How To: Bathroom Door Hold Open

[Mike and Carol]

13 minutes ago, dewdev said:

We ordered on Amazon the same magnetics that Mike and Carol have in their picture and they came with screws and double sided tape.

We put one magnetic on the bottom corner of the door and (instead of placing the other magnetic on the face of the fiberglass under the dinette seat) the second magnetic was installed inside of the cabinet, out of site, and this installation holds the door open with no problem.

Ours has been that way since my last post above and has worked flawlessly.

[Overland]

Here's the lux stainless option, in case you want the lux stainless option.

[skalywag]

I am still using a bungee cord from the towel hook to the open doors edge.  Works like a charm.

[SeaDawg]

53 minutes ago, Overland said:

Here's the lux stainless option, in case you want the lux stainless option.

It would surely look much better than my gallon of rv antifreeze that I  use as a door stop....

[Overland]

1 minute ago, SeaDawg said:

It would surely look much better than my gallon of rv antifreeze that I  use as a door stop....

Here’s a link to the less lux option, in case you want the less lux option. 

[Kaleigh]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:01 AM, Mike and Carol said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INZ7RY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Mike

This is how we handled this, thanks for your awesome idea!

[John E Davies]

On 6/30/2021 at 11:30 AM, skalywag said:

I am still using a bungee cord from the towel hook to the open doors edge.  Works like a charm.

Please, do not use this method, for safety reasons. Bungees injure people all the time, especially the type with steel hooks. If you lose your grip while attaching it at the wall it will fly into your face. If that happens while you are hooking it to the door, no big deal. But accidents happen and this method is not safe, don’t be “that guy” who loses an eye.

Use a device that doesn’t store energy at face height.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[skalywag]

John, I appreciate your concern, but I can assure you that the bungee that I am using is almost slack. We only use it during storage periods when it is unoccupied. Otherwise, we leave the door closed and latched in place.

 

[Pat Maundrell]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:01 AM, Mike and Carol said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INZ7RY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Mike

Just what I needed, another item added to the "Honey Do List," at least this one is Inexpensive, Works, Easy to install, and Looks Nice.

BTW, I like your "Towel Rack" on the Refrigerator Door, another item added to the List!

[Mike and Carol]

55 minutes ago, Pat Maundrell said:

Just what I needed, another item added to the "Honey Do List," at least this one is Inexpensive, Works, Easy to install, and Looks Nice.

BTW, I like your "Towel Rack" on the Refrigerator Door, another item added to the List!

We use three of those towel racks.  One on the fridge, one between the sink and cooktop and one in the bath below the mirror.

[SeaDawg]

The towel rack looks really nice.

How is it fastened to the fridge door? Did you use the command type towel bar, or another brand if true stainless steel and vhb tape? 

 

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

I see that @Mike and Carolinstalled the magnet vertically.  Wondering if anyone has theirs mounted horizontally on the bottom frame of the door.  Which is best?

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 8/26/2017 at 4:18 PM, John E Davies said:

Quote

 

 

 

Could you slice one side of a swim noodle & cut it to fit the width of the door jam, then shove the noodle over the edge of the jam to keep the door open?

 

Sure, a noodle or a piece of slit water pipe insulation would work for off season ventilation, but that will only hold it art way....

 

This is intended for when you are occupying the trailer for a short time, for example a Rest Stop, and want to keep the door fully open. Sometimes we don't disconnect and/or run down the jacks down for overnight, if I can get the trailer close to level by maneuvering. If the trailer has a slight right cant, the door won't stay open without this string, or the magnets mentioned above, which I was too dim to think of.

 

We keep the dog water bowl in the bathroom, so the door needs to be open most of the time.

 

You can always prop it open with a shoe or some other object, but that doesn't work very well.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

We use split foam pipe insulation for a lot of things.  I have a couple of short chunks in the upper drawer under the stove.  First, it acts as a wedge to keep the utensil trays from sliding around, since they don't perfectly fill the width/length of the drawer.  Second, I place the foam with the slit facing up and use it as a knife holder.

I also use a small piece of the foam insulation to prop the freezer door open when the fridge is first turned off for storage.

[Mike and Carol]

5 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

I see that @Mike and Carolinstalled the magnet vertically.  Wondering if anyone has theirs mounted horizontally on the bottom frame of the door.  Which is best?

Two points on my installation.  First, I wanted the magnet as high on the door as I could get it to minimize door bend when closing it.  Second, my first installation had the other half of the magnet on the outside of the dinette seat, then I moved it to the inside under the dinette seat, an idea from @Spike (Jeff) in Arizona.  It works great, lessens the magnetic pull but is still strong enough to hold the door.  Plus you only see one magnet.  Mike

[John and Debbie]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:21 PM, SeaDawg said:

It would surely look much better than my gallon of rv antifreeze that I  use as a door stop....

I have a gallon of that.  I can put a red bow on it and no one will know it's a gallon of rv antifreeze.

[GAP]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:01 AM, Mike and Carol said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INZ7RY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Mike

I use the same magnets.  Installed all the way at the bottom corner of the door and they are so strong that I have to be careful when closing to not have them slam together.  I tried to use command strips and they eventually peeled off even though I prepped the surface nicely.  Oddly, the magnets are not strong enough to hold the door open while driving.  Went ahead and just screwed things in place.  Later in this chain, it was suggested to mount one magnet inside the dinette seat which is a great idea but, as my holes are drilled, I'll stick with what I got.  Can always add a little something over one of the magnets to slow down the bond if need be.

[Mike and Carol]

Moving the magnet inside the dinette seat has made a big difference.  We also used command tape and it has held well over the years.

[ScubaRx]

1 hour ago, GAP said:

...Oddly, the magnets are not strong enough to hold the door open while driving...

Its never happened to us, but thru the years, I've read several accounts of the bathroom door being shattered when left open while traveling. I always travel with ours closed and latched.

[GAP]

Just now, ScubaRx said:

Its never happened to us, but thru the years, I've read several accounts of the bathroom door being shattered when left open while traveling. I always travel with ours closed and latched.

That makes total sense.  The only reason I had interest in leaving the door open was to share warmer main cabin heat to that semi vulnerable spot while traveling during the winter.  I may have already solved that problem by adding a return vent through from bathroom to area under the dinette seat.

[ScubaRx]

8 minutes ago, GAP said:

That makes total sense.  The only reason I had interest in leaving the door open was to share warmer main cabin heat to that semi vulnerable spot while traveling during the winter.  I may have already solved that problem by adding a return vent through from bathroom to area under the dinette seat.

I believe you are exactly correct. That's probably the reasoning behind others leaving the door open also.

[Bill and Nancy]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:01 AM, Mike and Carol said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INZ7RY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Mike

We did the same thing it works great