What a Drag

What a Drag

When the screen door starts to sag, a simple relocation of the hinges is all it may take to restore proper function.

By Bob Livingston

Vs are fitted with a framed entry-way screen that’s integrated into the hinge mechanism and makes it possible to work in concert with the main door. It’s a system that’s as common in the RV industry as wheels — and, for the most part, it works. The screen is designed to be used independently of the entry door and is latched in place when it comes time to close the screen and entry doors together. Over time, however, the screen frame can sag on its hinges — creating a drag that makes it hard to open and close, which also impacts the operation of the entire entry-door system.

The trick to restoring clearance on the threshold is to relocate the screen frame on its hinges, which is a simple 30-minute project.

The first step is to determine how much to widen the gap between the threshold and screen-door frame. In this case, providing a 1/8- to 1/4-inch wider gap seemed suitable. RV Enthusiast magazine Technical Director Bill Gehr helped with this project, something he’s done hundreds of times while previously owning Bill’s RV Service in Ventura, California. Fortunately, do-it-yourselfers can make a pretty good, educated guess here because tolerances are not critical — just keep in mind that you won’t have a lot of area to do this too many times. We relocated the screen door 1/4-inch higher than the threshold to keep the sagging under control for a long time without having to repeat this process.

The screen door on this fifth wheel was dragging enough to prevent the entry door from closing properly without slamming. Pulling up on the frame usually helped with clearance temporarily, but ultimately the frame was weakened and needed to be relocated on its hinges.

While you’re at it, inspect the screen frame joints to make sure they are flush and tight. Any repairs can be made with L-shaped flat-metal stock and screws (found in hardware stores) which will add quite a bit of strength to the frame.

Relocating the screen door frame on the hinges requires that new holes be drilled lower than the existing holes — that way, the screen will move up within the doorway. Remove the two screws from each of the three hinges and pull the screen door out of the entry way. Only one hole was first drilled — ¼-inch below the original top hole — to accommodate the top hinge before returning the screen door to its mounting position and reattaching the top hinge by driving a screw into the new hole. The screen frame was then adjusted by placing a wedge at the bottom to square it up in the doorway. Once you’re happy with the location and the door moves freely, you can drill through the other hinges, drive in the screws — and you’re done.

The screen door is mounted to a network of hinges integrated with the entry door. This allows the screen to be closed independently of the main door and latched when both are closed. Once it was determined how much additional clearance was needed, the screen door was released by removing two screws from each of three hinges.

You’ll need to take the door to a location where new holes can be drilled in the frame. In this case, one new hole was drilled below the original hole. There’s not a lot of extra free area for relocating the holes, so it’s best to drill in ¼-inch increments. It took six years for the screen door to sag to this point, so relocating the frame on the hinges should last even longer if enough gap is restored.

Once the one new hole was drilled, the screen door was re-mounted using only the screw for that hole. Adjust the screen-door frame so it’s square within the doorway and place a wedge between the threshold and bottom of the screen door to keep it in position.

attaching hinges to screen door with screw gun

The other five holes for attaching the hinges are drilled with the screen door in place. Use care so the screen door does not move during the process. With the top screw in place, it’s best to drill through the bottom hinge next and work your way up.

All the original screws were driven with a screw gun; if you’re not experienced with this type of tool, use a screwdriver — stripping the holes will prolong the project and invite a few choice bad words.

Be sure to also inspect the frame joints to make sure they are flush and tight. If any of the joints are separated the frame may not be square, which will impact proper function. Loose joints can be corrected by using flat metal L-shaped stock (available in any hardware store) and screws. The bracket here also provided a big dose of strength to the door frame.

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