy the door frame.

My next step is to pull them off one at a time and either replace or modify. I don't think all of them are friction hinges

[mike91eagle]

On mine only the upper and lower hinge was friction. Center one is a free swing.

I bought on of the ones from rvupgrades to see it before replacement, size matched pretty close but the mounting screw holes were a little different. But never installed, just disabled the friction points instead.