Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Okay, I have square doors, about 29-30" tall. I want to use the piano hinge I can get for about $7 at the box store. They have brass and nickel. The Kuffel plans I have call for stainless steel.

Do I have to use SS? Wouldn't that be more expensive, and where would I look for it locally?

If I go with the HD or Lowe's in stock, which is better - the brass?
I am going to paint my exterior, and might end up painting the hinge too to make it consistant with the design.

remember... no dumb questions, right ?

Julie

The thing to watch out for with piano hinge is what is the hinge pin made from? There are plenty of hinges where the two hinge flaps are indeed made from brass, stainless steel, or whatever, but the pin is made from plain steel.

With brass hinges, if the pin is brass, it looks like it is - if you're in doubt, it ain't brass!

And do you Merkans suffer from the annoying tendency to find things called 'brass' are in fact 'brassed' - in other words brass-plated and so with nothing like the corrosion resistance of solid brass?

Andrew

angib wrote:And do you Merkans suffer from the annoying tendency to find things called 'brass' are in fact 'brassed' - in other words brass-plated and so with nothing like the corrosion resistance of solid brass?

Andrew

Indeed I do suffer from that annoying tendancy...especially when I pay a high price for a marine fitting and it's really a brass plated piece of junk!!!

Jewel, I heard those hinges are real crappy, that they'll rust in no time. I was gonna do the same thing for my hatch, but I was talked out of it.

Julie,

It is always cheaper in the long run to buy the better materials up front...

Hinges, when painted, look better for only a short time as the paint will wear/chip at the joints.
If the hinge is just steel, the rust will forever haunt you.

Just a guess, but you're not likely to get a quality hinge for $7.00,
$20-40 would be a lot closer

Rob

http://www.stainless-hinges.com/stainle ... inges.html

These come in 72" lenghts, I'm sure you could get them to cut them down, which would probably save on shipping..

.040" Staked Pin
.093" diam. 1/2" Bright
Annealed 72" x 1 1/16" $ 22.41

Julie,

Any metal you attach to your trailer, which will be exposed to the elements should be stainless steel. Scrimp somewhere else, but not on those items which really need to be stainless. Believe me, it will rust and you will be unhappy down the road if you do less.

I used an aluminum piano hinge and have had no troubles with it.

rust...OMG the rust..you'll have rust running out every pore of your body if you use them stinkin brass PLATED or zinc PLATED hinges from the big box stores..I bought some brass ones back in the day and it RUSTED in the package after i left it out one time in the rain..in the package..the package..who'da thunk it...get the stainless

Julie...I think SS would be the way to go, but remember...it doesn't cut or drill like mild steel or brass....just make sure you use a good drill bit and center punch for the holes, if it isn't pre-drilled, and a good blade in the hack saw when cutting it to length...I also crimp the bottom loop on the hinge so the pin doesn't vibrate and drop out down the road...however, I have used Grants offset hinges on both tears and have had great results with them (aluminum), the extra 90 degree bend really stiffens up the hinge, helps to keep the door flat, and allows you to install screws cross grain into the ply, but you can do the piano hinge cross grain also, but I wanted the flanges hidden...Doug

Lowes has the Stainless steel hinges for $19.95... 30 inches long. I just bought 5 of them.

Mike...

jewel,

Gern Blanston and Bledsoe have used these hinges--called torpedo hinges--they allow you to lift the door off when you want/need to...they aren't cheap, but they ARE stainless steel...

http://www.austinhardware.com/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=370

Jim

Hi Jewel,
I used heavy duty plastic hinges from McMasterCarr for both my doors and the galley hinge. Solid seam, no leaks through the hinge and quite inexpensive. You can see them at www.mcmaster.com and it's on catalog page 2846. There was also a thread on these hinges a few months ago.

Jerome

Jerome,

I'd like to see a picture of how you did the door hinge if you could, please.

Jerome.... thanks... So the heavy duty plastic ? that's a good alternative?
I found aluminum hinges that are that inexpensive and my helper Phil says it's alum hinges they use on RV's .

I'd love to see a picture if you have it. And specifically which one did you use for the galley hinge? I was getting ready to order the hurricane hinge., if I have the $$

Julie