Foamies

[DaveInDenver]

On that note I did look at Alibaba and there were teardrop doors (some with single for min order) that were quite a bit cheaper. I wonder if any of these parts are even made stateside atm.

A hasty Thomas search shows 24 manufacturers in the U.S. who list "RV doors" in their capabilities. The number would be trimmed pretty quickly I bet since I doubt all of them have the type of doors you're thinking in their active catalog.

FWIW, don't get mentally hemmed in to "RV", Perhaps look to the boat and marine market, too. Lots of cross pollination and often improved quality due to conditions they have to deal with. Plus they make more oddball stuff, like for smaller openings or opposite handed swing.

Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada

Find Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada on Thomasnet.com

www.thomasnet.com

 

[rushthezeppelin]

A hasty Thomas search shows 24 manufacturers in the U.S. who list "RV doors" in their capabilities. The number would be trimmed pretty quickly I bet since I doubt all of them have the type of doors you're thinking in their active catalog.

FWIW, don't get mentally hemmed in to "RV", Perhaps look to the boat and marine market, too. Lots of cross pollination and often improved quality due to conditions they have to deal with. Plus they make more oddball stuff, like for smaller openings or opposite handed swing.

Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada

Find Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada on Thomasnet.com

www.thomasnet.com

That's interesting I noticed Lippert Components is one of the ones listed in there and many of those Amazon doors did say they were Lippert. I'm surprised at a much smaller gulf in US vs Chinese prices on these.

 

[DaveInDenver]

That's interesting I noticed Lippert Components is one of the ones listed in there and many of those Amazon doors did say they were Lippert. I'm surprised at a much smaller gulf in US vs Chinese prices on these.

On Amazon I'd be wary of counterfeits. Double check the seller, Amazon itself is probably authorized but the 3rd party sellers could be anyone, so they might be fake or grey market (thus no warranty). Also good to check with the manufacturer themselves to see if they allow Amazon distribution. Then you have to balance the price. Going with a questionable source is fine if it works and you don't care about later support on your personal build. As a reseller you'd have to maybe think more about it. OTOH if you're a middleman the OEM is going to give you better prices if you buy through their distribution channels or directly.

 

[Cruisertrash]

On that note I did look at Alibaba and there were teardrop doors (some with single for min order) that were quite a bit cheaper. I wonder if any of these parts are even made stateside atm.

You or I could make them. I keep finding this balance between making everything to cut costs down and sourcing stuff to get some of my free time back.
Additionally, I bet if you emailed the seller on Alibaba and asked for a shipped price for several pallets with a 6 month ETA the price would drop further.

 

[Cruisertrash]

A hasty Thomas search shows 24 manufacturers in the U.S. who list "RV doors" in their capabilities. The number would be trimmed pretty quickly I bet since I doubt all of them have the type of doors you're thinking in their active catalog.

FWIW, don't get mentally hemmed in to "RV", Perhaps look to the boat and marine market, too. Lots of cross pollination and often improved quality due to conditions they have to deal with. Plus they make more oddball stuff, like for smaller openings or opposite handed swing.

Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada

Find Agricultural, Emergency, RV, Truck & Utility Vehicle Doors Manufacturers and Suppliers in the USA and Canada on Thomasnet.com

www.thomasnet.com

And this is why large companies have labor dedicated just to procurement.

 

[DaveInDenver]

And this is why large companies have labor dedicated just to procurement.

And in small ones everyone's a little bit of a sustaining and manufacturing engineer.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Also found this if you want a US made door but don't mind not having a window. https://www.affordablervparts.com/teardrop-entry-door-30x435-white-with-black-trim.html If/when I decide to build one I might go this route, less windows is more efficiency anyway. I mean really I'm not building this to spend a bunch of time in it, I just want comfortable sleeping where I don't have to rearange my truck everytime to pull it off (I sleep in the back with a memory foam mattress currently). If anything less windows is better, the one thing that annoys me sleeping in my truck is when others roll by the campsite when I'm trying to fall asleep. With this you can have two doors for little more than the price of one.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Been researching a bunch on this and trying to get ideas on how I want to go about this (I'm sure it will be a good while till I start on this yet). I'm very much leaning towards actual fiberglass and resin at this point, Really seems like a much better way to seal everything compared to poor man's fiberglass and really doesn't seem that much more expensive.. I'm doubling leaning towards this as I'm thinking about making somewhat of a wood skeleton for this so that I can attach a roof rack sometime down the line which also means I want to do a wood floor on the bottom. Also leaning more towards a squaredrop with a 45 halfway up on the front and a completely vertical galley door in the back. Seems like especially the vertical galley door will be far simpler to build and far simpler to seal properly. Debating on whether I want to do the HF trailer as well. I really feel like I want at least some offroad capability beyond what that trailer would give and I want a cab that's 5' wide for a queen. If I do this my best bet is probably either a custom frame (meaning I need to learn to weld or find somebody to help me with that) and I would probably go with a Timbren axleless system. This way I can build the frame to be full on sliders and I would have tons of clearance. Still not sure if I want to do this right off the bat or maybe just build a 4x8 on the HF trailer for now and eventually just build another one (seems like you could likely sell one of these at least for the cost of materials if not more).

 

[stusic]

I found the doors on Amazon for roughly $3-400 each. I think the nice part about having a door on each side would if two people are sleeping inside and one needs to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, they dont have to climb over the other.

Two doors takes up a lot of useable room in an already small trailer.

 

[twentyfooteighty]

Two doors takes up a lot of useable room in an already small trailer.

Two door allow two people to get out without waking the other to go pee.

 

[Corbet]

maybe just build a 4x8 on the HF trailer for now and eventually just build another one (seems like you could likely sell one of these at least for the cost of materials if not more).

If you have the time do this. I’m sure you could sell for more than materials in todays market. Then you can learn the lessons on the first one.

Two doors is a must IMHO for the pee reason mentioned above.

And I’d definitely want the ventilation of windows plus the ability to see if a bear is right outside. Curtains are easy if you want to block light.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Looks like Northern Tool has a 5x8 for the same price as the HF trailer. Only problem is the closest NTs are in Lubbock and Wichita. This one didn't have the useless folding mechanism though. https://www.northerntool.com/products/ironton-5ft-x-8ft-steel-utility-trailer-kit-1715-lb-load-capacity-37552?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Trailers + Towing > Trailers&utm_campaign=Ironton&utm_content=37552&ogmap=SHP|PLA|GOOG|STND|m|SITEWIDE|OOT||||10028976396|109460915908&gclid=CjwKCAjw_uGmBhBREiwAeOfsd3SUagIar5cDsDf76LOGzGAFqCYvKuTepujdEZXhs1GsI28n-Lpz2hoCgGAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#hotbar-description

With the weight limit on those we could strap 5 on top of one and be fine, drag em back with a Prius and it would be like $12 shipping

 

[DaveInDenver]

Been researching a bunch on this and trying to get ideas on how I want to go about this (I'm sure it will be a good while till I start on this yet). I'm very much leaning towards actual fiberglass and resin at this point, Really seems like a much better way to seal everything compared to poor man's fiberglass and really doesn't seem that much more expensive.. I'm doubling leaning towards this as I'm thinking about making somewhat of a wood skeleton for this so that I can attach a roof rack sometime down the line which also means I want to do a wood floor on the bottom.

I’m of the same mind on the basic construction. Those foam panels even with a skin probably aren’t that strong. I’d have no concern using them between a frame of wood or metal ribs though.

Which leads to suggesting going down the rabbit hole of DIY builds on expeditionportal.com. There’s many ways to do this and be more sure of loads. One is all lumber and aluminum with foam in between. Others have found structural foam that’s more appropriate as both structure and insulation.

The box frame could be welded but some have come up with mechanical connections to use aluminum profiles.

My $0.02 is stick with locally available materials instead if exotic stuff you’d have to order. I’d prefer a frame of aluminum and probably a thin plywood or composite skin so the insulation can be whatever works in a particular cavity - foam panels, expanding stuff and maybe batting.

Debating on whether I want to do the HF trailer as well.

I’m sure those trailers are fine, a load rating is a load rating. But I hear ya on wondering about longevity and suitability off highway. By the time you reinforce what fails and modify suspension you might be best off starting from new. But I will say that using a prefab trailer might be slightly less hassle at the DMV titling and plating than a fabricated one. Also you’d still need to consider how it’s engineered. But because workmanship is good and might use lots of steel doesn’t mean it’s strong in stress points and using material efficiently and tracks well.