Door stops and other needed advice

[mollyteardrop]

Well, we started what seemed a simple chore and ended up with more chores.

Problem 1: Putting in doorstops we placed them wrong and are unsure exactly where to place them. We put them close to the door hinge after trial runs, but they don't 'lock in' and the angle is way off. Where is the best placement.
Should we put the female part closer to the front and then place the male part? We have a 4x6 aluminum sided td

Problem 2: In our efforts to pLace the door stops we created drill holes in the aluminum. My plan is to use aluminum putty to fill the holes and hope the area around the holes can be polished so the repair is not glaring. We need your help so we can fix this without making further messes....any other solutions?

We need your expertise.....
Thanks

[mary and bob]

can you put rivets in the holes, or put something there that looks like it belongs or was intentional. We had this problem when restoring our vintage teardrop, how do we hide something that was butchered up by a previous owner. We used reflectors, rivets, a light, and a couple custom made inlaid wood plaques. You have to get creative sometimes to hide a problem. Just screws may look like they are there for a reason, and most people won't notice if you don't tell them.

[mollyteardrop]

Butchered made me cringe a bit....but not far from the truth! I like your ideas...a reflector, or finding dome plaque ....
Any recommendations on doorstop placement?

[mary and bob]

I don't mean that you butchered yours, I'm referring to ours, and some of it was butchered bad! I just bought a couple Vehicle Identification Number plates for another project, they are 3" by 1", about $6 from a company called Kool Rides in Kansas. They are aluminum and you stamp your numbers on them, they can be used to hide a mistake and look official too. I don't know about a door stop, we don't have one.

[halfdome, Danny]

If you know someone close by with a metal or wood lathe they could turn some disks to cover the holes.
John's teardrop had the RV rubber socket door stops and liked the magnetic ones I put on my teardrops.
The old holes were farther apart than the new ones so this is the solution I came up with to hide the old holes.
I did the same on my TD #1.
I turned four .040 anodized aluminum disks on my wood lathe for him.
It's really hard on high speed turning tools & a lot of trial and error but I got the job done.

Note the placement of the door stops. This teardrop is Ed Ester's #43 of 44 teardrops that he's built.
BTW: I'm not offering to turn any disks, just offering a different solution to the problem. Danny

[mollyteardrop]

We tried magnetic stops first and they weren't strong enough, so we got the kind with the rubber gasket. The 'female' part has a slight angle to it instead of being straight. We just couldn't get it to line up at all. I have some repair ideas now, thank goodness! Still trying to figure out placement before we re-attempt putting on the doorstops.

[Woodbutcher]

Sometimes the male part needs to be bent in to meet the female part straight on because the door is at an angle. Once you have it screwed in tight mark where to bend it so when you re screw it in it lines up .

[halfdome, Danny]

We tried magnetic stops first and they weren't strong enough, so we got the kind with the rubber gasket.

The rubber gasket as your referring to wears out pretty quick. If you get the magnetic ones on just right "sweet spot" they'll do you best in the long haul.
Just what I've experienced.
Danny

[mollyteardrop]

We tried bending the male part....not really successful...even heated it....what do you suggest? I would rather leave them where they are and get them to work.....

[pete42]

the angled "female" part can be placed on an angled wooden disk screwed to the trailer so the hole does line up
I replaced ones like yours with a "hook" and catch do to the rubber socket wearing out but it will take years before that happens
have you tried placing the two parts together and seeing where they line up on the trailer when the door is opened?
or am I going over things you have already tried, sorry if I am.
keep trying it will work and when it does you'll think "what was so hard about that".

pete

[mollyteardrop]

Yes, we did all of that. We wanted to avoid the hook and eye out of laziness and wanting yo just push the door open...now that IS lazy. Thanks for the suggestion...we are getting closer to a solution"