Entry door twisted

[Venturer]

The door stop scissors hinge on our entry door failed and I installed the gas shock on the outside to stop the door when at 90 degrees from the body. It has worked as intended. However, now the upper front upper corner of the door is sprung away from its closed position by 1/2". It must have happened one time when the wind caught the door and forced the newly installed cylinder to stop it due to being attached further back on the top of the door. My first thought is to attempt to spring the top back in hopes of returning it to its original seal. My concern is not cracking the window in the process. Being mounted with a rubber gasket should prevent that, but not sure if that is the case. Any advice from someone who has had a similar issue will be welcomed. Thanks   

[Ivan K]

I personally would remove the window frame since you have to bend it way more than just 1/2" to overcome the 'memory'. Still less trouble than hunting for new glass and taking it out anyway. Even if it doesn't break the glass, might break the seal.

[Venturer]

I was thinking the same thing. My concern is that if the wind blowing the door against the strut caused the twist, is this a common occurrence with this strut modification to the door?    

Edited April 8 by Venturer

[bekec1]

Have had the strut mod installed on my Windsor for 3 years now and never an issue with the door twisting or being affected by the wind

[David Pratt]

RV Door Hinge/Door Check Locking Swing-Arm  

The Entry Door Scissor Arm or Door Check issue has been a common topic on this Forum and Other Forums for years. Some folks have opted to replace the Scissor Arm with a Gas Shock. Others have R&R the Scissors and replaced the rivet or squelched the rivet on the arm.

The scissor arm was a great idea. The arm is still used on most all Class A Motor-coaches.  It hides out of sight when the door is closed and has worked OK, but it had one major design flaw;

The way the scissor was engineered is that when you open the door all the way at the end of the arm half there is a raised bump that mate with a recessed detente in the outer half of the arm to hold the door open. The problem with this design is over time it will stretch the rivet and the arm becomes loose and sloppy and needs to be repaired or replaced. Look at the first picture and you will see what I am describing.

There has been a better Mouse Trap out there that the permanently does away with the loose/sloppy scissor issue and it is a Re-Engineered Scissor. The Scissor was used exclusively on the FORETRAVEL Motor Coaches for over 10 years. Newmar has adopted the new scissor arm from ForeTravel and has been installing it on their Class A coaches for the past couple of years.

The Scissor Arm does not use a Bump and Detente to hold the door open. Instead it is designed with a locking pin at the end of the outer arm that locks into a machined grove on the inner arm when the door is fully opened. The arms are riveted together just like the Monaco arm but stay parallel when opened and closed and do not put any pressure on the rivet so the arm will not become loose or sloppy with use over time

The mounting pads are larger than the other scissor arm and can be modified to fit the entry door by just duplicating the mounting pads on your old arm.

I noticed the difference about the scissor arm when comparing it to the one installed on Chris Throgmartin's coach and the arm on my Foretravel ih-45. Chris wanted the arm on my coach to replace his worn out scissor arm The arm was purchased from Foretravel back in 2021 and displayed it at the Gathering last year.

The new arm is the Second Picture and you can see the changes to the arm I am discussing.

The cost of both arms are a little pricey, but the price of the new arm is about the same as the old arm, around $225.00 retail. The part number for the Foretravel Arm is 001523 and last price listed was $189.00 and the part number for the Newmar arm is 08420452 and is listed for $228.00 and is the same arm.

Current Old Entry Door Scissor Arm.pdf Door Hinge Swing-Arm Scissor Locking.pdf