14' Series Broken door hinge (again)

[luke29ermtb]

We've got a 14.4 and Jayco have not-so-cleverly placed the doors stop for the entry door right behind the lower hinge. Due to the leverage created by the width of the door the lower hinge breaks after a few absent minded openings in the wind. Even when the door is secured open there is outward pressure on the lower hinge.



As the van is well out of warranty I'm about to get new hinges from Camec (I hope) and I've trimmed a bit off the door stop but it still isn't a great solution.

Has anyone come up with a good solution to this problem?

 

[DaveS]

Hi
you could try a longer door stop mounted further away, those ones that they mount close do put a lot of force on the hinges

 

[Wanda]

We did the same as you @luke29ermtb, trimmed off a bit of the stop to ease the pressure a bit.

 

[luke29ermtb]

Thanks for your responses.

@DaveS we'll do this if the current fix isn't good enough. The issues are:

• clearance between door and open kitchen window; and
• clearance between door vent and mudguard.

Moving the door stop further away will mean it has to stick out a fair way to prevent further damage. I wonder if there is an easy solution that can be fitted when not towing the van?

 

[DaveS]

use one of those slip on stops you see in houses, about 70mm long, just screw the base on and slip the stop over it, take it off and throw on the step when you travel

 

[barney120]

yep, I replaced mine (bottom hinge) mid trip at Dubbo last year. I got it from the Jayco dealer I didn't think it was a common problem, thought the kids let door slam or blow open 1 to many times. I will go and look a bit closer now and try and rectify it. From memory the hinge was not that expensive, even from Jayco. Barney

 

[Chooky]

I removed the original stop and replaced it and moved it as per the attached photo, I didn't break my hinge but the door did swing around far enough to hit the 12v plug outside and dent the door (which was replaced under warranty ).

 

[Ss--ss]

Hi guys, seems our bottom hinge has broken. I got a replacment however a bit confused how to remove the old one? There appears to be screws & pop rivets unless I'm wrong? Do I need to drill out the old ones & use a pop rivet gun ?

 

[Chooky]

Hi guys, seems our bottom hinge has broken. I got a replacment however a bit confused how to remove the old one? There appears to be screws & pop rivets unless I'm wrong? Do I need to drill out the old ones & use a pop rivet gun ?
View attachment 32000

Yeh it looks like the rivet needs to be drilled out to remove the old piece of hinge, when you replace it just paint the head of the new rivet with a niko pen or black paint if you have some. Also don't put to much pressure on the drill, would hate to see you go straight through the wall.

 

[Prydey]

I've busted the bottom hinge on mine as well now. Extremely windy during a recent trip and the door got blown all the way back, with that little stopper on the outside of the van, down the bottom, causing the bottom hinge to break.

Looks like replacement hinges are easy enough to come by. Should be able to do the job myself.

I think I'll look at removing the little stopper or at least trimming it down as already mentioned.

 

[Drover]

Available from most RV shops but be aware there are 2 types for some doors, a positive ID on door make and model is ideal best to remove hinge so you can compare, no use asking for a hinge for a certain model of Jayco.. Removal of the door stopper or trimming it may put more stress on the other hinges so make sure first. fitting another higher up would stop the flexing if it happens again.... Recent replacement last Easter on mine was about $20........ (price edited due to error)

 

[Prydey]

New hinge was less than $20 delivered.

Ended up only replacing the top and bottom sections that attach to the van itself. Saved having to drill out all the door rivets. Just the 2 on the door frame. Have to colour the heads in black now.



I did also trim down the rubber stopper. The door handle can now touch on the van but given there was already a witness mark there I'm not overly concerned. Thinking I'll cut out a piece of 3M film or similar (automotive protection film) and put in the spot.

 

[Drover]

That was a very good price ........................... should have bought a spare....... had a check the $40 I quoted was for the 2 I bought, at the time I was on the road the fuel to get to the town was more than the hinge price but I covered that by a gas bottle refill for $25...........

Are you going to share this place of cheap treasure with us ???

 

[Prydey]

I just googled 'caravan door hinge' and once I established what kind, I googled 'tri door hinge'...

Multiple sources came up all around the same price. I bought from 'ourvanrv' as they offered free postage.

Didn't order a spare as they seem readily available.

 

[Drover]

Didn't order a spare as they seem readily available.

Actually my 145km run to a town with the parts was actually for a new door handle, the inner handle what a pain when that breaks, no real repair possibly plastic and cast alloy, yuck ..................................

When the lower door hinge broke I just glued it up and was careful with it as we were on our way home and only had to do a 150km round trip to get a replacement, normal run to Dan Murphys etc, since two types of hinges for the doors I bought one of each as on close inspection indentical except for a small tab on one which when cut of fits mine so I have a spare, at 11 years old good chance another may snap ................

If the outer door handle snaps off and thats common and it has a few years on the clock replace the innner as well as if the inner handle breaks it takes a bit of stuffing around to rig it up so you can get in and out, thats if your a handy fella, otherwise its okky straps..... it pays to have a good understanding of how the door locking system works also..............