Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

i want to insulate, install an rv latch and possibly a small non-opening window in my barn door but it seems to be very intricately assembled. i will be removing the door from it's hinges and setting it up on some saw horses to make it easier to work on. i'm hoping to be able to re-assemble it without damaging the seal (or anything else for that matter, lol). anyone have any advice or experience with these doors? thanks in advance,


tony

onehoser, Howdy eh;

Do you have just a single rear door? Must be sorta narrow then.
Haven't taken one apart but I'd take plenty of photos so you will
be able to actually see where the bits go when you start to
reassemble it. Ground cloth to keep small parts from disappearing
into dirt or lawn. Keep a suitable amount of cool fizzy adult beverages
handy, got to stay hydrated eh.

hank

Is the door exterior clad in metal or fiberglass? If the later it is probably bonded to the plywood and if the former likely is sealed on the perimeter at least, so attempting to separate either would likely cause damage.

Have you considered just laying up an inch and a half or two of rigid foam on the inside, trimming with 1 x wood and adding a new plywood skin on the inside. The outer edge of the 1 x wood would facilitate additional weather-stripping and create a baffle where you now probably just have a flush seal. You can use solid wood where the RV latch would go for extra strength.

The extra thickness would also allow you to recess the window so it would not protrude either in or out.

Looks like it's wood with aluminum perimeter. If it's hollow you could drill holes and inject expanding foam.

Why dismantle? Use a stud finder to determine where the crossmembers, etc are located. That can give you an idea of where the may be easiest to place. And I left the door hung. I needed a window cutout and one for an A/C.

I drilled a hole at each corner point, right through the door from the inside once my window position was decided. On the interior side I cut the plywood with a coedless circular saw after drawing a guide line from cornet to corner. I cut to the mark and completed the cut with an Xacto blade. Then I cut the aluminum skin with a very fine tooth metal blade in my saber saw.

I cut pieces of 1x4 to use for top, bottom and side strips for the hole. I was able to slide them inside the door through the opening. I used screws from the inside as well as an adhesive from Sika that was compatible for wood-metal and wood-wood joints. I used a couple of screws from the inside as well as clamping to hold the aluminum skin to 1x4 until the adhesive set. I did the top andbottom1x4 first, then the shorter side 1x4. This is similar to the method used to make patches in drywall walls in a home. The 1x4 gives something solid to mount the windows to.

You can use spray foam to insulate by drilling a few holes through the interior plywood. Do not use the normal spray foam. It expands too much and almost certainly distort the panels; blow them outwards. Use thef foam meant for door and window use. I used a few widely spaced holes to insert the nozzle tube as well as a few to check that the foam reached everywhere. I paneled over the rough plywood with a thin skin of nice plywood so I used 3/4" holes for ease of installation.

Sorry, no ideas on installing the latch.

hankaye wrote:onehoser, Howdy eh;

Do you have just a single rear door? Must be sorta narrow then.
Haven't taken one apart but I'd take plenty of photos so you will
be able to actually see where the bits go when you start to
reassemble it. Ground cloth to keep small parts from disappearing
into dirt or lawn. Keep a suitable amount of cool fizzy adult beverages
handy, got to stay hydrated eh.

hank

it's a single door for my 5x8, roughly 51"x58". i pretty much just want to remove the inner panel but it seems that the entire door is build around this paneling, kind of like a car is build around it's frame, lol!

M C Toyer wrote:Is the door exterior clad in metal or fiberglass? If the later it is probably bonded to the plywood and if the former likely is sealed on the perimeter at least, so attempting to separate either would likely cause damage.

Have you considered just laying up an inch and a half or two of rigid foam on the inside, trimming with 1 x wood and adding a new plywood skin on the inside. The outer edge of the 1 x wood would facilitate additional weather-stripping and create a baffle where you now probably just have a flush seal. You can use solid wood where the RV latch would go for extra strength.

The extra thickness would also allow you to recess the window so it would not protrude either in or out.

the exterior is aluminum sheeting. my trailer (tin-tent) is only a 5x8 v-nose so although i like the idea of insulating outide of the interior paneling i don't want to lose any interior space. the biggest reason i have to remove the inner panel is so that i can install the rv latch, i've never done one before so i want to make sure i get it right the first time.

MtnDon wrote:Why dismantle? Use a stud finder to determine where the crossmembers, etc are located. That can give you an idea of where the may be easiest to place. And I left the door hung. I needed a window cutout and one for an A/C.

I drilled a hole at each corner point, right through the door from the inside once my window position was decided. On the interior side I cut the plywood with a coedless circular saw after drawing a guide line from cornet to corner. I cut to the mark and completed the cut with an Xacto blade. Then I cut the aluminum skin with a very fine tooth metal blade in my saber saw.

I cut pieces of 1x4 to use for top, bottom and side strips for the hole. I was able to slide them inside the door through the opening. I used screws from the inside as well as an adhesive from Sika that was compatible for wood-metal and wood-wood joints. I used a couple of screws from the inside as well as clamping to hold the aluminum skin to 1x4 until the adhesive set. I did the top andbottom1x4 first, then the shorter side 1x4. This is similar to the method used to make patches in drywall walls in a home. The 1x4 gives something solid to mount the windows to.

You can use spray foam to insulate by drilling a few holes through the interior plywood. Do not use the normal spray foam. It expands too much and almost certainly distort the panels; blow them outwards. Use thef foam meant for door and window use. I used a few widely spaced holes to insert the nozzle tube as well as a few to check that the foam reached everywhere. I paneled over the rough plywood with a thin skin of nice plywood so I used 3/4" holes for ease of installation.

Sorry, no ideas on installing the latch.

the biggest reason for removing the inner panel is for installing the door latch, i haven't done one before and i'll only get one shot at cutting the hole in the outer skin so i don't want to mess it up, lol! the insulation is secondary and the window i can live without but since i'll have the door opened up i figure i may as well. thank you for your help.

You might want to build a mock up of your door in the area of the latch to practice on. They can be tricky to get a perfect installation the first try. Check the jamb side to make sure there is nothing at the place you want to install the handle that would interfere.

One issue with the latch will be the thickness of your door, the latch, and where you want to put it. Seems they're designed for 1.25" minimum door. I installed one in a 1" thick door and had to add ply to the inside to thicken the door. They do make an exterior spacer but I wanted the latch under my existing bar lock. Not wanting to take the door apart, after cutting the opening for the latch I just used an angle grinder to cut through the inside and edge of the alu trim just enough to fit the latch. While my concern was in weakening the door frame, I didn't cut the exterior side of the edge trim and I can reinforce the interior I cut through with a piece of flat stock and self drilling screws.
Depending on how your door is constructed you may not have space for much insulation and I don't think you want to pull out plywood for insulation.