04 HR NAV Compartment door damage

mpace3 · May 7, 2023

I Recently had an accident getting fuel and smashing the doors leaving the fuel island. I have 3 doors and some type of trim that was damaged. My main compartment which is the (largest) door is completely off the hinge. I have it ratched from the inside holding it in. I understand that I have to take off several doors. The other doors are operational but scarred. The C groove under on the trim is bent square instead of being rounded I hope these pictures can speak better than I am writing. I am willing to tackle this just need some direction. I've searched on this site and others trying to piece together a plan. My plan of action is as follows: Drill out the rivets holding the door the C groove. Take out the doors by either sliding them out or hitting them up pulling them off the gas shock. Try and replace the I guess you call it trim railing that holds the C groove doors in place. That is bent also. I have a few questions

1. When drilling out the rivets, what size drill bit do I have to use? Pic Labeled 1 and 2

2. Do you think C Groove railing can be repair or another made at a metal fabrication shop? Labeled 1 and 2

3. i've Check with several RV salvage yards regarding replacing the main door ( i.,e., Visone and Colawrvs.com) and no go so far on a replacement.

4. What do you call these items that I have circled in PIC LABELED 4. It is bent and needs replacing?

5. Should I use SS screws or New rivets as replacements for old screw holds?

Any help Is Appreciated!

Marcus

04 HR Navigator

Donflem · May 7, 2023

Sorry that happened to you Marcus we have all done it. I don’t think it’s a big problem my buddy here at M&M fixes them all the time usually they just replace the outer skin and repaint it. Good luck with it.

Don

jacwjames · May 8, 2023

Back in 2013 my wife did almost the exact same thing, crushed the hinge portions flat as a pancake on 2 doors and damaged 3 doors.

I doubt you will be able to repair the hinge portion. I was able to contact Monaco and they provided me with paint codes and the door part but at the time they did not have the portion that attaches to the side of the RV, you may call them and see if they have it now, I ended up buying a ~7' piece from Visione RV salvage, it cost me ~$90 at the time.

I was able to buy the door portion from Monaco, now REVParts.com. Here is a link for the door portion, at the time it was ~$32 for a 14' piece and they cut into 4 equal pieces to make it easier to ship. They might do the same for you.

https://revrvparts.com/search?keyword=S08410937

Since my hinge was crushed I could not remove the door from the hinge, I just took a grinder and cut the portion that attached to the side of the RV being careful not to damage the side of the coach. My upper portion of the hinge was attached with screws, I just took them off and removed the door. I removed 2 doors under the slide and then the two taller doors behind the slide, these had to be moved back along the coach on the hinge/track.

The hinge portion I got from Visione I stripped of the paint and repainted it before putting back on, luckily it was only one color.

I used a drill and removed the top portion of the hinge on 3 doors. From memory I may have painted the hinge before installing back on the door. Two of the doors had bad hinge portion and just bad scratches I could sand out. The smaller tall door had a bent hinge and dent in and it was slightly warped. I was able to clamp it to a table and used a large pipe wrench with wood blocks to protect the door and straighten it. Still had a little dent I filled with bondo. The bottom of the slide trim was also slightly damaged but I was fix and paint.

I had to paint 3 colors, and I am no expert but it turned out OK, my brother has done quite a bit of body work and took him a while to find.

Dr4Film · May 8, 2023

Sorry for you having to deal with the damage to your coaches' bay doors. I have come close to doing the exact same thing early on when I first owned my Windsor.

After having a couple of close calls, from that point on I decided to ONLY use truck stops to put fuel on board. The fuel is fresher, and the fuel islands are very easy to enter and exit. The parking lots are huge also. Easy to maneuver around especially when I was towing a 30-foot trailer at the time.

A good body shop will make that coach look brand new. Possibly you can use your insurance company to help pay for the damage,

Good luck and safe travels!

May 8, 2023

1 hour ago, Dr4Film said:

After having a couple of close calls, from that point on I decided to ONLY use truck stops to put fuel on board. The fuel is fresher, and the fuel islands are very easy to enter and exit. The parking lots are huge also. Easy to maneuver around especially when I was towing a 30-foot trailer at the time.

I have gone through the RV fuel lane before when trucks were lined up for a block, but I try to avoid it because of the close calls. I can't imagine it even being possible with a 30 ft trailer.

I agree with using your insurance if possible and letting a body shop repair it. However, you may be the one that has to track down the hinge.

mpace3 · May 9, 2023

On 5/7/2023 at 7:57 PM, Donflem said:

Sorry that happened to you Marcus we have all done it. I don’t think it’s a big problem my buddy here at M&M fixes them all the time usually they just replace the outer skin and repaint it. Good luck with it.

Don

Thank Donflem, please tell me where M&M Iocated?

On 5/7/2023 at 8:20 PM, jacwjames said:

Back in 2013 my wife did almost the exact same thing, crushed the hinge portions flat as a pancake on 2 doors and damaged 3 doors.

I doubt you will be able to repair the hinge portion. I was able to contact Monaco and they provided me with paint codes and the door part but at the time they did not have the portion that attaches to the side of the RV, you may call them and see if they have it now, I ended up buying a ~7' piece from Visione RV salvage, it cost me ~$90 at the time.

I was able to buy the door portion from Monaco, now REVParts.com. Here is a link for the door portion, at the time it was ~$32 for a 14' piece and they cut into 4 equal pieces to make it easier to ship. They might do the same for you.

https://revrvparts.com/search?keyword=S08410937

Since my hinge was crushed I could not remove the door from the hinge, I just took a grinder and cut the portion that attached to the side of the RV being careful not to damage the side of the coach. My upper portion of the hinge was attached with screws, I just took them off and removed the door. I removed 2 doors under the slide and then the two taller doors behind the slide, these had to be moved back along the coach on the hinge/track.

The hinge portion I got from Visione I stripped of the paint and repainted it before putting back on, luckily it was only one color.

I used a drill and removed the top portion of the hinge on 3 doors. From memory I may have painted the hinge before installing back on the door. Two of the doors had bad hinge portion and just bad scratches I could sand out. The smaller tall door had a bent hinge and dent in and it was slightly warped. I was able to clamp it to a table and used a large pipe wrench with wood blocks to protect the door and straighten it. Still had a little dent I filled with bondo. The bottom of the slide trim was also slightly damaged but I was fix and paint.

I had to paint 3 colors, and I am no expert but it turned out OK, my brother has done quite a bit of body work and took him a while to find.

Jacwjames, ironically that's what to us my wife was driving. Thank you for the help I will use this info as a guide.

12 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

I have gone through the RV fuel lane before when trucks were lined up for a block, but I try to avoid it because of the close calls. I can't imagine it even being possible with a 30 ft trailer.

I agree with using your insurance if possible and letting a body shop repair it. However, you may be the one that has to track down the hinge.

Thank you for the suggestions but all body shops are 60-90 days out and it's difficult since we're FT. So we're going to cash flow it out as quick as possible

Donflem · May 9, 2023

M&M coach specialist is In Victorville Calif. they do everything for your coach. I’ve been happy with everything they have done so far. They don’t try and sell anything unless it needs it the owner is a good guy. I told him I wanted to close off my generator so I could use it for storage and he threw this together.

Marcus M&M is really good about letting me stay here while they make repairs. I’m full time so that really helps not having to get a room. I just give him a little cash to help with electricity he has full hookups. I’m actually leaving here tomorrow after a couple of weeks here. I’ve seen a lot of coaches stay here a few days while waiting on parts. This guys a rare breed anymore.

Don

May 9, 2023

10 hours ago, mpace3 said:

Thank you for the suggestions but all body shops are 60-90 days out and it's difficult since we're FT. So we're going to cash flow it out as quick as possible

I sat here in my recliner analyzing from my perspective, while my coach is parked outside. Now I see the situation a little more from your perspective. I agree with you, when someone lives in their coach, moving out for repairs would be a major upheaval of life. Like most things in life, we try to make the best of a situation. As for the insurance thing, I hate making a claim. I just paid for the windshield in a car because I couldn't bear to make another claim. It had just been replaced, thankfully it was only approx $350. I can't believe I'm saying only $350, but the coach would be over $2000. The reason I suggested insurance is if you were to have yours repaired at a body shop I feel certain the cost would be stunning, at least to me.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Ray Davis

Paul J A · May 9, 2023

Here are a few sources for parts that you may want to contact.

RV Parts & Salvage Yards

https://camperfaqs.com/rv-salvage-yards

https://bontragers.com

www.rvdoctorgeorge.com

https://colawrvsalvage.com/, https://www.veurinksrv.com/

https://www.rvyard.com/

findmyrvparts.com

rvparts.visonerv.com

anyrvparts.com

finditparts.com

Bill P · May 9, 2023

If you decide to have the repairs done check out the team at RV Fog Dr in Searcy Arkansas. I was having some windows worked on and they also did a fiberglass/paint repair thru my insurance. We were very pleased with their work and they have 50amp, water, and sewer onsite. They worked with our travel schedule also. RVFOGDR.com. 2210 Dodge Ave, Searcy, AR 72143. (501) 278-3015.

jacwjames · November 20, 2023

Here we go again.

I wasn't post about this but decided it might benefit others.

While on my trip last month, which had a number of problems from day one, I had a run in with a concrete barrier at a fueling station in Colorado. I went to a Mavericks to fill up and as I pulled in I found the exits were blocked. Only way to get back out was through the fueling lanes. So I went to the furthest right thinking there was enough room to make a U-turn to come back out. Turns out I was wrong. I tried to go through the furthest left fuel lane but it was very narrow with a high concrete curb next to the adjacent weight scale. As I was pulling through my front wheel jumped the curb and then the rear, as the rear came off it threw me into the concrete barrier which had been hit multiple times before.

I got home about 3 weeks ago and have been working on my rig since then, fixing the doors and installing a different tranny cooler.

Attached are pictures

Door damage- looks bad but fixable without new skin
The barrier, just because, I actually called Maverick customer service to complain about the blocked exits and narrow lane, she basically said "Sue Us"
Doors positioned on my table saw to be able hammer out the dents from both directions. The tape is the ~2.5" that I was trying to get as the angled piece.
Leaning up against a post, I used the rip fence on the table saw to hole it into position
After I got the doors fairly straight I had to use bondo to fill in dimples and straighten the edge. Not perfect but good enough
Lined up the doors on the table, taped off the accent strip. Sanded and primed several times to fill scratches etc.
Painted and clear coated.
Mounted and then had to work on the fiberglass under the sewer storage door, which required some work, it was only hanging on by a little bit of fiberglass. Multiple layers of epoxy and mat, then filler trying to shape the bottom to match the door. Sanded, primed, painted and clear coated.

Overall they turned out OK, not perfect. Earlier in this thread I posted about damage to the slide and doors, two of these were the same doors. Deja Vu all over again. Practice makes perfect, I'm becoming an expert which ain't a good thing.

Since then spent time completely buffing the rig out with cutting compound, washed the rig today and will polish it out then wax