Two More Problems

JohnM20
JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
1000 Comments
edited May 2022 in Caravans #1

Has anyone any experience of either of the following?

1. Has anyone repaired their spongy caravan floor using the resin and dowel method which seems to be the common way of repairing the problem? If so, how easy was it to do?

2. Has anyone had the hinge on the freezer compartment of their Dometic fridge break when using the compartment 'normally', ie no excessive force? If so, how was it repaired?

Comments

  • dave the rave
    dave the rave Forum Participant Posts: 806
    500 Comments
    edited May 2022 #2

    The floor repair depends on whether you have carpet or vynil.Either can be cut around the furniture but carpet usually gives a better result when re fitting.The process is simple but can be messy!Cleaning up after "going off " is easier if you apply gentle heat.Dometic hinges are available as spares (not cheap) and replacement depends on the model of fridge.

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2022 #3

    A set of hinges for the freezer compartment of my Dometic fridge after a breakage cost me about £20 including postage and packing.

    I tried, unsuccessfully, to repair the hinge, but the springs are simply too powerful to allow any form of repair to existing hinges.

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2022 #4

    Having searched online I have found two places that could give me a price for the hinges. One was £28.10 and the other £23.44 for a single hinge!

    In view of this I've glued the two halves together with epoxy resin adhesive having first made a jig to hold the pieces in place. After 24 hours to allow for the curing to complete I've reassembled the door. Everything looked OK so I gave it and opening / closing test. Admittedly only about 30 cycles but so far it's OK and hopefully I've saved at least £23.44. I'll give it a longer test in a day or so just to make sure.

    Thinking about the construction of the hinge made me realise that most of the stress is actually taken on the long tails of the spring which are enclosed and captive within the plastic. This gave me a bit more hope that the repair would possibly work.

  • jennyc
    jennyc Forum Participant Posts: 957
    500 Comments
    edited May 2022 #5

    I’ve not limited this reply to your fix for the floor because I think that there are better ways to do things.

    Many years ago the floor of our Lunar became delaminated. We drilled a few holes in the plywood skin and injected in builders expanding polyurethane foam. It expanded and permanently reattached the skin to the original foam core. With care, you could drill from below, through the foam, stopping just short of the plywood floor.

    Be Careful - the foam will expand quite powerfully, causing bulges, so don’t squirt much in. It’ll spread sideways for the first few minutes. If you can find some heavy weights like concrete blocks, they’ll help resist the floor from bulging.