We are starting another build of an Off Road style Teardrop trailer. This build we are trying a few different approaches. Lighter weight, less frills and cheaper. On our last build we built out of wood our entry door for the trailer. It worked when it worked but when it rained it would swell shut to the point we couldn’t even open the door. We’d have to undo the hinges from the outside and stick a screwdriver in the jam between the door and pry the door out. Was wondering if anyone has any better ideas? Been trying to find some other option. I really like the doors most everyone uses but they are $450. That seems to me like a ridiculous amount of money for a basic door. What other options are there. Anyone have any pics, tips or tricks of a DIY side entry door they built themselves that doesn’t have the swelling issue of a wood door like mine had?
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I haven't had any swelling or leaking issues with the doors I made for my teardrop. I made the doors when I made the trailer walls, I used the pieces that I cut out of the wall to make the door. I cut the doors out of the wall using a router with a 1/4" bit and a template. I used a rabbeting bit with a bearing to take another 1/4" or so off of the door. The rabbeting bit could only remove material from about half the thickness of the door. I used a pattern bit to take the other half off. Setup took longer than the actual cuts.
My door flange is a ring of plywood that I made by tracing the door and adding 1.5" or so. It's been a while and I can't remember exactly. After cutting that section out I subtracted an inch or so and drew another line and then cut that out. That gave me a ring in the shape of the door that was bigger on the outside edge than the trailer wall and smaller on the inside edge than the door. I rounded over the edges that were going to be visible inside the trailer and then glued the ring to the inside walls. Once the glue was set, I got out the router again and used a pattern bit to remove about 1/4" of material from the outboard facing surface of the flange. I sealed this surface up with paint (2 coats of brush on Rustoleum Enamel) and that's where my gasket went. This all sounds like a lot but in reality it was maybe two afternoons.
When it was time to skin the trailer in aluminum I goofed trimming the aluminum and had to use a different panel. I cut the aluminum slightly larger and then used the router with a pattern bit again to trim the excess aluminum off.
The door latches were a bit of a hassle, but not the end of the world. It took me a couple of tries to get a good template made that would allow me to slide the lock into place. All told, doing everything, it took maybe 5 afternoons of work to finish the doors and three of those days were the flush mount latches.
Take a look at the build thread in my sig and you should be able to see what I'm talking about. It sounds complicated but it's actually not too bad. I think the big thing is making sure that you've got a good gap between between the wall and door. You obviously don't want it too big, but I think that if you're less than 1/2" you won't have too much trouble, especially if you've got good contact on the gasket. I wouldn't go less than 1/8". Also, if you're trimming the door and opening in aluminum edging, you'll need to take those thicknesses into account when figuring out your gap.
Feel free to message me if I'm being clear as mud and I'll get some more specific pictures for you.
