Overhead Cabinet Door Hinge Problem

[JSowles]

I'll try to be as descriptive as possible

We have a 2012 301DS and have an issue with the overhead cabinet doors on the drivers side. The cabinet struts have a lot of tension in them, to the point it has stressed the hinge where it seats on the cabinet door. The plastic pieces that the screws go into cannot handle the stress and have separated from the door. The end result is the whole hinge popping out of the door.

Does anyone here know an effective fix for getting this hinges to stay put in the door? I'm not opposed to replacing all the struts with something a little softer, but we still need to get these hinges back in the door and staying put.

Thanks!

[Creativepart]

Originally Posted by JSowles

Does anyone here know an effective fix for getting this hinges to stay put in the door? I'm not opposed to replacing all the struts with something a little softer, but we still need to get these hinges back in the door and staying put.

Thanks!

If the issue is the wood is stripped out and the screws won't hold. Glue some toothpicks in the holes, cut them flush and screw into the now filled holes.

[JSowles]

There are holes in the cabinet door that these plastic inserts go into, then you run the crew into the insert and it spreads the plastic and they grip the door. The problem being that the tension from the struts, combines with the leverage point when opening the door, creates more force than the poor little plastic inserts can handle, popping the whole hinge out.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/Pho...php?photo=3962

http://www.forestriverforums.com/Pho...php?photo=3961

Uploaded a couple photos to the site of the issue.

[Creativepart]

Can you simply glue the plastic inserts in place?

[OldCoot]

Pull the plastic inserts and replace with glued in dowel pin plugs. The screw the hinge into the dowel plugs.

[Hoffwmn]

You should probably invest in lighter weight struts. Our 2015 220QB Leprechaun came with NO cabinet door strut, making use of OH cabinets a real pain. I bought a set of struts and asked my repair guy to install them. he took one look and said the tension would pull the hinges right off the doors and recommended getting lighter struts. He's an independent and not paid by the industry to install inappropriate parts just for $$$.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Hoffwmn

You should probably invest in lighter weight struts. Our 2015 220QB Leprechaun came with NO cabinet door strut, making use of OH cabinets a real pain. I bought a set of struts and asked my repair guy to install them. he took one look and said the tension would pull the hinges right off the doors and recommended getting lighter struts. He's an independent and not paid by the industry to install inappropriate parts just for $$$.

Go to Lowe's and get a couple of screen door extension springs, cut them in half and screw one end to the door and the other end to the cabinet frame just like a strut. When they are straight, they will hold the door open.

Shop Stanley-National Hardware 1-in x 18-1/2-in Adjustable Steel Screen Door and Storm Door Spring at Lowes.com

[NewEncounter]

I have the same problem with my Coachmen Encounter. All the hinges are popping out of the cabinet doors. So far I used ''No more nail'' product to keep the plastic insert in place. So far it has worked. But I will keep in mind the toothpick approach if my approach fails and also the dowel approach if the toothpicks are not enough.

[JSowles]

Update from me.

I have 2 solutions currently in place.

One was to install some strapping over cabinet hinges to reinforce them. Since it can't be seen unless you really look for it, this worked very well.

The second fix was to use a Gorilla epoxy to glue the plastic pieces back into the cabinet door, and this seems to be holding up okay but I am concerned that it will eventually wear out under the stress.

[rotkopf54]

Have the same problem on my 2 month old Forester. This seems like a design flaw. If Ford/Chevy/??? had a design flaw like this, there would be a recall? Doesn't the RV manufacturer have to take responsibility for these kind of problems?

[Creativepart]

Originally Posted by rotkopf54

Have the same problem on my 2 month old Forester. This seems like a design flaw. If Ford/Chevy/??? had a design flaw like this, there would be a recall? Doesn't the RV manufacturer have to take responsibility for these kind of problems?

Yes! It's called a warenty.

[rotkopf54]

Understood, but this problem started occurring on a 2013 model. Seems like they should have changed the design or at least started adding some gorilla glue by now... It's been 3+ years. Guess it's cheaper for the manufacture to pay for the warranty repair, than a dab of glue during the build stage!!!??? Sorry, just venting a bit. I get it.

[Creativepart]

Are you assuming since this happened to the OP and it happened to you that it's happening to everyone? If it was I'm sure they would have fixed this long ago. Thing is... it's not happening to everyone. Going by the responses to this thread it doesn't appear to happen to very many people at all. There's no real way to tell how many are affected.

The RV industry works on a totally different model than the auto industry. With RVs you slap them together, push them out the door and let the dealer/customer be responsible for finding and fixing all the problems that exist. And, that's not just Forest River - that's the entire industry.