There is a sliding door between the bedroom suite and the rest of the van to provide privacy in many caravans. In our Traveller Prodigy this door became stuck, fully open.
It would wobble a bit and move along its top track about 20mm, but no further. I used my cheap usb borescope (camera on a bendy wand) to examine the track, carriages and the end stop inside the door pocket. The flimsy End Stop on the inner end of the track had bent, letting the End Buffer run past it, then the End Stop had partially sprung back to form a hook that would NEVER let the door open again.
So, how to fix it? The pocket that the door fits into has a one-piece shower unit on one side and the kitchen cupboards and sink on the other. The inner edge of the pocket touches the outer wall of the caravan. After a bit of investigation I found that the microwave oven (above the sink) could be removed to give access to the kitchen side of the pocket. But the manufacturer had (nicely!) completely sealed up the wall linings.
After drilling around 60 small holes and chiselling out an access portal I could reach but not disengage the hooked together Buffer and End Stop. But when the floor bolt was unscrewed from the bottom the door then moved another 50mm in and I could get hold of the End Stop with a pair of pliers to bend it and slide the door past it. Yea! Halfway there.
Next I bent the End Stop to about its correct shape followed by the End Buffer. Then tightened up their mounting bolts/nuts to complete the 'fix'.
After cleaning up the mess I resealed the new 'access portal' with duct tape, put the microwave back and reattached the drop bolt.
A lot of effort for a fix that should have never needed to be done. Relying on those flimsy metal brackets in a vehicle that jolts and rocks around while travelling is plain madness. 2 simple wooden blocks (one at the top and one at the bottom of the pocket) fitted before the kitchen wall was sheeted over would have done the job FOREVER.
Why did I just put tape over the hole I cut rather than screw and glue a plywood patch over it? Well I'm hoping the flimsy brackets will have work hardened after being bent to their current shape and survive future travel. But if they don't I'll have to do it all again AND extend the access to allow fitting an appropriate sized wooden block at the end of the track ...
You really had no choice in your fix; had to be got to it somehow, and well done on your solution.
I have 2 x sliding doors in my van, central ensuite; so a sliding door either side.
Before I "hitch up" I always ensure the sliding doors are either secured in the open or closed position.
If you don't secure them they will slide back and forth and result in damage, similar to your situation.
I use a "dead bolt" fixed to the door bottoms and slide the bolt into a floor bracket; plus an "ocky" strap to some fittings in the centre of the door which are then attached to a hook on the wall. All stainless fittings and blend in with the van fittings and fixtures.
Cheers.
Hetho.
Blues Man said
08:44 AM Aug 25, 2017
Well done bruce ,good fix and now if it happens again in 5min it'll be fixed.
bruceg said
09:51 AM Apr 7, 2022
Happened again, Jan 2022
Yes the drop pin into the floor was in position, it formed a nice fulcrum for the door to pivot from: probably made it easier for the buffer bracket to get under the end stop.
Unhooked as before, took about 10 minutes.
To prevent it EVER happening again I fitted cheek blocks to both sides of the door near the top. Just some 10 x 30mm timber trimmed to fit.
After seeing that some folk have hassles with their sliding doors and concertina divider panels, I am now satisfied that our heavy curtain type divider provides privacy for visibility, minimal weight and minimal technicality to fail.
oldbloke said
10:33 PM Apr 7, 2022
watsea wrote:
Nice fix Bruce.
After seeing that some folk have hassles with their sliding doors and concertina divider panels, I am now satisfied that our heavy curtain type divider provides privacy for visibility, minimal weight and minimal technicality to fail.
I agree, but the boss insists the sliding door must stay.
Our hook to keep the door open when traveling failed twice. Poor workmanship mainly. But I think I have fixed it now by just moving the eyelet and longer screws. Bit of rubber to act as a shock absorber as well.
Radar said
07:17 AM Apr 8, 2022
watsea wrote:
Nice fix Bruce.
After seeing that some folk have hassles with their sliding doors and concertina divider panels, I am now satisfied that our heavy curtain type divider provides privacy for visibility, minimal weight and minimal technicality to fail.
Hi Bruce, we had the same problem, trice it come of the runner while it was locked in travel position, then once because the Cabin Crew failed to there job, prepared for take off. Then it got worse.
The curtain works a treat, best mod.
Ps, our curtain is light weight.
Mike Harding said
02:34 PM Apr 10, 2022
The sliding door in my van has been removed and now resides at the back of a shed on a friends farm where it will remain unless I ever sell this van.
About six months past I was camped in an isolated forest in Victoria where I had been for three weeks and not seen a soul. One morning I went to the loo, closed the door and did what I needed to. After the process I tried to open the door - it opened about 200mm and then totally refused to open any further. Being locked in the loo may sound amusing but if you are in an isolated forest and people are well familiar with you disappearing from contact for a few weeks and there is no way out of this "cell" the amusement quickly wears off. I have excellent comms gear but it was all out of reach in the main area of the van. Who takes an EPIRB to the loo?
After applying considerable brute force I opened the door just far enough, if I breathed in, to squeeze through and could then access tools etc. Disassembling the sliding mechanism revealed that an 8mm screw holding the door to sliding arm had vibrated lose and jammed the door operation and no way is one going to break an 8mm screw! I just got lucky in being able to shift it enough to escape.
This was simply one of those freak accidents (although Loctite may have avoided it) that generally would be an annoyance only but in my case could have easily caused me an unpleasant death.
At least I have a little more elbow room now :)
hufnpuf said
08:20 PM Apr 11, 2022
My bathroom door isn't sliding, it's a "regular" door on a hinge. I was thinking that I wouldn't want to get stuck in there and thought I should put a screwdriver in the bathroom just in case the door got stuck and I needed to remove the door handle. Then I thought I was being neurotic and let the idea go.
I'm going to put tools in my bathroom....
watsea said
10:37 PM Apr 14, 2022
A sliding door situation, except for mrs watsea with shower sliding door. Some people may remember the three piece shower doors, ie one fixed and two sliding panels. Decades ago, we were at a beach house of a friend. The downstairs shower had the three piece door. Mrs watsea was very pregnant. With mrs watsea in the shower, at an attempt to exit, only the first panel slid open. Normally one panel would be wide enough for a sideways exit, except not for heavily pregnant people. Luckily I was nearby and when summoned, I was able to lift the offending panel in its track allowing an exit.
There is a sliding door between the bedroom suite and the rest of the van to provide privacy in many caravans. In our Traveller Prodigy this door became stuck, fully open.
It would wobble a bit and move along its top track about 20mm, but no further. I used my cheap usb borescope (camera on a bendy wand) to examine the track, carriages and the end stop inside the door pocket. The flimsy End Stop on the inner end of the track had bent, letting the End Buffer run past it, then the End Stop had partially sprung back to form a hook that would NEVER let the door open again.
So, how to fix it? The pocket that the door fits into has a one-piece shower unit on one side and the kitchen cupboards and sink on the other. The inner edge of the pocket touches the outer wall of the caravan. After a bit of investigation I found that the microwave oven (above the sink) could be removed to give access to the kitchen side of the pocket. But the manufacturer had (nicely!) completely sealed up the wall linings.
After drilling around 60 small holes and chiselling out an access portal I could reach but not disengage the hooked together Buffer and End Stop. But when the floor bolt was unscrewed from the bottom the door then moved another 50mm in and I could get hold of the End Stop with a pair of pliers to bend it and slide the door past it. Yea! Halfway there.
Next I bent the End Stop to about its correct shape followed by the End Buffer. Then tightened up their mounting bolts/nuts to complete the 'fix'.
After cleaning up the mess I resealed the new 'access portal' with duct tape, put the microwave back and reattached the drop bolt.
A lot of effort for a fix that should have never needed to be done. Relying on those flimsy metal brackets in a vehicle that jolts and rocks around while travelling is plain madness. 2 simple wooden blocks (one at the top and one at the bottom of the pocket) fitted before the kitchen wall was sheeted over would have done the job FOREVER.
Why did I just put tape over the hole I cut rather than screw and glue a plywood patch over it? Well I'm hoping the flimsy brackets will have work hardened after being bent to their current shape and survive future travel. But if they don't I'll have to do it all again AND extend the access to allow fitting an appropriate sized wooden block at the end of the track ...
bye (for now)
Hi Bruce.
You really had no choice in your fix; had to be got to it somehow, and well done on your solution.
I have 2 x sliding doors in my van, central ensuite; so a sliding door either side.
Before I "hitch up" I always ensure the sliding doors are either secured in the open or closed position.
If you don't secure them they will slide back and forth and result in damage, similar to your situation.
I use a "dead bolt" fixed to the door bottoms and slide the bolt into a floor bracket; plus an "ocky" strap to some fittings in the centre of the door which are then attached to a hook on the wall. All stainless fittings and blend in with the van fittings and fixtures.
Cheers.
Hetho.
Well done bruce ,good fix and now if it happens again in 5min it'll be fixed.
Happened again, Jan 2022
Yes the drop pin into the floor was in position, it formed a nice fulcrum for the door to pivot from: probably made it easier for the buffer bracket to get under the end stop.
Unhooked as before, took about 10 minutes.
To prevent it EVER happening again I fitted cheek blocks to both sides of the door near the top. Just some 10 x 30mm timber trimmed to fit.
bye.
After seeing that some folk have hassles with their sliding doors and concertina divider panels, I am now satisfied that our heavy curtain type divider provides privacy for visibility, minimal weight and minimal technicality to fail.
I agree, but the boss insists the sliding door must stay.
Our hook to keep the door open when traveling failed twice. Poor workmanship mainly. But I think I have fixed it now by just moving the eyelet and longer screws. Bit of rubber to act as a shock absorber as well.
Hi Bruce, we had the same problem, trice it come of the runner while it was locked in travel position, then once because the Cabin Crew failed to there job, prepared for take off. Then it got worse.
The curtain works a treat, best mod.
Ps, our curtain is light weight.
The sliding door in my van has been removed and now resides at the back of a shed on a friends farm where it will remain unless I ever sell this van.
About six months past I was camped in an isolated forest in Victoria where I had been for three weeks and not seen a soul. One morning I went to the loo, closed the door and did what I needed to. After the process I tried to open the door - it opened about 200mm and then totally refused to open any further. Being locked in the loo may sound amusing but if you are in an isolated forest and people are well familiar with you disappearing from contact for a few weeks and there is no way out of this "cell" the amusement quickly wears off. I have excellent comms gear but it was all out of reach in the main area of the van. Who takes an EPIRB to the loo?
After applying considerable brute force I opened the door just far enough, if I breathed in, to squeeze through and could then access tools etc. Disassembling the sliding mechanism revealed that an 8mm screw holding the door to sliding arm had vibrated lose and jammed the door operation and no way is one going to break an 8mm screw! I just got lucky in being able to shift it enough to escape.
This was simply one of those freak accidents (although Loctite may have avoided it) that generally would be an annoyance only but in my case could have easily caused me an unpleasant death.
At least I have a little more elbow room now :)
My bathroom door isn't sliding, it's a "regular" door on a hinge. I was thinking that I wouldn't want to get stuck in there and thought I should put a screwdriver in the bathroom just in case the door got stuck and I needed to remove the door handle. Then I thought I was being neurotic and let the idea go.
I'm going to put tools in my bathroom....
A sliding door situation, except for mrs watsea with shower sliding door.
Luckily I was nearby and when summoned, I was able to lift the offending panel in its track allowing an exit.
Some people may remember the three piece shower doors, ie one fixed and two sliding panels.
Decades ago, we were at a beach house of a friend. The downstairs shower had the three piece door. Mrs watsea was very pregnant.
With mrs watsea in the shower, at an attempt to exit, only the first panel slid open. Normally one panel would be wide enough for a sideways exit, except not for heavily pregnant people.