4081 Dutch Star wet bay door hinge issues

[Dave H]

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.

 

[SteveMA]

There are retaining external snap rings that are supposed to be in the gloves in the "hinge pins" to keep the bearing surfaces in place. they sometimes come loose and drop down. Mine have not gotten lost but being out of the groove in the pin they do nothing. The mechanism is a little unusual with the swing out and drop down to clear the Full Wall Slide when the FWS is out but it is fairly clear once you look at it for a bit. I carry a set of snap ring pliers in my tool kit and a few spare snap rings, but really only had to redo this 2x and as long as the hinge pins and assembly is kept clean and lubricated I suspect it will not happen too often. (I do think both times I had issues the hinge pins were not clean and that caused the snap ring to pop out...). There is more info on IRV2 Newmar group with photos etc.

(This is all about Newmar doors, I think you may still have your old RV in your profile?)

https://www.harborfreight.com/snap-ring-pliers-with-interchangeable-heads-63845.html?event_id=183585&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739207&campaignid=21901739207&utm_content=173216762791&adsetid=173216762791&product=63845&store=32&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cnkwEhIZqc9MVcWxpdawm6j&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvbm7BhC5ARIsAFjwNHudyrYe7ozTuLqd1oJfsmQJABNSVq4os0jZbsNoBNaH25UmlIymedQaAg-qEALw_wcB

 

[rvpacer]

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.

It sounds like the bracket that holds the hinges might be installed upside down. It has a stop on it that controls the path and use of the hinge and bushings. Worth looking at?

 

[Dave H]

There are retaining external snap rings that are supposed to be in the gloves in the "hinge pins" to keep the bearing surfaces in place. they sometimes come loose and drop down. Mine have not gotten lost but being out of the groove in the pin they do nothing. The mechanism is a little unusual with the swing out and drop down to clear the Full Wall Slide when the FWS is out but it is fairly clear once you look at it for a bit. I carry a set of snap ring pliers in my tool kit and a few spare snap rings, but really only had to redo this 2x and as long as the hinge pins and assembly is kept clean and lubricated I suspect it will not happen too often. (I do think both times I had issues the hinge pins were not clean and that caused the snap ring to pop out...). There is more info on IRV2 Newmar group with photos etc.

(This is all about Newmar doors, I think you may still have your old RV in your profile?)

https://www.harborfreight.com/snap-ring-pliers-with-interchangeable-heads-63845.html?event_id=183585&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739207&campaignid=21901739207&utm_content=173216762791&adsetid=173216762791&product=63845&store=32&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cnkwEhIZqc9MVcWxpdawm6j&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvbm7BhC5ARIsAFjwNHudyrYe7ozTuLqd1oJfsmQJABNSVq4os0jZbsNoBNaH25UmlIymedQaAg-qEALw_wcB

It sounds like the bracket that holds the hinges might be installed upside down. It has a stop on it that controls the path and use of the hinge and bushings. Worth looking at?

Steve,
Great information! I just ordered the pliers you recommended and will have a look see to try and figure this out. I very much appreciate your thoughts on this. Sounds like an easy problem to fix for Newmar but they haven’t. I wonder why.

 

[Dave H]

Thanks RV Pacer. I’ll look at that as well. Both of these responses seem applicable and probable.

 

[osuallen]

On my 22 DS 4369, the door on the wet bay is designed to drop to clear the slide. when you close it, a separate arm raises the door on the last several inches the door is open. I don't know if the 4081 floor plan has the same wet bay setup or not. If not and is just a normal swing open door, then it sounds like you have lost the lower snap rings on the hinge bushing. If you want to tackle it yourself, call Newmar parts for the correct snap rings. Not really difficult, but is a PITA to repair.

 

[Dave H]

On my 22 DS 4369, the door on the wet bay is designed to drop to clear the slide. when you close it, a separate arm raises the door on the last several inches the door is open. I don't know if the 4081 floor plan has the same wet bay setup or not. If not and is just a normal swing open door, then it sounds like you have lost the lower snap rings on the hinge bushing. If you want to tackle it yourself, call Newmar parts for the correct snap rings. Not really difficult, but is a PITA to repair.

Yep, the wet bay door is identical. It drops about 4 inches or so to clear the slide and when I open the door no matter how slowly I do it, the bushings come out of their holes and the door will not close afterwards. I can get the door about 75 percent of the way closed and then it binds. So I have to get my wife to balance the door so that I can line up the bushing to drop them inside their holes on both the top and bottom hinge and only then will the door close. The bushings are about 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter and about an inch or so long.
I will go ahead and order the parts and try this myself since my dealer is virtually useless. Many thanks!!!

 

[osuallen]

Yep, the wet bay door is identical. It drops about 4 inches or so to clear the slide and when I open the door no matter how slowly I do it, the bushings come out of their holes and the door will not close afterwards. I can get the door about 75 percent of the way closed and then it binds. So I have to get my wife to balance the door so that I can line up the bushing to drop them inside their holes on both the top and bottom hinge and only then will the door close. The bushings are about 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter and about an inch or so long.
I will go ahead and order the parts and try this myself since my dealer is virtually useless. Many thanks!!!

Having a helper is beneficial. I did one of my doors by myself and sure could have used an extra pair of hands at times. Good luck.

 

[Dave H]

Having a helper is beneficial. I did one of my doors by myself and sure could have used an extra pair of hands at times. Good luck.

Wow, I can’t imagine trying to hold the door in the exact right position and try to get both bushings inserted into their holes. Well done.

 

[osuallen]

Wow, I can’t imagine trying to hold the door in the exact right position and try to get both bushings inserted into their holes. Well done.

A video would have been amusing, except you would have to delete the sound track