door seals

[Sb_Moto]

It looks like its time for me to build the doors so I wanted to see what everyone was done as far as door seals? I have been searching until I am blue in the face, and all I can find is seals on wooden walled trailers.

My trailer is made of 1" square tubing. The doors and walls are the same thickness, and it will all be skinned with Aluminum. I was thinking about c channel aluminum to trim it out then another piece of flat strap inside to create a lip for some weather stripping. This would work, but would create a lip for me to bang my knee or hang stuff up on while putting it in/ out of the trailer.

The next option that I can think of would be some T molding on the outside of the door, and a seal inside the molding to seal againt the outside of the trailer. I dislike this look, but it may be the best scenario. Any suggestions?

 

[Louisd75]

I like Camp Inn's method, which is similar to the first method you described. Of course I can't find the picture that I'm thinking of that shows how they do it. They use a piece of T molding with the leg of the T against the door jamb, one part of the top of the T is against the inside wall, the other part of the top of the T sticks into the door opening. They use a trim-lok gasket mounted to leg of the T sticking up into the door. It shouldn't be an issue if your mattress is tall enough/wide enough. If my explanation is too confusing, try to think of it as your second method but with the T molding mounted to the inside of the trailer instead of to the outside of the door.
http://www.trimlok.com/cat/Trim-Seal/Browse-All-Products_101.aspx

Here's a couple of other ideas:

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_T...ia/File:Teardrop_door_seal_configurations.jpg

 

[Sb_Moto]

Yea it looks like option #2 on the second link is my best bet. I was just wondering if people had advise on what seals, gaps, and trim could be used.

I really want to cap the Outside and inside aluminum/ wood off with some C channel so that none of the edges are showing. I figure some very thin Aluminum c channel would work good for this. Then if I offset the doors 1/8" from the trailer walls it would give me enough gap for a seal? I looked on Mcmaster at some seals, but nothing ever shows the compressed size which IMHO is more important than the open size.

 

[indiedog]

If you use the C channel to cap both the door and the wall then I think you would need to add a lip on the inside. You would need to set that lip back inside by around 1/4" to give the seal the right position on the back of the door but that depends on the seal you use. For the seals, you want to compress the bulb/foam around 50% and not fully, so that may help you work out how far back in the lip to hold the seal needs to be.

As to how much smaller to make the door, 1/8" around all sides is pretty normal for a gap between finished door and wall. If you are using piano hinge I'd measure what gap that will produce and then replicate it on the other 3 sides so the door sits centrally. So determine the hinges first.

 

[Sb_Moto]

Ideally the lip on the inside would probably be best, but I have several doors not including the entrance doors. These doors are for coolers, generators, etc so a lip makes me nervous because stuff will hang on it all the time.

My current plan is to cap the doors and frames with 1x1.25" U channel Aluminum. Ideally 1/16th", but seems to be that all I can find it 1/8" Then use some T molding with a rubber seal on the door.

Good call on the Piano hinge. Question on those hinges.. Can you not mount it with both mounting faces inside the jam? As in the part that bolts to the walls, and the part that bolts to the door? I dont like seeing the hinge if possible.

Also I was looking at piano hinges, and they are all ridiculously thin gauge. I suppose they get solid once they are mounted, but I would think I would want something a little thicker?

 

[Louisd75]

Ideally the lip on the inside would probably be best, but I have several doors not including the entrance doors. These doors are for coolers, generators, etc so a lip makes me nervous because stuff will hang on it all the time.

Yes, but wouldn't the door opening itself be a lip? I see what you're saying though. I've got two small utility door openings for small miscellaneous stuff. I made the inner lip out of thicker plywood for added protection from stuff sliding or dropping on it.

Good call on the Piano hinge. Question on those hinges.. Can you not mount it with both mounting faces inside the jam? As in the part that bolts to the walls, and the part that bolts to the door? I dont like seeing the hinge if possible.

Also I was looking at piano hinges, and they are all ridiculously thin gauge. I suppose they get solid once they are mounted, but I would think I would want something a little thicker?

You should be able to find different gauges of piano hinge. The local hardware store sells the thin shiny ones as well as heavier duty stainless piano hinges that come without holes drilled. I can't remember if I've ever seen them at the big box stores, but they are out there. You should be able to mount them against the jambs so that they aren't visible, just be mindful of the overall thickness so that you've got room to open or close the door without binding.

 

[Sb_Moto]

There is a small lip, but its a 1" square tube so it should bend or break if a generator rolls over it. If I put up a 1/4" tall piece of 1/8" aluminum then I could see that bending/ breaking/ or causing problems. I might go down that road it the exterior seal leaks, but I do want to avoid it if at all possible.