Death of a Living Hinge

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Death of a Living Hinge

Postby tony.latham » Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:14 pm

I purchased this living hinge from McMaser-Carr in 2013. It's listed as their polyolefin 2" -40º to 180º UV resistant. I installed it on my tongue box and as you can see, it's begun to fail. It's been outside everyday. Four winters and nearly four summers.

Image

Here's the box with the new hurricane hinge installed. I purchased it from George at the Teardrop Fix-It Shop in Victor Montana. I had to laugh when i told him what I needed. "I don't sell hurricane hinges, but I have some really nice galley lid hinges..."

Image

Tony

P.S. This isn't about McMaster-Carr. It's about one of thousands of products they sell.
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Re: Death of a Living Hinge

Postby kramergwt » Tue Aug 08, 2017 2:36 pm

It appears to be failing at every screw hole but not between. Maybe the screw holes are slightly too far from the hinge axis. Is there a seal underneath the hinge? You probably don't need one there anyway. Maybe you could try another living hinge, fill the old holes and drill new pilot holes so that when closed the hinge is not under stress. My $0.02.


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Re: Death of a Living Hinge

Postby tony.latham » Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:01 pm

kramergwt wrote:It appears to be failing at every screw hole but not between. Maybe the screw holes are slightly too far from the hinge axis. Is there a seal underneath the hinge? You probably don't need one there anyway. Maybe you could try another living hinge, fill the old holes and drill new pilot holes so that when closed the hinge is not under stress. My $0.02.


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I too noticed it was failing near where the screws were. And yes, I had sealant under neath it.

If you look a bit harder on my post, you'll see I replaced it with a small hurricane-type hinge. I'm done with plastic hinges. Unlike RV factories, we build our trailers to last a lifetime.

Tony
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