Re: [A/S] Are Door Hinges Adjustable

[Charlie/Betty Burke <cbburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lee,

Yes, the door is adjustable, but no the hinges are not. If or when a hinge 
bolt comes loose one is faced with one of the more aggravating problem with 
an Airstream. Since 1969 when they stopped using the cast door frame and 
started using the double hinged door the hinges are a little known 
aggravation. Little known because they don't often come loose. The hinge 
bolts are nutted on the inside to loose nuts, not nut plates or nutserts, 
just plain nuts. If the bolt comes loose the nut will turn free and can drop 
completely off. The fix is to cut into the inside skin by the door and set a 
new nut or tighten the loose one. There are a few tricks that sometimes will 
tighten the nut. To check the bolts open the door and work it up and down. 
There should be very little if any vertical movement. Check where the 
movement is. If the hinge moves against the skin the hinge bolts are
loose. As for adjusting the door, there ain't nuttin you can fix with a 2x4. 
Not to beat on it, rather to bend it. The door is intended to be adjusted by 
bending it. We have on many occasions recurved a door that opened in 
transit. Pulling at the top or bottom of the door while pushing out at the 
latch, using a lever to push the top or bottom of the door to the left or 
right, they all work.

Charlie