Hurricane Hinge Load Capacity vs Centaflex Hinge?

[DWT77]

Does anyone know the load capacity or safe working load of the hurricane hinge?

There is another thread about hurricane hinge alternative and doing some research I found Centaflex Hinge

http://dunnandwatson.com.au/shop/hinge- ... mm-length/

I found the attached photo that says for 1 meter length fitted horizontally has a S.W.L of 100kgs. Which is 67lb per 1 ft length.

I have been looking around but haven't found the load capacity of the hurricane hinge for comparison.

[working on it]

• I assume you saw sdtripper's thread on hurricane hinge info? http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11210#p140874 No info on weight ratings for hinges there. Prior to hanging my trailer hatch (which is only a 48"x49" rectangle of 3/4" plywood, used since the squareback design was the simplest to build), I was considering using a continuous plastic "living hinge", or a geared aluminum "hurricane" type hinge. I determined that the plastic hinge might break eventually, due to aging in Texas heat and sun, and the hurricane hinge was expensive, and could get jammed with sand or grit blown into the mechanism. I did like this Pemko hinge

• 

  Pemko hinge from Grainger.jpg (111 KiB) Viewed 2484 times

  note the price and weight rating
• Since my budget was low at the time, and my wife would see credit card charges for that hinge (hiding costs! from her), I decided to follow my "gate hardware scheme" by using three gate hinges (the same that I used on my doors) to hang the hatch. I knew they were strong and durable, and much cheaper than the hurricane hinge I liked. I also had the materials I needed to cover the opening, using aluminum flat stock and conveyor belting I had on hand.

• 

  gate hinge specs & seal used.PNG (174.17 KiB) Viewed 2484 times

  note the weight capacity per hinge (I used three), and low cost
• The Pemko geared hinge would support 280 lbs, and the three Stanley-National (or Home Depot clones) gate hinges support 144 lbs, which are 6x and 3x my requirements, respectively, so either choice would be fine.
• Also, a search on the web for weight ratings of other continuous hinges (pin-type) show about 600 lbs weight ratings for stainless, so that would be another alternative, if you used a hatch seal covering piece as I did.

[tony.latham]

Wayne:

I just looked at your build log, I was going to ask you about your hatch weight, but it looks like you haven't built it yet.

I think part of the goal is putting your strut brackets beyond the midpoint of the hatch. I didn't have that luxury but I don't see any issue with my hurricane hinge on my 60 pound hatch.



Tony

[DWT77]

Wayne:

I just looked at your build log, I was going to ask you about your hatch weight, but it looks like you haven't built it yet.

I think part of the goal is putting your strut brackets beyond the midpoint of the hatch. I didn't have that luxury but I don't see any issue with my hurricane hinge on my 60 pound hatch.



Tony

Tony,

Yeah I'm not to the point of building my hatch yet. Hopefully in a few weeks. I searched the forum for what other peoples hatches weigh. It looks like it can be anywhere from 35-100 pounds depending on the build. Since my hatch will be 5 feet tall I don't have a guess how much will end up weighing.

I had read the other thread about the alternative to a hurricane hinge and it just got me curious what was out there. I know I have read where some people have issues with the hurricane hinge. While searching I found that centaflex hinge and thought it looked like a good alternative. If it could handle the weight and is durable enough. Like you mentioned the gas springs should take care of some of the weight. Especially if placed in the correct position.

I did find one on ebay for $68 that I ordered. I am going to build a tongue box and I figured for the lid I would try it out there regardless to see if I like it or not.

Thanks for the input on the weight of your hatch too.

[DWT77]

• I assume you saw sdtripper's thread on hurricane hinge info? http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11210#p140874 No info on weight ratings for hinges there. .

I did look that one over rather quickly. I will dig deeper into it. Thanks for the info

[woodywrkng]

Why the desire for an alternative? Have people had problems with the standard hurricane hinge? Mine has been flawless, and I figured out a way to deal with the ends.

[DWT77]

Why the desire for an alternative? Have people had problems with the standard hurricane hinge? Mine has been flawless, and I figured out a way to deal with the ends.

I have read on the forum some people have had issues with the ends, leaking some, or eventually having to put a rubber strip over it like a piano hinge. With that said I am sure there are plenty of people that have had zero issues with the hurricane hinge. I just happened across the Centaflex Hinge and saw it was a solid/flexible hinge that could waterproof the hatch. To me it looked like it could work if durable enough. Really it is just me asking questions and trying to figure everything out. I also don't mind trying something different sometimes either.

[woodywrkng]

Okey dokie. I absolutely agree about wanting to consider different things. That aluminum hinge with the inner gears shown earlier looks interesting, although it's not apparent how you cover an exposed mounting screw head. I too wondered about the standard hurricane hinge's ability to hold up, but that long strip of aluminum is stronger than I thought it would be, and I made my hatch pretty heavy. Since this is a really important feature of your teardrop, I would be leery of a strip of flexible plastic 10+ years from now. That being said, keep thinking outside of the box. It's what makes these trailers fun.

[DWT77]

Why the desire for an alternative? Have people had problems with the standard hurricane hinge? Mine has been flawless, and I figured out a way to deal with the ends.

Woodywrkng, what is the oval cutout for?

[QueticoBill]

I keep researching the polyolefin hinges and some sites suggests 100 pounds per inch capacity and over a million cycles of flexing. Certainly 100 pounds per inch is way over what is needed by at least a factor of 50, and if you lived in the tear year round - maybe 5 opening and closings a day - say that is two cycles - 3650 per year - a lot of lifetimes in any case. They also suggest adhesive as well as fasteners. I thought about just drilling holes and then epoxy maybe with fiberglass - which is my plan for the roof anyways - and that would capture it just fine - the"pillars" of epoxy through it. Just need to figure out a way to mask the flexing area very well. At under $15-20 hard to beat. Very interesting.

Have to wonder if it makes sense for diy doors.

[woodywrkng]

DWT77.
The oval cutout, and the tiny hole below it, are to allow water to drain off the length of the hinge. A little water in that area doesn't really hurt anything, but what the heck, no sense in just letting it sit there. The little hole just fills up with crud, but the oval one seems to work.

[tony.latham]

I keep researching the polyolefin hinges

Bill:

Have you seen my post on those?

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=69017

I'm ball-parking that I flexed that hinge about two hundred times. Four years of sun. Hot and cold. Nothing outside what they are advertised at.

Tony

[qft]

I'll add onto the living hinge criticism. Mine is 5 years old and has a good crack running through the middle, which has leaked and caused water damage in the rear galley. I contacted the guy who built my trailer, and he expressed regret at ever using a living hinge and wished he had just sprung for hurricane hinges because several of the campers he built have identical problems.

I'm installing a hurricane hinge this week from vintage technology. Stay away from living hinges.

[alchemist77]

I'll add onto the living hinge criticism. Mine is 5 years old and has a good crack running through the middle, which has leaked and caused water damage in the rear galley. I contacted the guy who built my trailer, and he expressed regret at ever using a living hinge and wished he had just sprung for hurricane hinges because several of the campers he built have identical problems.

I'm installing a hurricane hinge this week from vintage technology. Stay away from living hinges.

Thanks for the update on the status of living hinges. I will not be using them.


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