Let’s talk about Doors ....

[GPW]

Norm , what you suggest seems to be the Best way !!! .. much as we’d do in our homes ... get the door , cut the hole , foam it in ... Done !!!

[linuxmanxxx]

Or just go buy and hang the little guy style doors and end of the headaches. I built different doors for prototype and storage on my 2nd and its just too hard to make one look good and be water tight and seriously time consuming so I went the easy route and bought them.

[atahoekid]

Now you're scaring me. I've worked hard at my doors to make them watertight. I hope this isn't all an exercise in futility....

[linuxmanxxx]

Thats my point. It's a lot of work and imho not worth time/money ratio. If your a dime squeezing do it yourself kind of guy, knock yourself out.

[KCStudly]

No, really Linux. Tell us what you really think about us.

I have been very clear that I am not pinching pennies, and maybe I have no ground to stand on, having not started my doors yet, but there are many many people that have gone before us and have done just fine building their own doors, so what is it that you did wrong?

I don't mean to start a feud, but your highly opinionated tone has my hackles up. There's room here for everyone's opinions and build methods.

[linuxmanxxx]

Exactly and I was stating my opinion. I can make waterproof doors, but the time it takes isn't in my worth it category. Why I ended with do what you want to do. I'm doing this as a career not a hobby and my views differ greatly from the majority on here.

[KCStudly]

That makes sense. Your trying to slam them together as quickly as possible and passing the cost of the materials along to your customers, so prefab doors make sense.

Cost vs. labor, I get it.

Thanks for explaining.

GPW's commercial builders rant is ringing in my head. Slam bam thank you ma'am.

I may be singing a different tune after I build mine and either don't make my deadline, or, heaven forbid they leak.

You have the first right of, "I told you so".

I'm stubborn and will have to learn for myself.

[linuxmanxxx]

I still have the desire to pass on a product that will last 20 plus yrs with minimal maint and still be inexpensive to purchase. My goal is light and strong as an ox and have done just that for the most part. Feel free to pm me for any tips on what I've learned to help you hit your deadline. I have built 3 in less than a yr and have lessons learned on each to pass into my next one.

[GPW]

Gentlemen , we have two schools ... make your own , buy your own ... I respect both ideas ... Both offer different advantages ... No one is right , no one is wrong ... We’re Foamlings ,oddities to the rest , each with our path to follow ... Let’s do it peacefully ... or our paths may be gated ...

[KCStudly]

My apologies to Linux and anyone else that I may have offended. My judgment was a bit impaired last evening and I'm sure I over read his intent.

In the future I will avoid and typing at the same time.

[bonnie]

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.
Norm/mezmo

I like this idea. Now, how to do it in the round. Looks like the backend of the trailer is going to offset a battery box on the tongue, all by itself.

I'm off to do some scribbling on graph paper. ...

[ghcoe]

Here is a idea that I was thinking of.

Cut the door frame work from masonite. Glue the masonite to the foam. You could then use masonite for the hinge plates and door lock on the body as well.

Black=masonite, Pink=foam.

[Wobbly Wheels]

I see where you're going but I would be concerned about flexing the masonite every time you close the door to get the gasket to make a good seal. Over time, I could see that splitting along the line where the masonite meets the foam.
JMHO though.
Perhaps something secured to the perimeter of the foam (aluminum angle ?) and the masonite could carry over top of that so you it would look the same from the outside but you could put some decent preload into the weatherstrip/gasket for a good seal.

[GPW]

As we’ve learned here , there are so many ways to build a door , but the basic idea is to have a secure /solid mounting for the hinges and clasp , and a method to seal it tight ... That covers a lot of territory ...
If you have what you think is a good idea , why not try it out ... if it works , then Super , if not , we need to know why... just adding to our total information base , which BTW has already grown quite Large ...

Ps . I could see using Masonite for the interior facing on the door frame not only as a Trim feature, but a place to attach the gasket..

[ghcoe]

Ps . I could see using Masonite for the interior facing on the door frame not only as a Trim feature, but a place to attach the gasket..

Yes, I have thought of it that way too. Might be better because it would protect the masonite from weather extreems.
Left is view cross section from front. Right is cross section from top.