steveandlisa Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Hi, Our Bailey Approach has a door stay which is ok in not too windier conditions. However should a sudden gust blow, the door slams shut. This doesn't really bother us until the door fly screen has been pulled across. Its made from a fine mesh and should the hab door be blown shut it would tear straight through this mesh. According to the service history and bills it appears to already had two new screens and frames fitted in the past, one fitted by the dealer when I purchased the motorhome. Sorry for the long story, basically I`m wondering if there is some kind of device on the market I could use or indeed if anybody has any other ideas that might solve this problem. Thanx Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solwaybuggier Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 We used to have an Approach, and the only thing we found worked in windier conditions was to use a rope tethered to a filled 5 litre water bottle. The rope we used was previously used on an Autotrail to loop round the cab door handle - but the body shape on our Approach 740 meant the rope would have rubbed against the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 On my AT door I use a thin elastised cord that I place between the door handle and the gas locker lock.A small piece of cloth between the cord and the body stops panel damage. On my Tracker if the door slams it will damage the flyscreen. That my be the reason for your MH flyscreen door replacements but it could be the replacement has been necessary due to a failure of the cords in the flyscreen. My experience is that the eyelets that redirect the cords corrode and cause the cords to frey. I have rebuilt my door 3 times in 4 years. The design IMO could be best described as poor or more accurately "crap". Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william4 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 We have had the same problem on our Tracker. Tried replacing the' catch hole' on the body-- did not solve problem. We now use a long bungy attached to the mirror arm - take the bungy round the support and attach it to itself and then attach the other end to the door handle with the bungy under tension. Some trial and error is required to get the right size bungy tension with a long bungy (which are difficult to come by ) or a combination of shorter ones - but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Duck Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Our door did damage the fly screen!! Replaced the door catch a number of times but they don't last and are unreliable even when working. We now use a bungy cord between the door lock and the nearside van wheel. Not failed yet!! FD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpstart Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Our van has a magnetic stay and it works very well. I’m sure it must be available as a spare part,from Alddis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 My Rapido’s habitation entrance-door retainer is the plastic 2-piece type shown in the attached picture, as commonly fitted to motorhomes. The Rapido has a top-hung window in front of the entrance-door on its hinge side, and a pull-across concertina fly-screen in the doorway. If the window were opened and wind blew the door fully open, the window and door would both be damaged. If the fly-screen were closed and wind blew the door closed, the fly-screen would be damaged. I address the former issue by never opening the window, but there’s an ever-present risk in the latter case as, in order for the fly-screen to be used, the entrance-door must be open. There is a plethora of retainers of various different types https://tinyurl.com/y4veffll some of which will lock a door firmly in its open position and won’t auto-release in windy weather. However, these tend to be bulky, not pretty and fitting them to a modern motorhome door may be impracticable. A strong gas strut (example here) https://www.sgs-engineering.com/nl6022-carthago-motorhome-garage-gas-strut should be able to cope with strong winds but, once again, retro-fitting may be challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adiebt Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 We have exactly the same motorhome and same problem which we solved by never using the fly screen , instead using a chenille screen , very retro but very effective . I also increased the resistance of the stay by making sure the Allen screw on top of the door connecting the stay was always a tight fit ( added it to my pre departure check list and keep the Allen key in the cutlery drawer !) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive_Adams Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Same problem with mine, and same concern when fly screen is closed, I use one of those longer elasticated bungees with the plastic hooks and attach it around the door handle then to the nearest wheel in my case the front one, guess it’s not the best looking solution but cheap and effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 We had the same problem with our plastic habitation door catch - utter rubbish. The door would fly open in the wind, force the two halves of the door catch together and break. I came across the solution on Amazon. It's made of steel and holds the door nice and firmly. The Maso door retainer made by the Maso Technology Company Ltd https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FNQYHP6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adiebt Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Steve H - 2019-08-01 5:40 PM We had the same problem with our plastic habitation door catch - utter rubbish. The door would fly open in the wind, force the two halves of the door catch together and break. I came across the solution on Amazon. It's made of steel and holds the door nice and firmly. The Maso door retainer made by the Maso Technology Company Ltd https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FNQYHP6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Not sure if that will solve the problem on this particular Bailey model as the door does not open flush to the bodywork ( door stay ensures that the door is at a max 45 degree angle) . Also i’d not be too confident drilling through the fabric of either the bodywork or door ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 These things seem to be referred to generically as “Veneta door retainers” and the type of design Steve mentions is advertised widely (at various prices) in metal or plastic, some with extended ‘arms’. As I said above, there are positive-locking door retainers (example here) https://www.caravanaccessoryshop.co.uk/product/bailey-external-release-door-retainer-catch-grey/6729 but retro-fitting them may not be practicable (or advisable) on every door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teccer1234 Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I have these fitted on my hab door the gas locker and both sides of boot door on my hymer 694 and have had no problem at all even on a windy day, plus cheap Link to Google Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 Adiebt - 2019-08-01 11:11 PM Steve H - 2019-08-01 5:40 PM We had the same problem with our plastic habitation door catch - utter rubbish. The door would fly open in the wind, force the two halves of the door catch together and break. I came across the solution on Amazon. It's made of steel and holds the door nice and firmly. The Maso door retainer made by the Maso Technology Company Ltd https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FNQYHP6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Not sure if that will solve the problem on this particular Bailey model as the door does not open flush to the bodywork ( door stay ensures that the door is at a max 45 degree angle) . Also i’d not be too confident drilling through the fabric of either the bodywork or door ! You've got it in one Adiebt , having read all the suggestions I`m now leaning towards the bungy elastic idea. Thanks folks Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpstart Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 £31 on eBay for side door magnetic stay . Works a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 To quote Spike Milligan, string is a very useful thing, rope is thicker but string is quicker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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