Need help fixing leaking hatch hinge

[Erik-the-red]

It doesn't rain much here in Idaho during the summer, except every time I go camping with my teardrop trailer. Aside from tearing the hatch off my teardrop and putting in a different piano hinge, does anyone have an easy fix for me? Perhaps a piece of vinyl riveted over the hinge? Putting an awning over the teardrop only helps when I'm stationary, not driving down the highway.

[Chris C]

Erik,

You didn't say, but I'm assuming you now have a piano type hinge installed, is that correct? If so, there's no way it's going to protect you from water infiltration........EVER! There are ways to cover a continuous hinge with rubber, but you'd be better off changing to some other type of hinge. Run a search on "hinge" and you'll find a lot of opinions. Personally, I'm going with a plastic hinge. No water will ever penatrate it! But there are a lot of people using huricane hinges with complete satisfaction. Check around, you have a lot of alternatives.

[doug hodder]

I had a similar problem with my 49 Kit, about 26 years ago....at the time I had no extra dough, so did a quick fix...cut up a truck innertube and installed it with 2 narrow pieces of aluminum flat stock using silicone as an adhesieve...like 3" total width, and I did trim the rubber off with a razor blade...didn't look so bad...and shot in a bunch of screws, counter sunk into the aluminum...that's the basic technique...but I'm sure you could do it a lot cleaner...anyway...it worked fine...just wasn't real pretty, but then neither was the tear.....don't know if the hinge was an original or not...it had been worked over pretty extensively when I got it....I've learned a lot since then....Doug

[emiller]

A few of us buy that non skid tape from Home Depot 4" wide and put it over the hinge. It works great.

[MarksMG]

I put a piece of inner tube under the hinge on mine and glued it down with contace cement. Glued it to the trailer only not the hinge. No leaks and have been in lots of rain. I have the same luck everytime I get ready to go camping it starts to rain.

[Erik-the-red]

A few of us buy that non skid tape from Home Depot 4" wide and put it over the hinge. It works great.

Are you using the foam-type tape or is it something different?

To answer a previous question: yes, I have a stainless steel piano hinge on the hatch now. Ironically, the place I bought the hinge from said they use it on submarines for storage bays. I hope they don't use the hinge on the outside of the sub!

[Chris C]

[emiller]

A few of us buy that non skid tape from Home Depot 4" wide and put it over the hinge. It works great.

No it's the tape for floors or steps. Ask the person in the paint supplies.

Are you using the foam-type tape or is it something different?

To answer a previous question: yes, I have a stainless steel piano hinge on the hatch now. Ironically, the place I bought the hinge from said they use it on submarines for storage bays. I hope they don't use the hinge on the outside of the sub!

[Arne]

Piece of tube UNDER the hinge sounds like a great fix.....

[Endo]

I have a stainless steel piano hinge.

I covered it with rubber roofing material held in place with some flat aluminum.

It has never leaked!

It should be a very easy fix.

[Jiminsav]

just get a hurrican hinge, you cheap #*^&%..

[swissarmygirl]

I have a stainless steel piano hinge.

I covered it with rubber roofing material held in place with some flat aluminum.

It has never leaked!

It should be a very easy fix.

That doesn't look half bad! Glad I found this!

[mikeschn]

Endo,

Where did you get the rubber for your hinge? How wide is it?

Mike...

[madjack]

Mike, I don't know about Endo but check with most any commercial roofing concern...they should have plenty of left over rubber roofing membrane scraps...should be perfect for this type of application.....
madjack

[Dean Williams]

I did similar to what others here have done. I used a piano hinge with a strip of bicycle tube cut the same width as the hinge. I put silicone caulk on both sides of the inner tube and placed it between the hinge and the teardrop.
You couldn't make it leak if you wanted to. Been in two gullywasher rain storms and nary a drop.