Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I Have noticed nearly all teardrops havetheir doors openening towards the front, is there a reason for this?, i did want my door to follow the shape of the curve of the front ie open towards the rear, any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Door closed but not latched + 70 mph down the highway + Wind catches door = Doorless trailer.

David

The Whinge wrote:I Have noticed nearly all teardrops havetheir doors openening towards the front, is there a reason for this?, i did want my door to follow the shape of the curve of the front ie open towards the rear, any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

AHHH, suicide doors. It is a personal preference but the one risk of these type of doors is that if you are traveling down the road and your door comes open the wind could slam the door against your tear and cause damage to the side and possibly the door.

It's your project do it your way !

I didn't have one of mine latched and when I stopped it swung forward and hit a clearance light I had to replace window in the door and a clearance light lense. So it can happen either way. End lesson latch the darn doors and you are good to go.

Just to add my two pennys to the pot..... By hinging your doors 'the other way' , you may find they don't open fully, as they will probably hit the fenders /mudguards.

As Bobhenry said .....It's your build..do it the way you want.

Dare to be different, just not TOO different!

Don't forget, Gull-Wing doors are an option

Good luck in your decision

John

I had a problem with my doors swinging open & I just put a bungie cord from inside handle to the other inside handle when I am going down the road. Never had a problem since. Good luck.

Well i have decided to go for the "suicide" door option!
Thanks to all who replied your feedback was most helpfull.

The Whinge wrote:Well i have decided to go for the "suicide" door option!
Thanks to all who replied your feedback was most helpfull.

I am curious as to why. When your inside and sit up the door knob is right
next to your arm. If you put it the other way you will have to reach behind you to open the door.
LOu

In my mind suicide doors are awkward and uncomfortable. they also don't open all the way due to interference with the fenders. And if you don't latch them properly before leaving on a trip, watch out. but to each his own.

Mike...

Gull-Wing doors are an option

Hmmmmmmmm

Marck wrote:

Gull-Wing doors are an option

Hmmmmmmmm

Bristol Delica had a Gul-Wing door on his weekender when he first built it.
He's now changed it to a conventional 'hinged at the front' type. If gas rams or dampeners were used, and the door opened full , it could be a great trick.

I was thinking the same thing do to aesthetic reasons (I thought the long hinged side of the door would look better on the aft side – it would match the front contour of the tear better), but then I realized that practically it makes more sense to put the hinge on the front:
Easier to open from the inside
Doesn’t interfere with the fender
If you use a hurricane-type, it seals better against the going-down-the-road wet (rain road water etc.)
Decrease the chance of catastrophic failure if you leave it unlatched
And I hate to say the next one, but…
I think it would be easier to defend yourself (just my opinion)

Pocket Doors? Sliders ?
Has anyone ever done it? sure it would make the door side exterior wall thicker but might be pretty cool??