Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm working on my galley hatch and will soon need to install the hurricane hinge. My hinge is 60 inches, and my teardrop trailer is about 57 inches wide, so I'm assuming there won't be any difficulty cutting the hinge to length. Does anyone have any insights about that, know about any pitfalls I'm not anticipating? I mean, I'm planning to just put each piece under the chop saw and cut.

Also, when installing it, it would be easiest to install the two pieces independently. i.e. install the piece that mounts to the top of the trailer, then the piece that mounts on the hatch, then lift the hatch into position and slide the two leaves of the hinge together laterally. Has anyone found any pitfalls there that I'm not aware of? I'm presuming there is an angle at which the galley hatch fully clears the side walls, yet can still slide laterally in along the outer hinge leaf.

Advice?

--Mike C.

Hey Mike,
I didn't see your post when I posted mine today with the same subject title. My question was a little different though. I've read in some previous posts that your hinge should overhang the roof top slightly on both sides so you might want to check into that. My shell is 60" wide and I'm using a 60" hinge so I won't have any overhang. I just plan to caulk the heck out of everything on both ends.
I'm just trying to figure out which side of the hinge fastens to the hatch. Looks like it should be the side with the longer down leg, but I wanted to confirm that with someone who knew before I install. Also not sure if I should put screws into the long down leg as well as the two horizontal legs on top. I'm building a weekender and the hinge will be flat across both sides with a sizeable gap between the vertical legs.
I plan to keep the hinge together and fasten the hatch side first and then put the hatch in place and fasten the other side. I figure that will assure that the two hinge pieces are lined up properly.
Hopefully we'll get some experts to chime in on these questions.
Good luck on your build.
Larry S.

Mike,

Larry is correct, you want to leave 1/4" to 1/2" of the hinge overhanging the edge of the trailer so water will drip off the hinge instead of running down the side of the trailer.

Here's a side view of a hinge, the front of the trailer would be to the left.

Kevin A wrote:Mike,

Larry is correct, you want to leave 1/4" to 1/2" of the hinge overhanging the edge of the trailer so water will drip off the hinge instead of running down the side of the trailer.

Here's a side view of a hinge, the front of the trailer would be to the left.

Please keep in mind that this is one type of hurricane hinge that has a vertical offset between the hatch height and teardrop roof height. Another type of hurricane hinge does not have this vertical offset.

Kevin A wrote:Mike,

Larry is correct, you want to leave 1/4" to 1/2" of the hinge overhanging the edge of the trailer so water will drip off the hinge instead of running down the side of the trailer.

Here's a side view of a hinge, the front of the trailer would be to the left.

Yes, be very careful and measure twice before you cut. Don't ask me why

I cut the part of mine that attaches to the trailer 1" longer than the part that attaches to the hatch. That way I had 1/2" on each side for a water barrier.

As Tom mentioned, the particular hinge above is different than the one Grant sells which does not have an offset.

There is also a technique of slotting one side and installing a screw in place so that the hatch can not shift from side to side. Might want to make that slot first before applying the hinge to your build.

I'm sure one of the more experienced experts can give more details on this. It is something that I have read here, but not done myself, as yet.

All ya gotta do is ask and I'll be happy to send you a photo tutorial of how I cut, trim, & slot my hinges ... [email protected]

CHEERS!

Grant