Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Doors , probably the most difficult part of any trailer construction ... Really requires Careful measurements and cutting to get it (them) right ... You guys have a favorite way of making a door ??? We do need to compare notes on what works and what is easy or difficult ....
First thing I can suggest is laying out a jig on a table the Exact door opening dimensions .. I did that when I made the doors for the cabinets in my house .. worked and each door came out the same ... and remarkably even Fit...

I'm almost at that point in my build, and I'm trying to decide between external seal, internal seal, or both for the overkill factor. At least I only have one to worry about!

Paul , that’s a tough question ... on my last one I finished off the inside with wood strips which overlapped the opening by 3/4” and I was able to seal and install rubber weatherstripping for the seal ... It works pretty Good so far and was easy , even presenting a more finished appearance to the inside .. Did this all around even on the floor ... seals like an icebox ... Just like a door casing in a house only the reveal is the other way ..

Here’s a drawing of a most Basic Door with foam ... Can’t get much simpler , but it is deceptive... still requires precise measurements , cutting, and assembly ...

Anybody ever think of making the door framing out of something other than wood ??? PVC is looking mighty tempting , and paint does stick to it ... Even have thoughts of heat bent and flattened PVC plumbing pipe for more rounded door and Hatch shapes .. many possibilities then ... and it’s VERY Inexpensive ... maybe window frames too ...

I agree with GPW, door making requires precision and patience. A couple too many passes with the belt sander and you'll be starting over. For my driver side door, I cut the opening in the wall that was made and then tried to make the door from the portion that was cut out of the wall I think it would have worked fine but the belt sander takes off too much foam per pass and I made the door too small. Careless!!! I remade the door from a glue up of plywood and foam. Remember to use plywood sparingly .... my doors weigh way too much!!! My doors are heavier than the rest of the side wall!!! I recommend only using it where you need strength for the hinges and the door lock. Next time I'll take my own advice! For the curb side door, I fabbed that door when I had to rebuild the first door. It is sitting ready for me to cut the proper size opening in the wall. Planning on scribing the door outline and cutting to the inside of the line then sanding/shaping until I get the opening side I need. Slow work that way, but more room for error. I'll let you know which method I like better. Is it easier to fit the door to the opening or create the opening to fit the door.? I'll let you know when I'm done. Probably next couple of days.

Mel, sounds like a good plan !!!

i hate doors!

Eagle , everybody hates doors ... Might be best to assemble all the framing as a unit , then cut the foam for the inside ... you could use long shims to get the openings exact with each other .... and then screw on a couple plywood triangles to the top frame so it doesn’t move ...couple inside screws through the door frame/shim and casing at the bottom will work too , and those are removed before you install the foam insert .... naturally !!! after it’s all installed and Square , just unscrew the triangles and inside screws and put them on the side for later use .. like on the other door ....

GPW wrote: ... Might be best to assemble all the framing as a unit , then cut the foam for the inside ...

I'm actually planning to fit my frame parts into the foam wall blanks, removing the foam in the doorways, then glue the 5 mm ply skins on the insides, shim and glue in the door frame, back fill the door frame with foam panels, cut the door assembly out of the wall with a jig saw, then route the opening and door edges flush before canvas. The inner seal stops will cover over where the canvas wraps the inner skin ply.

At least that's how I hope it goes.

I, too, am in the process of agonizing over my doors. After himming and hawing over whether or not to laminate wood to foam, I'm just going to use plywood. 3/4 " good one side, and covering the "not good" side with canvas.

I just ordered two plastic piano hinges, polyurethane with nylon webbing at the pivot point. White to match paint.

What I plan to do is cut the doors to size, then cut out a kerf width in the edge. The kerf width will receive the canvas, and a piece of plastic t-mouding to secure the canvas to cover the edge.

Door stop moulding for the door jamb, with door seal.

I will shim the door up in the hole, secure it, then run the plastic hinge, the full length of the door. Screwed and glued.

Using Grant Whipp's windows and door locksets.

I could probably do something a bit more intensive, but time is getting tight, and I'm running out of gas

Should b a pretty clean look though.

M ark

Ohhhh...you had me going! Those doors...

...Not The Doors...

http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-c ... -Doors.jpg


hahahahah

Tom

No surprise, but I did mine in the opposite order

I built my door long before I started the body. I wanted to see if my plan for building panels would work, so a door was a great way to try it on what I could still use as a finished part if it worked out. I've since gone a different route for the wall panels, but the door 'experiment' was a complete success. When I framed the door opening, I put in the foam to the door's dimensions. The tight fit ensures I'll have to take material out in order to get it to align perfectly.

Even though it's foam, it's still easier to be able to sand a bit more out than it is to glue more back in after you've taken off too much...

If you build the working door and frame first , it’s just a simple matter of cutting the correct size opening and just gluing it in ...

This afternoon, I cut the other wall for the door that I had prefabbed. On the other side, I made the wall, cut the opening and tried to make a door from the blank and ended up screwing it all up. so all in all, my opinion is make your door first, then cut the opening to fit the door you built. I guess in part is was easier because I actually learned from my previous errors but even without that, I think it is easy to build the door then create the opening. No matter how you do it however, take your time, think about what you're about to do and execute slowly and carefully.

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