Sliding Barn Door improvements

[Bob Davis]

There have been several problems that folks are having with the Sliding Barn Doors either breaking the bungee strap restraint, or the plastic Guide at the bottom of the doors. There are a few different fixes/ improvements to help with this. One was a metal "Sliding Bolt Latch to hold the doors open during travel. I couldn't find one with a long enough bolt to work so I ordered another set of the bungee type cord restraints and added it to both doors. Also the door stops in the top track , we added a rubber bumper.

We ordered two of the Straps and Hook Latch from Grand Design and installed them. This doubles the restraint capacity of the bungee cord and they match the factory ones.

Here are some pics of the parts and the installation:

[TroyRay]

Nice job! Good thinking!

[jleonard]

This is what we used to hold the bathroom door.
We removed the "bedroom" door.

[Tommytek]

jleonard - I assume you placed the swing latch on the bathroom door frame and then latch it to the support installed on the leading edge of the door? Could you post a pic of the install please?

[jleonard]

jleonard - I assume you placed the swing latch on the bathroom door frame and then latch it to the support installed on the leading edge of the door? Could you post a pic of the install please?

Yes that is how it is installed. Just above the bungy. Sorry I don't have a picture.

[pwalton]

My trailer is "new-to-me". I have that metal latch, but there's also a plastic strap with snap connection, not a bungee. I assumed the metal latch was original and the strap aftermarket was because previous owners couldn't reach the latch (there's another 'short person' solution that's been added to this trailer). Maybe I have it backwards...interesting.

Regardless ... however you secure it ... make sure it's secured before travel! Forgot to secure the bathroom door before travel on our shakedown trip two weekends ago. Door busted the 'stop' bolt and fell off the track during the 10 mile trip back to the storage unit. Easy enough to fix, but that doesn't mean there wasn't cussing involved!

[Bookumdanno]

Our bathroom door has the clear plastic with snap to hold door open. The strap broke on a trip last year and door came open. The magnetic latch wasn't enough to hold it open so it slammed closed broke the stop and mangled the glide wheels. At GD National rally, they gave me a new door, track, strap and wheels. When Iinstalled it DW made an extra strap. We have 2 now. I also put a piece of 2x4 on floor inside pocket to stop the door just at full open. Hasn't been a problem since.

[jleonard]

Here is a pic of the latch installed that I took this morning.

Sorry for the way the pic posted. It had proper orientation on my laptop.

[uwskier]

This is what we used to hold the bathroom door.
We removed the "bedroom" door.

Interesting. Might try something similar on mine before I start some actual long trips. Also interesting you removed the bedroom door. My DW would never go for that. That stays closed during the day to serve as an extra mosquito barrier to the bedroom, and to keep the pooch and her shedding hair away from the bedding.

[Bob Davis]

This is what we used to hold the bathroom door.
We removed the "bedroom" door.

Those are quite slick! That would have worked well.