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Entry Door Adjustments


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Our front door is either warped or was installed poorly as the gap at the top on the strike side is about an 1/8” or more narrower than at the bottom. Consequently, we have never been able to eliminate some air noise. Is there any adjustments that can square this up or will I need to take it to Decatur and have it removed/reinstalled?  I have tried to adjust the stop strike but it doesn’t solve the problem because the door just doesn’t have enough space to allow it to pull it in tight, no matter how hard I slam it!

Tom Gibbens

‘15 Dynasty 

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I have not experienced that, but if you have a long straight edge, such as a long level or similar, you should be able to check for warping.  I'd try loosening the hinge screws a little and seeing if adjustments can be made.  If not, what about thicker weatherstripping in the affected areas?  

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It may not be the door misalignment but rather the door frame may have pulled back from the body structure. If you see few larger bolt heads at the hinge side of door frame, you can try to tighten the top bolt and it will both widen the frame opening and pull the top part of the door forward. Worked for me a while back with our PTL door.

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Guest Ray Davis

 Tom,  I can't help with the door adj but people sometime put masking tape in places along the door then drive and see just where the wind noise is loudest. 

 I have read when the noise is from the front part of the door opening that an outside stick on seal stops the noise.   I'm not sure exactly what was used but                   it may have been something like this .  This sticks on and covers the hinge opening on the outside.

 Fingersafe USA MK1-B Cutsheethttps://www.fingersafe.com/specifications/

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So you have 1/8" missing at the top rear, do you have an extra 1/8" in the top front? Do you see the door dropping backwards at the bottom threshold even a really tiny bit? If so, the top of door hinge (if piano style) or the whole top hinge (if multiple hinges) needs to be pulled forward. The house frame opening is slightly larger than the door frame which slides in when assembling the coach, then the space is filled with foam but minor adjustments are still possible. You can try all kinds of gasket seals but it will not fix the root cause until you match the door frame opening with the door itself...

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Guest Ray Davis

Ivan,  I think he is referring to a different plane.  At first I didn't pickup on what he was talking about .

Standing outside it seems to me he is seeing the top left of the door not going in far enough,  a warp in the in and outward plane.  Where the adj you mentioned seems    more for the left or right plane when standing facing the door.   

I know, that's clear as mud.

I did see a thread where a bus converter installed a door and of course the side of the bus was not flat so they shimmed where necessary and covered it with a smooth bead of caulk,  turned out fine.

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Yeah, I agree that some clarification would be helpful. Since our walls are straight and flat (hopefully), what would cause the top warping towards the outside? Either too much of a gasket seal or no good fit into the frame opening. Besides an actually permanently bent door. Don't know about his hinge but mine is not adjustable in any way.

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On 1/28/2021 at 10:55 AM, thomasgibbens said:

Our front door is either warped or was installed poorly as the gap at the top on the strike side is about an 1/8” or more narrower than at the bottom. Consequently, we have never been able to eliminate some air noise. Is there any adjustments that can square this up or will I need to take it to Decatur and have it removed/reinstalled?  I have tried to adjust the stop strike but it doesn’t solve the problem because the door just doesn’t have enough space to allow it to pull it in tight, no matter how hard I slam it!

Tom Gibbens

‘15 Dynasty 

I have added a couple of photos and if you look at it from the front, you can see how it narrows at the top. From the side view if you zoom in it appears that the door is bent outward. 
Tom Gibbens

’15 Dynasty 

C4EC67A5-3D20-476C-BC2B-A0F3B489D546.jpeg

815AF458-7DC4-4DCA-B143-D64A718E74F6.jpeg

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I have a similar issue and I ended up buying a digital level and my hinge side jamb is at a different angle than the strike jamb. But both hinge and strike side of door match hinge jamb telling me that the strike jamb was attached at bottom 5/16” further in at bottom corner. Not sure how to fix either. Body and jamb would have to be moved outwards.

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Here is one more attempt at explaining how the door frame can be adjusted to match your door shape. The pic shows an actual cross section of PTL door frame. Square tubing represents the wall and the gap between them is what you can use for adjustment, to pull section of the door frame forward. There are also clams behind the inside door trim that hold the frame from falling out that might need to be loosened to allow for movement.

20210130_122805.jpg

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On 1/30/2021 at 10:44 AM, Ivan K said:

Here is one more attempt at explaining how the door frame can be adjusted to match your door shape. The pic shows an actual cross section of PTL door frame. Square tubing represents the wall and the gap between them is what you can use for adjustment, to pull section of the door frame forward. There are also clams behind the inside door trim that hold the frame from falling out that might need to be loosened to allow for movement.

20210130_122805.jpg

I like the info! My bottom left corner looking at frame from outside needs to be pulled outwards which if it can happen, then I would assume I would need to fill the 5/16” gap with caulking. The steel frame (wall) must have been welded off at the factory.

I assume! And you know how that breaks down. 

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7 minutes ago, Gary M said:

I like the info! My bottom left corner looking at frame from outside needs to be pulled outwards which if it can happen, then I would assume I would need to fill the 5/16” gap with caulking. The steel frame (wall) must have been welded off at the factory.

I assume! And you know how that breaks down. 

If you ever go for it and move the corner out, the fender is only sandwiched between the back brace and the door frame so it should move as one piece and you would not have the big gap. They used to shim the fender to back brace with strips of fiberglass sheet or even plywood. Now, to get the bottom of the door frame loose, there are sheetmetal screws through the threshold to the horizontal bottom brace and these would need to be removed and relocated. 

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On 1/28/2021 at 10:55 AM, thomasgibbens said:

Our front door is either warped or was installed poorly as the gap at the top on the strike side is about an 1/8” or more narrower than at the bottom. Consequently, we have never been able to eliminate some air noise. Is there any adjustments that can square this up or will I need to take it to Decatur and have it removed/reinstalled?  I have tried to adjust the stop strike but it doesn’t solve the problem because the door just doesn’t have enough space to allow it to pull it in tight, no matter how hard I slam it!

Tom Gibbens

‘15 Dynasty 

I have added a couple of photos and if you look at it from the front, you can see how it narrows at the top. From the side view if you zoom in it appears that the door is bent outward. 
Tom Gibbens

’15 Dynasty 

I wii try that adjustment this week and let everyone know how it went. Thanks. 
Tom Gibbens

’15 Dynasty 

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