Anyone Have A Recommened Compartment Door Mod?

AldebaranJill

I want to add a compartment access door under the passenger side far back bench area (the area that's under the part of the seating that you lean against, not sit on). I bought JR Part No ZE102-A  Multi Purpose Access Hatch, but after receiving it and chatting with Dale, I don't think it's up to our standards, and I'd like to get something better that's truly sealed, perhaps a marine door.

Has anyone done this modification and can recommend a specific door? 

Does anyone know what door the factory puts on?

Nomad

Someone has, I remember seeing pics - MousekeT@B?

AldebaranJill

I found 3 users who had them installed when they purchased or after purchase by shop, but so far do not have info on someone who has installed one themselves. Searching... 

Dalehelman

PXLated said:

Someone has, I remember seeing pics - MousekeT@B?

I think MousekeT@B bought the same door that Jill bought. I saw the pictures.

AldebaranJill

@Bgkirk posted a photo of the door I would like to investigate. (In his 2014 post he said it was factory installed)

Tabaz

cbarnhill had one installed locally and loves it.  Search "Noticed this Access Storage Door".

AldebaranJill

Yup, have been messaging her. She had it installed aftermarket at shop in AZ, and thinks it was marine grade, but does not have details that would enable me to purchase separately.

cbarnhill

Jill. I looked but there's no company name on the door. Sorry. 

AldebaranJill

Thank you for looking @cbarnhill

Tabaz

Google "RV locking access hatch" lots of styles to see under Images.

AldebaranJill

I've been doing that for two weeks, "hatches" seem to be cheapy plastic covers. Unless they are marine hatches, then they usually are see-through. "Compartment door" yields what I'm looking for, and many places make custom (super pricey) and Dale even found some for me on eBay which looked nice, but before I tried eBay, wanted to call Elsie. Have also posted on FB to see if anyone can get a photo of the inside of the door, where there's a label with some info that may be useful. I will wait till tommorrow and see what the factory could possibly get for me. This mod may not be possible for me because the space I want to access is behind the space that the factory appears to be installing the compartment door in. Once I get cutout dimensions from the one the factory installs, I'll know for sure.

Geo

AldebaranJill,
I installed baggage doors some years ago (I may have been the inspiration for Pleasant Valley to add them, '13 Rolling Home Rally).
I may have ordered them from RV Surplus, at the time they offered a custom sized option. I ordered a 16"x 9" rounded corner door as that's the largest size I felt I could fit under the bench seat area.
I don't think you have enough room under the sofa back area and that it maybe would have to be a triangular shaped door.

AldebaranJill

@Geo Was it this place? http://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/products.php?product_id=2889

You may be correct about triangular shape, although today I made a scale drawing and believe I could possibly fit 12x6 or 10x7 or 8x8, etc. Assuming what is on outside surface is outside this region.

Geo

Yes, I believe that is where I ordered them from.  Its been several years ago.
 
The dimensions of the door like my 16" x 9" are inside measurements, the opening as it were.  The cut out opening in the side wall will be larger and have to allow for the trim or frame being larger.  The outside measurements are 17 1/2 " x 11 1/2" for my doors.

Another option you might explore is to do the double hinge sofa back mod., it allows easy access to that area without straining to reach over the back of the sofa.

AldebaranJill

Geo said:

Another option you might explore is to do the double hinge sofa back mod., it allows easy access to that area without straining to reach over the back of the sofa.

I read that post, its the one with the PDF instructions? It looked so complicated 

But if I can't find an appropriate door, I will have to get access somehow. Yesterday I started adding plywood to the center left area to make it more storage-friendly, and added two lid hinges to help keep it propped up as I was working. I was literally able to crawl inside and pull the seat over and closed, but my lower back is sore today from the effort.

But your point is well made, if I cannot find a door and getting a custom made one is cost prohibitive, I may be forced to access via seats. I need to use this space because I have a sedan with limited trunk space and no front tongue storage. This under seat storage (just one side) is all I need to store all the set uo gear I have.

Appreciate your help and thoughts and dimensions!

TabberJohn

AldebaranJill said:

I read that post [double hinge sofa], its the one with the PDF instructions? It looked so complicated   

Is there a PDF available on this forum?

AldebaranJill

TabberJohn said:

AldebaranJill said:

I read that post [double hinge sofa], its the one with the PDF instructions? It looked so complicated   

Is there a PDF available on this forum?

Look on this thread: http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/44518/#Comment_44518
It's posted by user Mash2
I'm curious to know what you think.

Dalehelman

I have done the double hinge mod. It isn't hard but it is a bit involved.

TabberJohn

AldebaranJill said:

Look on this thread: http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/44518/#Comment_44518
It's posted by user Mash2
I'm curious to know what you think.

Nice instructions but I'd be more inclined to perform this mod if there was a kit from the factory versus something you have to construct on your own.
It also is unclear if the mod works for all T@Bs with reclining sofa back. Has the hinge hardware stayed the same over the years?

Spruce1

Tabberjohn: I tried the mod you linked too on our 2014 Max.  You pose a good question regarding the hinges. The hinges on ours are different than in Richard Lewis' video so as its shown it didn't work on ours. In the video the hinges are mounted to the outside of the frame whereas on our 2014 the hinges are set in the wood so that they are flush.  Kinda hard to explain but I wasn't able to make it work.

Dalehelman

Spruce1 said:

Tabberjohn: I tried the mod you linked too on our 2014 Max.  You pose a good question regarding the hinges. The hinges on ours are different than in Richard Lewis' video so as its shown it didn't work on ours. In the video the hinges are mounted to the outside of the frame whereas on our 2014 the hinges are set in the wood so that they are flush.  Kinda hard to explain but I wasn't able to make it work.

I was able to make it work on our 2015. You are correct it require extra work to  recess the hinges. I had to remove staples pull back the fabric and foam. Then trim the wood backing. I would rate it about a 7 out 10 on the difficulty scale.

Spruce1

Dalehelman: Do you by chance have any pics?  i'd like to give it another shot next summer and it would be helpful to have some guidance from someone who's done it successfully. 
Thanks.

Dalehelman

Spruce1:  Sorry I do not have pictures. We have since replaced all of the interior with up graded foam and new fabric. As yet I have not elected to do the hinge conversion. 

ChanW

AldebaranJill, I found that the compartment door which has been pictured/discussed in past posts here, had the manufacturer name "Challenger" on it.

I liked the look and the quality level (from the photo), and it might be the same one that Geo is illustrating, above. Not sure at this point.

I contacted the manufacturer to see about various sizes/options that they might have. They were very responsive, and they indicated that they would sell directly to me, but I declined for now. The price was good ($40), but the shipping was a bit steep ($30 from Nappanee IN).

Here's the contact info (June 2015):

Challenger Door

1205 E. Lincoln St.

Nappanee IN 46550

Ryan Boester

Inside Sales Rep (summer Intern)

Challenger Door

Email: rboester@challengerdoor.com

Jason Helmuth

Inside Sales Rep

Challenger Door

Phone: (574) 773-8115

Fax: (574) 773-0474

Email: jrhelmuth@challengerdoor.com

Pics of (someone's - forgot whose!) installation of the Challenger door below:

AldebaranJill

@ChanW Thank you so much! I will call them today to see about getting a custom size, as 11 x 16 will not fit in the far rear space, but maybe they can make one. There is significant room back there! 

ChanW

Yeah, I tried to figure a better size, but finally concluded that the 16x9 was the one that would fit (right behind the wheel-well). 
The under-bed storage space in the very back is separated by framing from the wheel-well area, and the door would end up being a small triangle. Unless, of course, you went above the framing that the couch-back rests on. I didn't even consider that. It might look kind of weird though, up there next to the window/trim. Dunno. 

AldebaranJill said:

@ChanW Thank you so much! I will call them today to see about getting a custom size, as 11 x 16 will not fit in the far rear space, but maybe they can make one. There is significant room back there! 

TabberJohn

That Challenger Door model looks to be the same one as in the wet bath for water pump access. Only difference appears to be it locks with a key.
A tiny rare earth magnet super-glued above it would hold it open instead of the awkward plastic clip. Which brings me to next point -- doesn't someone make a hatch that stays open on its own when lifted up? Or would a door that opens to the side work best?

ericnliz

Just wondering if the "spring" would work? The ones folks have used on the cabinet doors.

AldebaranJill

@ChanW - I spoke to Jason (super nice fellow) and he said the minimum length on a side for rounded corners was 10", and for straight corners, was 6". And I'd need about 2" more space for the exterior flange. The trick will be knowing exactly what's on the exterior to see how much space I have for the flange. He was very helpful in walking me through the details of their capacity and I think the prices would be reasonable for a custom door. The trick would be figuring out what size is the max possible. It's hard to know where on the outside surface the wood beams are, might try stud finder...

Dalehelman

If it is warm inside the trailer and the outside air is very cold and damp. Many times you can see the frame work inside the walls as  moisture condenses on the outside surface.

ChanW

Jill, I cheated by drilling through the wall from the inside, to install an outdoor 12v plug. Then I could figure out the measurements to outside trim edges etc.