Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

hey all-

I've seen a few pictures of galley hinges, but wanted to eyeball a few more before figuring what I want to do.

{update: yes, it's taking *way* longer than the 2 weeks i thought it would. however, in spite of the pace and problems i keep bumping into, it's...fun. yes. fun. i wound up working until the last week in august before throwing up my hands and walking away to regain my composure. here's the pictures up until that point:
http://brokenoffcarantenna.com/teardroptrailer/
try not to laugh too loudly at my first attempt at a fuse block. i figured it out and fixed it before hooking up the juice.

i came back to it last week, and things are going much easier. especially since giving up on the notion of doing this with any sort of speed. pictures will probably be updated next week. or whenever i get around to doing it.}

But that's not what this post is about. It's about galley hinge pictures. Got 'em? Wanna share 'em?

thanks, y'all.

Hey! How's it been?? Glad to hear that your still workin' it!!

Hey, you're making progress. That's a good thing! Nice collection of photos!

As for hinge photos, you mean something like this?



Or are you looking for some close ups?

Mike...

I found this one too...



Mike...

Are there other watertight hinge options? Do you have to take the hinge past the edge? I would inevitably catch my arm on it. Don't ask how, I just know I would!

Very nice close-up Mike. I have been wondering about hinge placement myself, so this helps me out quite a bit, even if I am a ways off from installing it (still working on the chassis ).

Courtney, your tear is looking really nice!!!

Amy

closeups, side views, anything. i've been "winging it" (using the kuffel kreek plans as a guide), but i've never laid eyes on a teardrop in real life. any pictures whatsoever = good.

This is one of several galley hinge photos on my web site.

Denny

I was wondering about the edge of the hatch, the upper lip. How did you cover that edge, I looked on your site but I didn't see a pic of it. The one you posted here has it head on, I wanted to see a little more of the sheeting. Is that a piece of trim or did you roll the sheet metal over. My guess a trim, what did you use, where did you get it? Do you have a pic of it?

asianflava wrote:I was wondering about the edge of the hatch, the upper lip. How did you cover that edge, I looked on your site but I didn't see a pic of it. The one you posted here has it head on, I wanted to see a little more of the sheeting. Is that a piece of trim or did you roll the sheet metal over. My guess a trim, what did you use, where did you get it? Do you have a pic of it?

The aluminum around the hatch is called 1/8" panel edging and it came from a local lumber yard. Since the hatch Masonite is 1/8" and the aluminum skin is .040" it makes for a nice tight fit. Before installing I bent it in an arc smaller than the radius of the hatch so it wouldn't act like a spring trying to straighten the curve. It does try to resist bending but if this step is omitted the hatch will deform. The moulding is kind of a "J" profile with the bottom leg about an inch.

Denny

Just thinking here, why does everyone use the hurricane hinge? With the proper weatherstripping, a regular piano hinge would seal as well, right? And it is only 1/4 the cost.

Jimbo wrote:Just thinking here, why does everyone use the hurricane hinge? With the proper weatherstripping, a regular piano hinge would seal as well, right? And it is only 1/4 the cost.

That's what some of them use. I think the Hunter Shadow uses that type of hinge with a vinyl cap over it attached on both sides.

Denny

Jimbo wrote:Just thinking here, why does everyone use the hurricane hinge? With the proper weatherstripping, a regular piano hinge would seal as well, right? And it is only 1/4 the cost.

If you can make a regular hinge work, than use it. The hurricane tear took a lot of the "hassle" out of waterproofing, which is why so many people use it.

You could take a regular hinge, weld on a few small studs on each side. Then wrap a piece of rubber around it, starting underneath one edge, going up over the top, and ending underneath the other edge. The rubber would have small holes in it for the studs, and the studs would hold the rubber in place while you install the hinge.

Does that make sense? (I was afraid of that...) Okay here's a quick and dirty drawing...


Mike...

mikeschn wrote:

Jimbo wrote:Just thinking here, why does everyone use the hurricane hinge? With the proper weatherstripping, a regular piano hinge would seal as well, right? And it is only 1/4 the cost.

If you can make a regular hinge work, than use it. The hurricane tear took a lot of the "hassle" out of waterproofing, which is why so many people use it.

You could take a regular hinge, weld on a few small studs on each side. Then wrap a piece of rubber around it, starting underneath one edge, going up over the top, and ending underneath the other edge. The rubber would have small holes in it for the studs, and the studs would hold the rubber in place while you install the hinge.

Does that make sense? (I was afraid of that...) Okay here's a quick and dirty drawing...


Mike...

Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense. The hurricane hinge is a convenience (one which I will be using as well) more than anything.

I think I understand the principle of what you are saying, Does hinge attach to the hatch from underneath via the studs? I can't figure out according to the drawing on how you attach the hinge with the wrap around rubber gasket any other way. Maybe I am not seeing it clearly enough. I used a flat piano hinge and covered over the top with flat rubber material wider than the hinge and pinned down the sides with flat bar aluminum that is screwed down to hold them in place