Assessing the Damage - The door

Ok, got her popped up. The first issue that was obvious was the door. The bottom part of the door, the one built into the box, seemed to work OK even though it was apparently designed for midgets . . . err, sorry, "little people." Inside the camper, the door knob is around shin level.

The door knob was loose and, although it did have a keyhole, we didn't have a key. The New York Dude told us about this claiming that HE never got a key when he bought it. Now I know this thing isn't Fort Knox. Anyone wanting to go inside at a campsite when we aren't around can just unzip a flap around the door, reach in, and unlock it. However, there is something psychologically satisfying about knowing that you at the very least locked the door forcing those committed to getting in to actually "break in." I sort of see it as a clear message to folks that "hey, this isn't public property. If we wanted folks to wander around in here, we wouldn't have locked the damn door!"

2 options I can think of on this:

1. remove the latch, take it to a locksmith, and have a key made.

As I mentioned the doorknob is loose and flimsy. I'm not sure if it's worth investing any money in. How much could a new one be? (man, I'm begging for trouble with that one)

2. replace the latch with a new one.

This would be a good way to go assuming I can put pretty much any latch on it. Are they standard? Will any latch work? Are RV and/or popup door latches special made? Surely, I wouldn't have to find the exact replacement part for the popup. I have a strong suspicion that original replacement parts for a 27 year old popup will be hard to find.

Nevertheless, I decided to research getting a new one.

Now, the top part of the door, the part that folds back and latches to the ceiling of the popup when it popped down, is a different story. This door was once made of aluminum, it has screens and plastic covers that slide in over the screens. There is a lot of clear tape around these covers that I opted not to remove yet since that could very well be what is holding the whole thing together.

There is a large metal plate with a hinge at one end of the door so that, once unattached from the roof, it can fold down and hook to the bottom part of the door. This plate is connected to another hinged place by three bolts the plate connected to the top half of the door has 3 holes (slots really, about an inch long so that the door can slide up or down approximately an inch.

The problem was that the door when folded down did not fit into the door opening. The slots did not allow enough movement to remedy this. It was like the roof was 2-3 inches too low. I thought about it a bit. My head wasn't hitting the roof. It wasn't leaning down on the side. The camper was fully popped up as best I could tell. I mean, the hook that keeps the roof up clicked into place when I cranked it up. Could the cables have "stretched" 2-4 inches? I unscrewed the bolts that connected the top half of the door to the camper ceiling and tried again to fit it into the opening. THIS time it was only about a quarter inch too tall. With one hand I pushed hard up on the ceiling raising the roof a bit and it slipped into place. That seemed troubling since I suppose that the door itself is now supporting some of the weight of the roof.

That can't be a good thing.

Now to fix at least part of this problem easily, it seemed to me that the slots in the plates that allow the door to more up and down needed to be a couple of inches longer. I wonder if I drilled a hole in the metal down from the slot a couple of inches and then took a saw that cuts metal (is that called a jig saw?) and cut the piece out from the bottom of each existing slot down to the new holes I drilled. I would wind up with three slots 3 inches long instead on 1 inch long Could that work?

That would at least solve the problem of getting the door into the opening and folding it back up to the ceiling easily anyway. I still needed to get the rest of the door functional. Screens needed replacing and it would be nice if the panels came out easily (currently they are held in place by tape). The little door also has a tendency to fall apart in my hands when not secured in the camper door opening. I decided to research replacing the door but also to get some epoxy type goo and try to glue it all back together. I don't think I can cause any extra harm to the thing.

Also, and this was especially irritating since it was freezing cold outside, the door didn't fit square in the opening. I know that the leveling of the camper could effect this but I double checked the bubble levels on the camper and it was as level as I'll ever get it.

You can see how big this opening is in the above picture. There is a lock latch at the top which would keep it square at night but that won't be possible during the day with folks coming in and out. I think I'll wait and see how it works when the door is glued back together. Maybe is will auto-magically fit then. Maybe some insulation is needed in the door jamb and that will hold it closed better? Maybe the hinges need WD40 or something?

If the gluing doesn't work and I am unable to find a replacement (I pretty sure I can't since I've already looked and looked), I'll have to build a new door. I *think* I can do this but it would have to be out of wood not metal. This could be possible. I have high confidence.

I'll try the glue first. I found an epoxy (what does that word even mean?) at Big Lots for $7 that claimed to work on metal, plastic, and other things. It was fancier than most glues in that you have to mix two different kinds of goo together in order to make the main goo that serves as the "glue." I figure with that kind of extra work involved, it has to be good stuff.