See here. This is our older TT, have not made it to the new one yet. I cut the rounded area with a fine tooth blade in a saber saw. use protective something on top of the plastic sheet so you will not scratch.
Here are pics of mine. And a sliding door panel handle and knob I added. The inside handle is a nice benefit. I was able to move the sliding panel with the handle to the new camper .
The bottom panel
The mid panel
The top panel
The door knobs. Outside
Inside
And now the best part, Can reach out and grab the door, give it a tug and it swings closed if it is clipped to the big door. Or you release the screen and just close it this way too. The while panel slides towards you, then the entire door swing shut.
Or just the screen
Thanks
John
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we where camping!)
I used the (mirror) clips so I could easily remove panels for ventilation. I was storing the panels behind the sleeper/sofa until we broke one when converting it to a bed. Now I've mounted a couple small brackets to the wall just inside the door to store the panels when not in use.
I added Lexan panels to my door over the weekend using the mirror clips. I have a question for those of you who used this method: do you leave the panels in while traveling or do you remove? I had to use short screws to keep from going all the way through the door frame and don't know if they'll handle the weight of the panels while bouncing down the road.
I used masking tape on both side before I cut. I used a thin metal jigsaw blade and cut slow. I used storm door clips to hold the lexan on the door. I put mine on the outside to keep my dog from putting her nose on the lexan.
My last TT had a lexan door. The current one does not.
The last one was installed with rivets. I couldn't take it off to clean it and did NOT like that. I will have a new one built but will use velcro or clips so it can be removed for cleaning.
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
Happy Camping,
Michelle
Just as a "science project" I did mine using the heat shrinkable clear plastic window film from WallMart. I installed it on the outside, over the screens and held by the screen retainer. The lower and center panels were painted with white Krylon for plastics. That was two years ago and it has held up beautifully, letting in daylight but keeping the heat and/or air conditioning inside very well.
As to mounting outside vs inside, there's pros/cons to either approach, either will work. We chose an outside mount, so that the slider piece was not in the way, and we could just have two pieces of plexiglas cover all of the door. That, and we have a metal grate piece on bottom of storm door on inside, that made an inside mount just about impossible.
Stores will not cut the round corners, that part you will have to do. I would definitely have them do all the other long, straight cuts, though. The less you have to cut that stuff yourself, the better. Still, its not hard to cut plexiglas, you just have to be cautious. Jigsaw works OK, just make sure you use it on a slow speed. And, do NOT remove the plastic cover/film from the glass until you are completely done cutting it, that plastic protects it from chipping, etc. when cutting. If you try cutting it or filing it after removing the plastic, you will ruin a piece of plexiglas very quickly (don't ask how I know this, haha). May not be a bad idea to put masking tape across any place where you will cut as well, as a previous poster mentioned.
You definitely want to use clips, not velcro. I read on here of several people that used velcro and later wished they hadn't, 'cause with age it would peel off. For that reason I went with clips, they have worked great.
Someone asked about leaving the plexiglas in when traveling. Yep, we do that a lot, never have had a problem. The clips hold the glass in real well, you can leave it in when travelling. I've not heard of anyone ever breaking one doing that, put it that way.
Also, have in mind a place where you will store the glass (safely) when not in use, where it won't get broken. There are some times you will not want the glass in place, when the weather is nice outside and you want the fresh air. We store ours between the wall and the sofa when not in use.
Lexan is definitely better and will last longer, but it comes at a premium. I used regular Plexiglas 3/32" thickness, it worked great.
Also - We mounted plexiglas around the back walls around the stove as well, to protect the wallpaper back there from heat, back-splashes, etc. Thats worked good, too. Plan your use of the plexiglas carefully from the storm door mod, you might will be able to use some of your excess pieces to do the back of the stove as well.
Will & Angela
2 children that love camping, Stephen & Allison
2003 Ford Excursion V10 4x4 ("No Taxpayers were harmed by the makers of this truck")
2003 Thor Citation 33M, Hensley Arrow hitch, Brakesmart Brake Control Our Rig
Thanks everyone, for your valuable input. DH and a friend cut our Lexan "storm" door, and DH installed in a few days ago. He used little screws to attach it -- I guess we'll see if that was a good idea or not -- when it's time to take it apart and clean it, but at any rate, I'm very excited to have this mod, and can't wait till we take TT out on vacation in a couple of weeks. We plan on going on another 5-6 week vacation, traveling from West Texas to Memphis/Nashville, Washington D.C., Gettysburg, CT, Niagara Falls, and St. Louis.
Folks, just a couple of quick questions:
1) are you purchasing true 'lexan' at a big box (Home Depot or Lowes)?
2) what is the thickness of the material?
3) can I purchase tinted lexan, or is the product most readily available as clear, only?
Apologies, I guess that was three questions.
* This post was
edited 06/24/09 10:22pm by jkhnc *
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