Death of a Living Hinge

[tony.latham]

I purchased this living hinge from McMaser-Carr in 2013. It's listed as their polyolefin 2" -40º to 180º UV resistant. I installed it on my tongue box and as you can see, it's begun to fail. It's been outside everyday. Four winters and nearly four summers.



Here's the box with the new hurricane hinge installed. I purchased it from George at the Teardrop Fix-It Shop in Victor Montana. I had to laugh when i told him what I needed. "I don't sell hurricane hinges, but I have some really nice galley lid hinges..."



Tony

P.S. This isn't about McMaster-Carr. It's about one of thousands of products they sell.

[kramergwt]

It appears to be failing at every screw hole but not between. Maybe the screw holes are slightly too far from the hinge axis. Is there a seal underneath the hinge? You probably don't need one there anyway. Maybe you could try another living hinge, fill the old holes and drill new pilot holes so that when closed the hinge is not under stress. My $0.02.


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[tony.latham]

It appears to be failing at every screw hole but not between. Maybe the screw holes are slightly too far from the hinge axis. Is there a seal underneath the hinge? You probably don't need one there anyway. Maybe you could try another living hinge, fill the old holes and drill new pilot holes so that when closed the hinge is not under stress. My $0.02.


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I too noticed it was failing near where the screws were. And yes, I had sealant under neath it.

If you look a bit harder on my post, you'll see I replaced it with a small hurricane-type hinge. I'm done with plastic hinges. Unlike RV factories, we build our trailers to last a lifetime.

Tony