The door on our travel trailer needs repair. Water apparently leaked into the inside of the door through a poorly sealed window and has caused the wooden framework to rot. I'm not sure how extensive the damage is but the bottom frame rail is definitely gone.
I intend to remove the metal outer edging and inspect the frame, cut away any rotten wood and replace as needed, then put it all back together and reseal the window.
I would appreciate any other suggestions, especially from anyone who has had a similar problem.
Well I had a trlr years ago and cause the kids constantly slamming the door, wore it out. I took it all apart and replaced the wood framing with steel square tubing, believe it was 2 by 2 and 1/8 wall. The door was indestructible after that. I felt better about leaving the trlr for the winter months in storage as in the spring there usually was a trlr that had the door pried open and vandalized or items stolen. They broke a window instead.
Buddy of mine bought a good used door from an dealer, for something like 70 bucks.
There is a method to the madness, disturb the method and the madness begins.
I have repaired 3 different doors, all with the same problem as yours. The doors had foam cores, wood frames and alum edge. The skins were some kind of textured plastic.
Prep-
Remove the door from the trailer and sit it on a pair of saw horses. Remove the edging, clean and check for straightness. If the wood is loose, remove and clean. The skin is probably contact cemented to the foam. I would NOT remove the skin.
Gather some bar clamps, heavy masking tape and 1 hour epoxy glue. If you don't use epoxy, make sure the glue you have doesn't dissolve foam.
Make a replacement for the bottom frame piece. Don't make it oversize, or the edging won't fit!
Reassembly-
If the skins are loose, work some epoxy in as far as you can (tongue depressor/paint stick). Glue, clamp and tape the latch and hinge side frame pieces back in place. Make sure the door stays flat! Once the side pieces are in place you can add the top and bottom frames. On my doors the frames were even with the skins. Make sure the skins are not sticking up, or the alum edge will be hard to re-attach. Check again for flatness and then let the epoxy cure.
Once the epoxy is hard, clean up any drips, then you can screw the alum. edge back on. If the old holes won't hold the screws, try the next size larger screw or drill new holes.
Re hang the door and if all went well, the door will work like new!
Disclaimer! This has worked for me and there must be other fixes. Using epoxy means if it goes together wrong, it will be difficult to redo. Your milage may vary!
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