Now I'm discouraged

[jjrbus]

I posted a while back that it was official that every part on the Toy was broke and needed to be repaired.  Boy was I wrong! Then the ECM went and it is sitting in the drive waiting for the ECM to come back, OK no big deal at least it is in the driveway.

I just went out to close the door and it won't close!  What the?

 

[payaso del mar]

mine's been doing that for years, and the previous owner put some bolts all the way through the door to hold it together.  crappy fix but it is working for now til I can do a better job.  for yours, maybe put a few dabs of Goop or shoe goo or similar along the edge where the trim cap fits over the door, to hold it in place while you figure out a more permanent fix?

[zero]

Every RV I've owned had the same problem.  I took the skins off of every one, made a new core, and glued back together.  

[payaso del mar]

JD, what did you make the core out of and how'd you assemble it?  since it sounds like several of us may have to do that job soon.

[Derek up North]

Basic carpentry to rebuild to better than the factory 'sticks & staples'.

I haven't checked but I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't YouTube videos as well. There are about everything else.

Edit: Lots of ways to skin a horse!

https://www.google.ca/search?q=rv+door+rebuild&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=rCtGV-uYO4ycjwTBrI64Cw

[payaso del mar]

so is there a wood core in there?  what sort of wood?

[Derek up North]

3 minutes ago, payaso del mar said:

what sort of wood?

Rotten!

Anything will be equal to or better than the factory.

[payaso del mar]

touche!   

 

rephrasing:  what sort should i ideally use for the new core?

[Derek up North]

I believe in the link I gave, JD used pressure treated. But that's a bit heavy and therefore might lead to premature axle failure. But whatever wood you choose, I'd suggest gluing and screwing it together and protecting it with a good paint. That should make it last longer than the original.

[Back East Don]

1 hour ago, Derek up North said:

Rotten!

Anything will be equal to or better than the factory.

You are in rare form today sir

[jjrbus]

I know it is a simple repair job, but this is simple repair job number 999,992. I find it generally takes as much time to completely redo something like this as it does to do a proper patch job. Of course if I were in the Wal Mart parking lot in Snowshoe WI, I would patch it or duk tape it shut and enter through the cab door.  

I don't have any dry pressure treated wood around and find new to be too unstable for this type of repair. I googled Honda replacement wood, but there does not seem to be any available, which left me with the option of laminated Unicorn horn.   That is far too heavy and might cause the toy to flip on its side in a right hand turn

I wood guess the OE was a untreated fir and has lasted 22 years, so am not going to be concerned about what I replace it with. I will treat the wood  with antifreeze.  I now there are better products (more expensive) but I do not have any on hand and am not going to buy it for such a small area.

I am trying to get done to get outta town and did not need this!                     Jim

[zero]

2 hours ago, jjrbus said:

I know it is a simple repair job,            Jim

I hate to call anything "simple" anymore except maybe the way my brain is getting.  Any repair is not-fun if you have to do it due to a surprise. I try to do mine in the winter as pre-emptive strikes.  All the doors I've had to fix just had 1X3 wood frames with some sort of crap-board or foam filler.  I redid mine with 1X2 or 1X3 (I forget) SYP (southern yellow pine) that was treated for rot.  No weight difference unless as the wood you use is dry and not sopping wet from the factory chemical presses.  Not treated white oak is just as rot-resistant if you can find it.  Door in the photo is from my Toyota Chinook and had a vericell core (sort of honeycomb cardboard).  I redid it with foam board.   I have done that same on every RV I own.  Door felt no heavier then then the original. In fact, often the old doors are heavier because they are rotten and water-soaked.

[jjrbus]

Not much wood in mine and the rot was at the bottom and under the door handle. The bottom 2X2 was just about gone and had no structural strength at all. It looks like 1X2 and 2X2 but of course it is not and 1X2 and 2X2 needs to be trimmed down a bit.  Because of not much wood and limited damage I opted to do a repair instead of a full redo, which is not what I expected.  The hinge side was wood and the lock side is metal U channel, the metal while rusty at the bottom was not rotted away, I gave it a good coat of Rustoleum and am giving it a limited lifetime warranty.  

I find the opaque window in the door to be useless and thought of eliminating it.  If this had been a planned repair I would have, but now need to get done! 

The door came apart easy (fell apart) and took about 3 1/2 hours for repair,  I have not reinstalled it yet, that cannot possibly take more than another 6 to 8 hours.  I had no dry pressure treated lumber so used some poplar and 2X2 and 2X4  I had. Glued and screwed it in.  I also coated everything liberally with anti freeze to kill any existing rot fungi and keep it at bay.

I wonder how much more rot is lurking in this thing that I have not spotted yet?    

[payaso del mar]

uh, don't think about that until after your trip.....