Leaking Front door -- adjustment?

[Bill Borden]

Well I have search for this topic but have not found anything so I am posing a question, is the front door (patriot thunder 2000) adjustable and how is the best way to adjust it?

Our front door leeks when it rains or when I wash it.  Going down the road it has always made a wind noise, so that too is an indication of leaking. I have replaced the running lights and we just had a replacement Windshield with new gaskets.

Has anyone had this problem?  Is the door adjustable? It seems like it should be.

Or should the door gasket be replaced?

Any help would be................ helpful.

Thank you ,

Bill

[Keith Moffett]

Bill, take a look at the thread titled 'water leak' on the forum main page!  Hope this helps.

[Bill Borden]

Thanks Keith for the heads up on the other thread.  I am off to purchase Lexel and will be resealing the Awning box and the Porch light.

But back to original question is the front door adjustable, is it something I can do or should I wait till our next trip to Bend?

It does have an air leak 'going down the road', so if it leaks air, it could leak water too!

Thanks again,

Bill

[Joel Ashley]

The following is based on the presumption your year coach has an entry door air seal, as I'm not as astute as others as to which ones do or don't:
It could be a damaged air bladder, a faulty valve to it, an inoperative switch or bad wiring to the valve, or its pressure regulator may need adjustment.  It is possible to cut the bladder if the door is slammed while the coach is in gear (the bladder is inflated).  I think you could check the bladder by leaving the door open, keep the coach braked, and put the coach in gear to see if it inflates. 

You can also check the regulator;  I have never messed with that myself, but I guess it has a knob you can turn to adjust the pressure to the air seal bladder.  It's conceivable someone working under the right front of the coach inadvertantly bumped and moved the regulator's knob.  The book says the pressure should be between 3 and 4 psi, and not to exceed 5 psi, but I'm not sure how you'd measure that.  At any rate, the regulator and valve should be under the front cap on the curb side - you may be able to follow a line or tube between it and I'd guess the forward side of the door frame.

On our coach there is no obvious way of adjusting the door since it is on a piano style hinge.  You should be able to stand back and tell if the door doesn't align fairly well with the frame.  The latch can be adjusted, but that's probably not contributory to your leak unless its not closing firmly.  One can tweak the scissor brace at the top also.  The screen door does have 3 adjustable hinges tied into the piano hinge.  But unless radically askew, they shouldn't affect water leakage.

Joel 

[Keith Moffett]

Bill
Presuming you do not have the inflatable door seal.
We just had this problem too.  For some reason there was a large gap at the top of our door.  I could literaly push my finger through had it not been filled with gobs of silicon.  We had our door assembly completely removed and a new gasket installed then the door was reinstalled in a nice plumb plane and adjusted.
Using only the ajusters at the top can warp the door and I sure wouldnt want to buy a new one.  This is why we waited and had it done at Beaver Coach Sales.  I watched the whole process and it occured to me that were it done wrong we might need to exit quickly and not be ab!e to if the door were to jam.
All this said if youwere to persue this there are two vise like brackets at the top that I believe use allen screws.  There is a fixed outer jaw and the inner jaw drawes it tight!
Good luck
Keith

[Gerald Farris]

Bill,
First, you do not have an inflatable door seal. Inflatable door seals were only used on Monaco built Beavers. I think that they started around 04 or 05.

I am not sure what type of latch you have or where your leak is at, but if you want to adjust the latch tighter, most of the SMC coaches in your era, you can remove the plastic cover over the striker anchor and add washers between the striker anchor and the door frame. The door has a wooden core with a fiberglass skin, so you can not bend it for an adjustment like a car door. If you need more than a striker adjustment, I would suggest waiting for BCS in Bend.

Gerald 

[Bill Borden]

Thanks Joel, Kieth and Gerald,

I think the best course is to wait.  I have examined the door and it looks out of alignment.  Mostly at the top, I did not see any physical damage to the gasket, but I believe it is not being compressed at the top.  From the front looking down the side of the coach the top is out a little.  It may have been tweak, bent or something.

So it will be added to the list for the next trip up BCS.  The main slide out is also out of alignment, pulls in a little more at the top than the bottom.

So thanks for the confirmation and the assist,

Bill
 

[Bill Borden]

Here is an update.

I talked with Ken at BCS and he confirmed the door on our Coach is not adjustable.  I asked him about replacement gaskets and they are available, but the lead time is 3 to 4 weeks from PTL.  PTL is the door mfg and they are still in business.  He did let me know what to look for as to gasket damage or for missing parts.
http://www.ptlengineering.com/

As to the leaking, Ken also suggested to remove the interior awning bolt cover to see if it is leaking there, that is the first place he would look.  Water can go in to the frame and come out lower like the bottom step, as it is in our Coach.  I am in the process of replacing the bottom step, the plywood was wet and rotten.  The water had no place to go.

So I will be checking the door gaskets, awning bolts and resealing the Awning, also I am upgrading the porch light fixture to an LED type.

Hopefully, this will solve this issue.

Bill

[Jeremy Parrett]

Bill,
I have the same problem.  My door is bent from wind gusts causing it to fly open against the retainer at top of door. I have been told that straightening the door and replacing the seal might solve the problem.
Andre at Girard suggested the awning is recessed into a molding that was tack welded and installed without sealing the seams!!!! Ultimate fix is to remove entire unit,weld seams and reinstall,but Andre told me that the old style motor has a plastic housing that is most likely going to break. New motor has metal housing and costs around $900.
I am going to soak the whole thing in FLEXSEAL ....as per TV add......perhaps this will fix the leak that keeps soaking the interior lining above door lintel and my step.

[Steven Hoffman]

Dealing with a door leak last summer I found a few places that can let water in.  (1997 Patriot)

Door striker bolt and dead bolt on the door jam.
 
On the side of the coach just above the bay doors there is a strip of rubber that runs from front of coach to rear.  It covers the screws.  The rubber can "shrink" over the years.  Next to the door jam the body had a small opening behind the rubber.  This allowed water to enter and work it's way down into the lower step area.

Water that migrates past the door should be stopped by the flange on the frame and should run to the bottom of the door sill and out.  My door sill was not sealed on one of the corners allowing water to enter.  I also had some water getting behind the hinge and entering the coach.

The screws holding the drip rail above the door can let water wick in around them.

Front cap to body joining point.  Both on the side and along the roof.  Also any roof penetrations in that area. Such as satellite antenna.