Door Mod and Screen Repair

AnOldUR

So, I realize that there’s head shaking at some of my mods. Well, here’s another one for you. Don't laugh too hard.

Last year I replaced the 3-way fridge in my 2020 320S with a 12V chest cooler on a pullout. To get the 3-way out required removing the screen door and the frame that it was attached to. I got the impression that the frame was backwards engineered when they found the screen door no longer fit the bulky blow molded new door and locking mechanism. While my new larger fridge cleared the door, it did not allow me to replace the frame that the screen mounted to.

A magnetic screen door worked well and got me though the summer, but I was looking for a better solution. The factory screen door was the same as earlier models except that pre-2020 it didn’t need the frame because the door was thinner, and the locking mechanism didn’t protrude into the cabin. In these installations the screen door was mounted directly to the wall (no extra framing). I considered purchasing a pre-2020 door, but not at the nearly $900 quoted from nuCamp.

The solution I chose was to modify my door to pre-2020 standards. The molded cover on the inside of the door was easier to remove than I thought. Except for a couple of holes where they mounted the fire extinguisher, the surface was in good shape even after removing the glue used to hold the cover on. I painted it with dry erase paint so that we can use it as a white board. The paint is drying, and I still need to work out the locking mechanism, but here’s where the project is at so far.

edit to add:
Posting this mod here more for amusement than anything I think someone may want to duplicate. Enjoy!

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Original door frame and screen

After fridge mod (no screen door or frame)

Molded door panel

Door painted with Dry Erase (three coats)

Mickerly

I like where the handle is next to the door. Our 2018 doesn't have one an my wife keeps asking me to install one. What are you going to do with the plastic panel?

Mellow_Yellow

I really like where you mounted the paper towel holder above the door. I'm so tired of my paper towels rolling around and taking up useful space! How did you secure it to the wall? Are there studs in that location?

VictoriaP

Mellow_Yellow said:

I really like where you mounted the paper towel holder above the door. I'm so tired of my paper towels rolling around and taking up useful space! How did you secure it to the wall? Are there studs in that location?

There are no studs in the side walls of a Tab. Some people drill into them anyway for lightweight items and use an adhesive in addition to the screws. Others use heavy duty adhesive velcro to put up lightweight items. Not sure how AnOldUr mounted theirs. I found an over the door paper towel hanger that fits fairly snugly over the window valance for mine, which puts it just to the right of the entry door and didn’t require anything permanent attached to the Tab.

AnOldUR

@Mickerly, if I knew someone who needed the plastic panel, I'd consider getting rid of it, but I'll need something to trim the window. As much as I hate to cut it up, using the port hole area seems like the easiest thing to do. @Mellow_Yellow, I went the screws in wall approach to mounting the paper towel rack. As @VictoriaP said, there's was no stud there, so I used plastic anchors and glue to strengthen the installation. It's been there for one season and shows no signs of coming lose.

I'm hoping to get the chance to work on mounting the lock set today. It would be nice to know exactly what's under the panels. There's wood visible in that area, but I can't be sure how far it goes or how it's attached to the door frame. For good or bad, I'll find out soon.

AnOldUR

Today I cut the porthole out of the old door panel and fit it to the new door for trim around the window. I ordered a Round CloZures from Zarcor like the rotating shade in the bath. If anyone is interested, they can have the shade that came out of the old panel (second picture below).

Denny16

Nice door mod my friend, came out nice.
cheers

AnOldUR

I like your confidence @Denny16, but I still have to figure out a way to latch it. Getting nervous about mounting something on the thin door and door frame. Not sure what it is in my head that makes me have to change perfectly good stuff. One more beer and maybe I’ll figure that out. Have a good night.

Edit to say, I should limit my posting to daylight hours.

AnOldUR

I suppose there are professionals that could have whipped through a project like this, but it was a real stretch of my skills. We'll just ignore the question of why do it in the first place. The most challenging part was fitting the lock set into the thin door. Still have to put the latch opening in the trailer door frame, but the bulk of the work is done.

Enlarged opening to fit new lock set

Spent many hours sizing the rectangular hole

Lots of work with a Dremel and hand file

But finally got it to fit

Made plates to cover the old opening

Back on its hinges

[Deleted User]

Nice job...and this was all done to accommodate your new fridge? 

AnOldUR

@TabbyShack, that was the motivation, but didn't make it a necessity. The fridge pulled out fine with the original door, I just couldn't reinstall the sliding screen. The magnetic screen we used in place of it actually worked well and the fridge pulled out fine with it in place. Hands free entry/exit was nice and our dog could go in and out freely. It just looked too ghetto for me.

Truth is I never liked the old door. Gave me the feel of cheap plastic junk. Just not fitting of the rest of the nuCamp build. The garbage bin was a joke and the frame that spaced out the screen door looked like they backed themselves into a hole with the oversized door and had to come up with a fix. (Kind of like what I did installing the bigger fridge.   )

Bottom line is that I'm retired and have found our T@B to not only be a way to travel and camp, but it's also a great source of entertainment even when parked in the garage.

[Deleted User]

I'm not a fan of the interior appearance of the door either and the trash can isnt really functional. Nice thought but.....  I wish the door sounded sturdy when it closes and looks more quailty and as you said is fitting with the rest of the quality build. Maybe it's a weight saving reason.

I also like and agree with the entertainment aspect of doing various mods. 

AnOldUR

Well, now I have another project. Got the sliding screen installed, but managed to pinch the string when tightening the bottom plate. Restringing looks to be a PITA. This is not the kind of thing that I look forward to. 

AnOldUR

Probably should post this somewhere else also. I've see several threads about repairing a broken string on the screen door. Most of these involve a situation like mine where the string break at the bottom of the door where the string can contact the screws that hold the base plate in place. There are post that reference a PDF file for completely restringing the door. It's not a task to be taken lightly. At least not for me, so I looked for an alternative. When removing the screen from the slot in the frame, I noticed that the string was taped in place, meaning that it did not move at this location. That led me to believe that if the string was cut at this location it would allow the string to be pulled through giving the extra length needed to reconnect where it was broken. Amazingly it worked! We cut the string at one end leaving enough to tie it off, then pulled the string through and tied of the other end. There was an unexpected problem where the strings were crimped inside the frame, but we were able to remove the crimp and reposition it further up the string. The screen is back with much care taken when screwing down the foot plate.

The white tape that held the string in place is removed in the bottom section

Hit the knot with a dab of Crazy Glue to be sure it wouldn't come undone

AnOldUR

Few cosmetic thing I may clean up, but glad to have this behind me.

Denny16

Now AnOldUR you have a classic TaB door to go with your classic Jeep.
Nice job my friend, stay safe.
 Cheers 

Horigan

TabbyShack said:

...and the trash can isn't really functional...

One trick is to use some strong magnets to hold the trash bags in place, two on the inside near the top and two on the outside.

AnOldUR

So, I found a place for the T@B emblem that was on the inside of the door panel that I removed. Think nuCamp will give me promotional money for replacing the Tractor Supply signage on my tongue box?