Power cord door

[Samuel Sperbeck]

Our 01 Patriot Thunder has a 5"X11 1/2" top hinged door where you access the power cord and the In/Out switch. Was there ever any provision for keeping that door open? I am thinking about adding a small strut so I won't have to try to hold the door open and operate the switch with one hand while wiping the cord with a towel with my other hand. As always, any help is appreciated. Sam

[David T. Richelderfer]

I would agree.  It's one of those things that's a small PITA, not significant enough though to spend much brain-time to engineer a "fix."

[Joel Ashley]

Can the door and casing be turned upside down so the hinge is on the bottom?

[Samuel Sperbeck]

Hi Joel,

Thanks for your suggestion. I looked at turning the frame over and then just turning the door over to get the hinge on the bottom but either method put the slot for the cord too far out of alignment with the cord and would require a sharp "S" curve in order to close the door over the cord. I found a workable solution using a piece of 3/8" aluminum rod inserted into a 1/2" OD by 3/8" ID aluminum tubing creating a telescoping support. My attempt at using a strut was a failure because the strut that would fit the opening didn't have enough travel. I'm satisfied that I won't be dropping the door onto my wrist anymore and can have one hand on the switch and one to wipe the cord with a towel.

Thanks, Sam