Cargo Door

[RobertH]

Hello all,

 

Looking for some advice.  As you know I purchased my 2015 Ollie Leg Elite II used.  On my last camping trip the cargo door cable came off.  I have a feeling it was broken from the last owner and they had hot glued it back in place.  Well as you can imagine it only took a single bump while pulling out my tire blocks and it broke free.  This being said Im looking for suggestions on how to attach the cable back correctly.  It looks like the screw that was in it was torn free and again just hot glued or maybe fiberglass patched back in.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated as Im not a fiberglass repair person by any means.  Should I take it to the local marine shop and have them do the repair?

 

Thanks

[Commanche]

Robert,

 

I had the same problem with my door, I tried gluing it twice with different kinds of glue with not much luck. Last Nov we dropped the trailer off at the factory for some other mods, while we went on to GA for Thanksgiving. They glued it back and had no problem since. You might give Tommy a call and see if he has any better glue to use.

 

It would be a better design if the door opened in the other direction with a rod to hold it open.

 

Stan

[RobertH]

Robert, I had the same problem with my door, I tried gluing it twice with different kinds of glue with not much luck. Last Nov we dropped the trailer off at the factory for some other mods, while we went on to GA for Thanksgiving. They glued it back and had no problem since. You might give Tommy a call and see if he has any better glue to use. It would be a better design if the door opened in the other direction with a rod to hold it open. Stan

 

I agree with the design issue.  Open up with support rod or side to side.  The other option would be mounting it to something solid.  Say a piece of chrome metal that is in the door as part of structure.  Anyway I will have to reach out to them see if maybe they can give me a suggestion because I cant make a trip over to the factory being a west coast person that is a long trip for a screw repair.  I guess if I did manage to get enough time off I could make the run and have them replace the fridge while Im at it.  I am not a fan of the full electric fridge that the previous owner chose.

 

 

 

Anyway thanks!

[GrayGhost]

I can't see how that cable attachment is done without ripping the insulation off the door on mine, but it has a metal ring that protrudes through the insulation, and the cable hooks onto that.  If yours is the same, you might try  opening the door and propping it up so it is perpendicular to Ollie, leaving the cable off. Put a big dab of 3m 5200 behind the attachment piece, and secure it with a slightly larger screw. Once the 5200 dries, it will probably never come off.

[DavePhelps]

I don't have a cargo door on my Elite, but on my battery box door there is a cable. One side is riveted to the trailer body and the other has a small aluminum plate that has been tapped for two screws to hold the steel 'catch' to which the cable attaches to. The aluminum plate is then glued to the door.  Sounds like your door has insulation on it? That could be a complication but if you have an aluminum plate like I do and it has come off the fiberglass door, then I would use this adhesive to glue it back on:

 

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/convenient-repair-packs-provide-a-quick-fix/

 

All this may or may not apply to your situation, but just in case.... Prep the area well. Get all the old adhesive off, sand the area well including the back of the plate, and wipe down with MEK. I would also drill a few extra holes in that plate to act as keys for the epoxy when you glue it back on. You could even countersink the holes just a bit (on the unglued side) for a dovetail effect. Use the adhesive filler that comes with the kit when you mix up your epoxy. West System epoxies are great products and are available at West Marine if you have any in your area, or probably even on Amazon.

 

It is kind of a difficult design problem having the door drop down like that. What Oliver need to do is glass that aluminum plate right into the door when they make it. Relying on adhesives after the fact is not so great a long term solution. Good luck.

 

Dave

[topgun2]

Dave's "solution" sounds good to me, but if you are thinking that you might want to go the fiberglass route it really isn't that difficult.  The product is available in most WalMart stores and if you go over to the Fiberglass RV forum there is a bunch of information there as to how to go about dealing with repairs such as this.  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Bill

[RobertH]

Hello,

 

Yes there is insulation on the door and mine is hanging loose which is why I think the previous owner had the issue before.  I will try to get some pictures up.  I might go the 3m Route that was mentioned but if Walmart has a easy fiberglass repair type that might be a better option.  On closer inspection you can see how the screw basically pulled out of the tiny bit of fiberglass it has to connect to.  Im thinking if there is some type of fiberglass repair goop I could put a dab on the location and place the screw back into its spot and let it dry and it might hold.  Basically it has a bit of a bite left but it pulls loose very easy.  Before I do anything I think I will get some close up pictures posted so I can get your opinions on what route you think would be best.  I value this forum for its information.  :)