Draught from rear door

[barry5933]

Van is a 2001 Duo HyLo. We have gradually been eliminating cold spots and draughts which we first noticed on our November foray into the frozen South (of England). One intake of the icy blast had however eluded our search,

We have now found out that the expanding rubber seal does not make contact with the rear door all round.

There is a length of about a foot on the bottom of the lock side where daylight is visible between the rubber and the door. The rubber is in excellent condition, still very flexible and fitted properly to the van body. I suspect that this has always been draughty, but not noticed in the summer temperatures.

The question is, what to do about it. Since this is on the lock side of the door and the remainder of the seal makes contact, I presume this is a manufacturing "tolerance" of different components "almost" fitting and there is no adjustment possible.

Has anyone else noticed this, if so, what is the solution. I don't particularly like the idea of "stick on" foam draught stripping, it seems amateurish and would spoil the clean look of the Romahome.

Any thoughts anyone?

Many thanks

[lunnie]

place a curtain over the door at night. You can fix hooks either side and hook a curtain up or place curtain on a rod/wire/ when not in use the hooks will hold bag for rubbish or other items,

[Derek]

As it is the lock side, could it be the adjustment of the latch plate? I can't see daylight on our Hylo when the door is on the second click. When the latch plate is correctly adjusted things are very tight and the door can be difficult to release. I think the temptation can be to have things a little more slack so the door is easier to open. The later Duo's have a different door catch, I suspect for this reason.

[ant]

Hi Barry.
You should be able to set the door striker plate to cure your problem. Daft as it may sound, if the door has been over adjusted in the past you may need to move the striker nearer to the door to allow the 2nd catch position to engage. Normally, if the 2nd catch seems to catch ok you can move the plate into the van a few mm and the job will be done.
Ant

[barry5933]

Thanks for that chaps.

Both catch positions work at present, so it has not been over adjusted to only engage on 1st catch.

When closing the door, quite a firm slam is needed and the inside door release needs a strongish wrist to turn when opening.

I suspect that the top half of the door is shutting tightly while the bottom half stays open

Is there any adjustment on the hinges, whereby the bottom of the door can be brought in leaving the top in its present alignment?

Can't do anything until the weekend, when I will look again in daylight.

[wheelmon]

When we got our 1999 Duo (see avatar) a few months ago the rear door was a really poor fit when closed, and on observation I found that the striker plate and the catches were both badly worn (possibly due to lack of lubrication?). This meant that it was impossible to achieve a perfect adjustment.

I removed the striker plate and reshaped the cut-outs using a hammer and punch, spreading the metal where it had worn and filing to what I thought would have been the original shape.

I found that I could turn the catch pins round using a Mole-grip so that the worn part was round the other side.

The problem was solved up to a point but I fear it may be a temporary measure as the striker metal is now thinner and will probably wear away quickly. Also the striker pins may gradually turn back with usage.

I got the impression that the metal used in manufacture was too soft for requirements and had worn away too easily.

I haven't thought what the next step will be when it wears again - I think it might be a bit pricey to replace both parts, that is if they were available. I wondered if anyone else had gone down that road? I haven't made enquiries with Romahome themselves yet as the door is closing nicely at the moment (or should I say 'for the time being'!!!?!).
Keith

[barry5933]

OK - I have had a look at this striker plate thingy and it seems to be retained by three fixings.

At the top, two allen headed bolts, just about reachable through the slots in the face, and in the middle by a large hex headed bolt on a washer, totally inaccessibe to either spanner or socket.

There must be a way of getting to them, but how?

Do all three need to be slackened for adjustment?

Am I missing something obvious?






Help .....

(sorry about the HUGE pictures, 'pooters are as much a mystery to me as door striker plates are

[wheelmon]

Hi barry5933
You need to lift out the cooker unit in order to get at the locking nuts behind. I seem to remember that there wasn't much adjustment left in the slots and I had to file the slots a bit longer. The adjustment is a bit hit and miss until you get it right; I think the plate pivots on the hexagon bolt . . . I think..
From your pics it looks as though you have a bit of wear like I did (just where there's a bit of discolouration on the 'hook'-shaped cut-out. Mine was a lot worse than that though.
Good luck
Keith

[barry5933]

Take the cooker out !!!

This is getting technical.

A curtain sounds a lot easier.

Or perhaps wedge a tea towel into the gap ...

[wheelmon]

As I sat down to reply to your post, barry5933, I became fired with enthusiasm to have another go at ours!
This I did but to no avail - I seem to have already achieved the optimum given the wear & tear of the striker plate and the mechanism on the door.
The plate pivots on the lower of the two top bolts (both of which the locking nuts can be accessed by taking off the cream-coloured plastic cover over the plate).
However the nut on the hexagon bolt is only accessable with the hob lifted up.
I found it easy enough removing the four screws that hold the hob in place and carefully lifting it out but ours is the Duo and I don't know whether yours would be any different...

There's still a gap at the bottom of the door which I could eliminate by adjusting the striker plate, but I would then have to slam the door to shut it properly! Not so good for other campers and even worse for us - not to mention the extra wear & tear on the lock itself.

It might be worth having a go - ours is a lot better now than when we bought it!

Keith

[barry5933]

The plate pivots on the lower of the two top bolts (both of which the locking nuts can be accessed by taking off the cream-coloured plastic cover over the plate).
However the nut on the hexagon bolt is only accessable with the hob lifted up.

Are you saying that the cream coloured cover comes off without removing the cooker? I could not see how.

If the plate pivots round the lower mushroom headed bolt and is retained by the upper one, what does the hex headed bolt do?

I expect it will all become clear if I ever get the chance to investigate further (i.e. if the rain ever stops during the hours of daylight at a weekend)

[barry5933]

The plate pivots on the lower of the two top bolts (both of which the locking nuts can be accessed by taking off the cream-coloured plastic cover over the plate).
However the nut on the hexagon bolt is only accessable with the hob lifted up.

Are you saying that the cream coloured cover comes off without removing the cooker? I could not see how.

If the plate pivots round the lower mushroom headed bolt and is retained by the upper one, what does the hex headed bolt do?

I expect it will allbecome clear if I ever get the chance to investigate further (i.e. if the rain ever stops during the hours of daylight at a weekend)

[barry5933]

Graham/Pauline I think your forum's BROKEN

It keeps on doing this to me!

Press the post button and error message comes up telling me it can't send the message and to try again - so I do - and there it is TWICE - GRRRRRRRR

Rant over, I feel better now

[Graham]

Nah, must be your computer mate, no one else does it. ;D

I'll get "the boss" to investigate if ever she finds enough time, she's very busy with other website duties at the moment.

Graham

[barry5933]

Nah, must be your computer mate, no one else does it.

Most likely it's operator error

I'll get "the boss" to investigate if ever she finds enough time,

'Sprobably me that needs investigating, not that I am suggesting that she ... and definitely not that she ...

[Graham]

I reckon you are just trying to up your post count and get more wheels on your wagon by posting everything twice. ;D

Graham

[wheelmon]

Hi barry5933

By the cream plastic cover I mean the thing that covers the striker plate (ie the nearest bit of plastic to the camera in your picture). It unclips top & bottom and the two tapered bits are a tight fit into round holes in the striker plate (you can see the top one clearly in your first pic).
A screwdriver (or similar) can be used to push (lever) them out (carefully!). I found that the best way is to unclip the top end with your left hand whilst levering out the top tapered post just a little bit (screwdriver in right hand), then same at the bottom. At this stage the clips are now freed and you can edge out the tapered post a bit at a time.
Once that's out the way you will see that the mushroom-headed bolts are fixed through a 'flimsey' metal bracket and the hex bolt is needed to anchor the striker plate for when it gets struck!!
I hope that makes sense...

Keith

ps sorry for the delay in replying - the pc went on the blink - ok now (I hope)

[barry5933]

Thanks Keith, I will have a further look in daylight.

[barry5933]

Well, that was not what I was expecting to find.

After removing the cover (thanks Keith for the tip), I find the box section striker plate bolted to a bit of apparently second hand scrap metal angle section.

The angle section, which itself has various redundant holes drilled and tapped into it, is fixed to the Romahome body by two bolts set at an angle, .

i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee150/barry5933/Romahome/DSCN4761.jpg

The top bolt of the striker is set in a slotted hole, obviously for adjustment, whilst the bolt immediately below (see picture in previous post) is firmly held in a tapped hole in the angle, precluding any adjustment!

I removed that bolt, slackened the top one and the whole striker pivotted round the big hex head bolt (which I had not needed to touch).

Interestingly, there is a slotted hole in the bottom end of the striker, which not only has no fixing in it, but also had no-where for it to fix to!

See how much I then moved the top of the plate in -

i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee150/barry5933/Romahome/DSCN4758.jpg

- before starting, the plate was at its extreme position towards the door.

After pivotting the plate by this much, the door now almost touches the rubber seal all round.

Unfortunately by pivotting the top in, the bottom has pivotted out, making it very difficult to refit the cover, which is now too tight against the trim around the door frame. Eventually I got it back on.

Obviously, I could not replace the lower mushroom headed bolt, since the threaded hole in the mounting angle was now half obscured by the (moved) striker plate.

It seems to work so far, but I really am disappointed by the "engineering" that I found. Either some-one has already had a go at modifying this or Romahomes are built according to the principles of Heath Robinson (showing my age again).

Of course, it is more than possible that I have done the whole thing wrong.

Any comments?

[Derek]

barry5933 said:

I find the box section striker plate bolted to a bit of apparently second hand scrap metal angle section.

Naw, its hand crafted mate, you're just spoilt by all this stuff boshed out by machines ;D

I know this doesn't really help but our 2004 model has two allen headed bolts, one top and one bottom. There is no hex nut.

I have not adjusted it but I think it would be easier than yours.

Looks like they have a policy of continuing improvement

I would not be very happy with rotating the plate to adjust it, both the top and bottom should move in and out together. It may be necessary to file a hole so that it is elongated

Perhaps a tea towel would have been easier ;D

[ant]

Hi Barry.
There is another cheats method. you can move the whole stiker plate back into the van by putting a packer plate infront of your bit of second hand bit of scrap angle iron, having removed the two screws that are hiding behind the rubber seal. By doing this you give yourself a much larger scope for adjustment.
Ant

[wheelmon]

On the subject of 'pivotting' & 'rotating', Barry, I think you might find that beneath the large washer under the hex bolt head there is a slot rather than a round hole. Again the only access to the nut on the other end of the bolt is through the hob cut-out (as far as I know).
It seems that yours, Derek's & mine are all slightly different. My piece of angle metal looks like aluminium and whilst it seems a bit flimsy for the job it does look properly made.
What I couldn't understand was that the top hole (allen bolt) in the striker plate had a slot; the next hole down (allen bolt) had a round hole (therefore no adjustment - hence the pivotting); and the 'lowest' hole (I avoided the word 'bottom') had a slot (ie the hex bolt).
So what I did was to remove the middle one permenantly, leaving the two slotted ones thus allowing parallel adjustment.
If that last bit contradicts what I said in earlier posts it's because I forgot I'd removed one of the screws until I had another look!!).
I can only think that the middle hole was drilled after the striker plate had been finally adjusted in the factory, to prevent any movement in the future (- I'd better check the tightness of the bolts from time to time!!!).
On looking again at your pics, you don't appear to have that middle bolt anyway, so that should simplify things - just the question of the hob... . . .mmm.. . . . you'll still need to reach the hidden nut to do Ant's suggestion.
The big question is: are you going to gain much in the end?? - I found that the main problem was the wear & tear on the striker plate. I went to a lot of trouble (re-shaping etc) for small reward. Eventually I may try to aquire a new striker plate or perhaps I could 'upgrade' - is that possible, Ant?

Cheers for now.

Keith

[ant]

Keith.
The latest door lock striker plate is not the same as yours, for some reason they have put the retaining slot where the guide slot was and visa versa, there is quite alot of fiddling to change from old style to new although it is possible.
Ant

[wheelmon]

Thanks for your advice, Ant.

In view of what you say I will leave things as they are for now.

Perhaps I will see one of the later ones at a meet and see whether it would be worth the trouble. The alternative would be to buy a complete new door lock and striker plate of the same kind - both are badly worn on existing one.

Thanks again

Keith

[ant]

Keith.
If you find a plentiful supply of the old type please let me know, I've found it quite difficult to replace like with like and have ended up either repairing or changing the whole lock and plate for the new type.
Ant

[barry5933]

What I couldn't understand was that the top hole (allen bolt) in the striker plate had a slot; the next hole down (allen bolt) had a round hole (therefore no adjustment - hence the pivotting); and the 'lowest' hole (I avoided the word 'bottom') had a slot (ie the hex bolt).

No, it's even more confusing than that, hence my thought that "some-one" might already have modified the original installation.

The box section striker (refer at this point to the initial photographs) was fixed by three bolts. From the top -

1 - a mushroom allen headed bolt in a slotted hole in the striker bolted into a tapped hole in the backing plate. This provides facility for adjustment and has a self locking nut on the back for added security.

2 - a mushroom allen headed bolt in a plain hole in the striker bolted into a tapped hole in the backing plate. This prevents any adjustment!

3 - a hex headed bolt with a large washer in a plain hole in the middle of the striker bolted to (apparently) the cooker housing. I have not removed the cooker to investigate the nut or mounting support of this bolt)

In addition, the striker box has a fourth hole (slot) at its lower end (not seen in photos) which is not fixed to anything, nor does there seem to be anything to fix it to!

I am still very confused.

[wheelmon]

Hi Ant

I don't fancy my chances if you find them hard to get!

Looks like a whole new set - (eventually!)

Thanks again for your advice Ant.

Keith

[wheelmon]

Barry, I still think you'd find a slotted hole lurking behind the big washer. Mine has a smaller washer and I can just see the tip of the slot peeping out.

If you lift the hob all will be revealed! Then leave out the middle bolt (like I've done) and Bob's your uncle.

(The bottom unused slot (ie:4th hole) will be for use in other applications.)

Keith

[barry5933]

Doesn't time fly ... a whole month has gone by since I last played with this problem

Finally had a spare half an hour (the wife's away and did not leave me a list of jobs to do ;D )

As recommended, I took the hob out and, lo and behold, verily I could now see with the aid of a torch and mirror the nut holding the big hex headed bolt in. I could not however see whether this was in a hole or adjustment slot. I decided to slacken it off anyway and see if the striker would move.

At this point I regretted never having trained my daughter's ferrets in the gentle art of spanner wielding. Neither the head nor the nut are easily accessible for a direct approach with spanners. It was easy enough to put a spanner on the bolt head from top or bottom of the striker box, but it could not be turned. The nut sits in a recess in the fibreglass moulding, just reachable with fingertips. Fortunately I possess a very versatile screwdriver/socket set which has a minute ratcheting lever handle for the sockets. Fitted with the necessary 10 mm socket this was wiggled and squirmed onto the nut, which could then be turned one ratchet click at a time.

Eventually, there was enough looseness to move the striker (having also re-loosened the top retaining nut). Keith was right! The big nut/bolt does appear to be in an adjusting slot. An absorbing (?) time ensued, moving the box - clamping it up - try the door - loosen the bolt - adjust box - clamp it up - try the door - etc etc.

I have finally settled on a position that eliminates the daylight around the rubber seal. I only hope that it is not too tight for the management to be able to open/close the door. Did I say "half an hour"? If any body else is tempted to play this game, allow plenty of time!

One final thought. This big bolt is fixed to the fibreglass fridge/cooker housing. Has any-one experienced cracking of this moulding through repeated slamming of the door? There appears to be a number of small hairline cracks in this area of our van, although random in pattern and not obviously radiating out from the striker plate.