4081 Dutch Star wet bay door hinge issues

[MarkMaxPayne]

What a great idea. Do you remember what size the washers are? Thanks for the information.

Unfortunately, I don't as I hit the workshop and picked through a jar of "leftovers". It was a common size though as I recall. The washers that worked best had a hole slightly larger than the hinge pin grommet that the retaining ring (or twisted wire others have suggested) slots into. This way the diameter of the washer hole is too small for the ring to flex and squeeze through the hole. The overall diameter of the washer just needing to be larger than the hole in the door hinge as that then sits on top of the washer vs directly on the ring.

Best,
-Mark

 

[Dave H]

Unfortunately, I don't as I hit the workshop and picked through a jar of "leftovers". It was a common size though as I recall. The washers that worked best had a hole slightly larger than the hinge pin grommet that the retaining ring (or twisted wire others have suggested) slots into. This way the diameter of the washer hole is too small for the ring to flex and squeeze through the hole. The overall diameter of the washer just needing to be larger than the hole in the door hinge as that then sits on top of the washer vs directly on the ring.

Best,
-Mark

That makes sense. I’ll do the same. Appreciate the tip. Seems like a long lasting fix as well.

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

I used a soft wire instead of waiting for a clip for our wet bay door. Like it so much, I'll continue using wire. It's in use for like a year now.

Curious about the picture you included. I noticed that the hinge is sitting below the retaining ring (or in your case twisted wire) vs. resting up above/on it. Typically, the hinges rest on top of the ring (hence the issue with them dropping on their own as the ring pops out or the ring deforming just enough to pass through the hold in the hinge like a magic trick). The multiple slots in in the hinge pin grommet allows for incremental height adjustments to the hinge resting height. That said, on your rig, maybe being dropped all the way down is the best bay door alignment for you. On mine, most of my door hinges rest on top of the retaining rings.

Best,
-Mark

 

[JRS]

Curious about the picture you included. I noticed that the hinge is sitting below the retaining ring (or in your case twisted wire) vs. resting up above/on it. Typically, the hinges rest on top of the ring (hence the issue with them dropping on their own as the ring pops out or the ring deforming just enough to pass through the hold in the hinge like a magic trick). The multiple slots in in the hinge pin grommet allows for incremental height adjustments to the hinge resting height. That said, on your rig, maybe being dropped all the way down is the best bay door alignment for you. On mine, most of my door hinges rest on top of the retaining rings.

Best,
-Mark

All 3 of our wider bay doors on the full wall slide side (drivers side) are designed to drop down so it doesn't hit the slide out. The shorter doors open like normal. "Guides" on the wider doors actually makes for a smooth operation when opening or closing. Our full wall slide actually drops down when fully extended out and then lifts up when bringing it in.

 

[stubones99]

Hoping you all can help with this. On our very first trip with our 2023 4081 Dutch Star we had an issue when opening the wet bay door to do our hook ups. The door fell about 4 inches and when we went to close the door it would not close. It would bind up about a foot before closing. I finally figured out that the top and bottom bushings came out of their openings. I don’t know what holds the bushings in place but every time I open the door the hinges fail and I have to have my wife hold the door so I can position the bushings to go back into their holes in the hinge in order to close the door again. This is a complete pain in the ass.
On a 700k motorhome this should not be the case. Embarrassing. Does anyone have a fix for this? Your help is very much appreciated.

If you need a fix for your Newmar cargo door hinge problems, My solution is on Makerworld website at this address. Newmar coach (RV) cargo door spacers by stubones99
It's free, if you have a 3d printer, download the files and make as many as you need.

The hinge that newmar uses from the factory is not designed to carry side loads, which is what they make it do. It is designed as a linear slide on a smooth rod. So, by picking the wrong part and putting it in a situation it was not designed for, it often fails.

My design uses plastic to make a spacer and flange to carry the load of the door weight. PLA and PETG are great under pressure, and it won't rust or corrode... and it's cheap.

Just think, Newmar could invest $1500 in a printer and a $100 or so in filaments and not have to buy the wrong part to make their door hinges fail! GENIUS!