Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I've been staring at my Galley Hatch on and off for a few days and can't figure out what I should do. This trailer was bought from another person and I'm trying to finish the build and get it ready to camp in. For the hatch I need to seal it and likely put on a hurricane hinge to replace the large basic aluminum hinge that is in place right now or maybe seal existing hinge somehow. The problem with the hatch is that the hatch wasn't formed to match the profile of the sidewalls perfectly / properly so there is no gap for any trim or seals in some places and large gaps in other places. I also found out that the hatch framing isn't square so there is more overhang on one side versus the other. I'd love some input and suggestions if any of you have some. Here's a couple photos of the hatch closed showing the problem areas.


This photo is showing the upper part of the wall and the lack of gap available for trim or seals. I've seen lots of people here cut down the sidewall to make room for the trim and seals. Maybe thats what I should do?


This photo shows the big gaps... they measure about 1/2" or bit more in some places. Also along the bottom of the hatch where it meets the floor there is a large 1/2" - 3/4" gap but that should be easy for me to deal with as it is pretty consistent from side to side.

The gaps and tight spots between hatch and sidewalls are pretty consistent on both sides. I've looked and compared the two sidewalls and they are both cut well and match well so I know the problems are in the hatch. I wonder if it will be easier to simply rebuild the hatch completely to match the profile properly or fight with the existing hatch, or maybe just stuff the big gaps with large seals and find something small and slim for the tight spots.

The hatch is framed with steel tubing that was welded and bent into shape then it was skinned with 1/8" and aluminum. There is also two Maple spars to help support the skin. Here's a photo of the overall hatch and galley space. This photo shows a partially completely galley cabinet / counter which is actually no longer in the trailer as I'm rebuilding them in a different way to better suit my needs.


Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Matt

How did you verify that the walls were the same? Are the gaps in the same locations and the same amounts on each side?

To check for sure (so that you know more and can address the problem correctly) you could tape some poster or chip board to the inside of the galley on one side, trim along the profile, then transfer that to the other side and compare.

Old Rag Baggers had a similar problem where her wall did not match the curve of her hatch and she built the gaps up using resin and glass.

Grant Whipp sells a self adhesive hollow rectangular foam hatch seal that will crush down from 0.4 inch to almost nothing.

I used some cardboard and traced out the shape of the sidewall and then compared to the other side and they looked like a decent match. The gaps are almost the same on each side except the side shown in the photo is a little larger right at the bottom. It feels like one side of the hatch twists a bit. I might be able to get some better photos tomorrow. Thanks for the info about Grant's seals. I wasn't sure how much they would crush down... So that's good.

Here's photos of the underside of the hatch to show the overhang of the skin vs the hatch frame. One side has barely 3/4 of overhang and the other has over and inch.

I wouldn't worry about that too much so long as there is enough room for a gasket, the hatch does not wander from side to side when cycled up/down, and it is relatively flush (or has equal overhang) with the walls when closed (the later being an aesthetic concern).

Danny is by far the much more experienced cabinet builder, so if possible heed his advice.

If the hatch is moving around and you can shim it back to where it is centered; and you can get it stabilized to where it doesn't shift around (important); and you then still have enough overlap to trim it flush again, by all means try that.

But if the hatch is already locked in place pretty well, it cycles fine and there isn't enough skin to shift it to center, then I'd concentrate more on getting the profiles to match. Maybe the hinge can be refit w/o having a conflict with all of the extra screw holes.

Since you are dealing with an 'as built' condition, it doesn't make sense to me to tear it all apart and start over. If that were the case it would have made more sense to build from scratch than to start with something someone else gave up on. My $.02.

Thanks Danny and KC. This is good advice. I think given how it's built I won't be able to follow Danny's recommendation though I wish I could. The hatch is firmly locked into its shape from the steel frame and the way the skins were attached. It does open and close without any problems. It's mainly an issue of water tightness. Sealing the sides and figuring out the hinge.

Here is a couple photos of how the hinge is currently "not" sealed...