Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have a question about entry doors (specifically the details from start to finish). The one I have is poorly designed and made and I want to change it but I am not finding anything on here (yet) about door design (plans, sealing, hinges etc). I'm sure it's here, but I have not found it. Every time I put in searches I end up with hatch doors and not side or entry doors. Am I looking in the wrong place? Any help is welcome.

Thanks,
Doug and Mary

I'd like to second that, I've spent some time trying to figure how to build my door and would love to get some pointers!

I never found anything specific for homemade doors so I'm experimenting myself using the cut out from the opening. I'd like to use 4 chrome refrigerator hinges (~$9- $11 each) but we'll see; that's a lot for hinges. I'm using standard locking doors knobs from HD that are keyed the same that I paid about $7.00 each. The door knobs are dry fitted right now, but I don't have any pictures of that yet.

Here are some photos and images of what I'm doing for my homemade door and window (fixed). I salvaged some 1/4" smoked plexiglass from a stereo cabinet that I cut in half. I routered out a slot so the window will be flush with the inside surface. I will frame it into place on the inside and caulk the outside edges to keep it from leaking. It won't pass a full submersion test, but I think it will be good enough for they type of use I plan for it.

Design: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109287005282295320233/albums/5746508387867256129/5746519523477321874
Where I'm at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109287005282295320233/albums/5746508387867256129/5752123341222545426

I plan to encapsulate the entire door and frame with epoxy resin. Sealing may be standard weather stripping or some closed cell foam.

I don't plan on living in my teardrop but I do want it to last despite the occasional rain here in CA. My teardrop will also be stored in my garage when not in use. It will be the next owner's headache if they decide to care for it less than me.

Jim

Here is a close up of my cheapie method !

Step 21, Generic Plans is all about doors... for that build... hope it helps.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=5203

There is a thread in the Foamie Section on Doors:

Foamie Section: RE: Let's Talk About Doors.... viewtopic.php?f=55&t=50524

Here's a post of mine there with my idea of approaching the matter:

"A good approach for these, I think, would be to build the door and it's frame as
a sort of mini prehung door. Build the door, then build the case/frame around
it with the clearances you want, then install that 'unit', and then build/frame the wall
to fit that. Much less aggravating than trying to build a door to fit a pre-existing
opening. For a Foamie build, you can also do such for making a window or for
the opening for a manufactured window. Of course, I do also advocate using a
light perimeter frame of rot resistant wood species, or of aluminum square tubing,
around all openings or structural panels for ease of joining them together and installing
windows and doors. I also like the idea of double perimeter sealing if possible.

Click on Image to enlarge, then use "CTL+", if you need to enlarge that further.


Cheers,
Norm/mezmo"


Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

I've got a couple of drawings and some info/techniques about plywood doors cut from your sidewalls (or, added after the fact) that I'm happy to share with my customers or anybody who cares to ask! Works for "stick framing", too! Just send me an e-mail to [email protected]

Good Luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

Thanks for the replies everyone, and the info. I will use it and try and sort it out. I will post my progress (hopefully).

ceiliwinery wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone, and the info. I will use it and try and sort it out. I will post my progress (hopefully).

lol...They make it look easy don't they!? I'm thinking about using some automotive door openers my self; to match my Tacoma. My challenge is to make the linkage as inconspicuous as possible.

Maybe these pictures will help in visualizing and give you some ideas.

Look at the pics in my build thread. I posted a few of how I built my doors...

I, too, am currently building my doors. Check the last few pages of TPCE build thread linked in my signature. Concept CAD images are in the first few pages of the build.

Good luck with your build.

grant whipp wrote:I've got a couple of drawings and some info/techniques about plywood doors cut from your sidewalls

I'm still in the planning stages and this has me most perplexed

Look for an email. Your expertise would be most welcome.

How I built my doors is shown on my website:

http://littleswissteardrop.com/thesides.html

Go halfway down the page and you will see several pictures on how I built them and sealed them.

There are a lot of pictures on the page so it may load slowly on a slow speed connection.