Bathroom door reverse swing - Rockwood 2893BS

[Theb2b]

Anybody with a 2022 or older model 2893BS reverse the swing of the bathroom door? Currently on ours it swings out into the hallway and if coming from the bedroom you have to step down the stairs then swing the door open, not a lot of fun if in the middle of the night and in general a pain anytime going into the bathroom.

If so is there enough room in the bathroom to step in and then shut the door? The other choice is to convert it to a barn door and that will require removing the cabinet over the toilet.

[yukongold]

Should be easy to do but it may take some fiddling around.

First off, every RV door I have ever seen have surface mount butts (hinges). Yours may be mortised but I doubt it. That's a good thing. You can re-position them to swing the way you want without leaving huge chunks of mortised out areas. Also, the latch strike is probably surface mounted. Again, that's good.
Remove the door and set aside.
If the jambs are two piece - with the door stops nailed/stapled on - just gently pry them off and re-position them to the other side of the jamb. Do all three - butt side, latch side, head (top). Remove the butts from the door and switch them to the other side, reversing the way the door will swing. Reverse the latch strike plate. Rehang door. Done. The door will now swing into the room from the same side as before.

If the jambs are one piece, with the door stops molded on, you will need to remove them and reposition them. Take the head jamb, reverse it (with the door stop opposite of where it was) and replace it. Take the butt jamb and reposition it on the opposite side of the door (where the latch side was). Put the latch side jamb (with the strike plate) on the side where the hinged side was. Once everything is squared up, plumbed, and secured, just rehang the door. Done. The door will now swing into the room but from the opposite side than it did before.

Just be sure before even starting that you have room for the door to swing into the room with hitting anything - - like the toilet or the vanity cabinet.

If any of the jamb material gets messed up you can replace it:
https://www.trekwood.com/categories....sort=highprice

I hope all of this makes sense.

[yukongold]

BTW - a tip to use or not, before you even start.

Get a roll of blue masking tape or green frog tape - - some kind that will pull off without damaging the wall or any covering. I like 1.5" wide tape.

Carefully run the tape along all three sides of the door jamb - the full lengths. Get right up next to it as close as you can without actually getting on it. Do this on both sides of the door.

Now, if you have to remove the jambs and replace them, you will know exactly where they need to be positioned for everything to be as it was before and for the door - hopefully - to operate correctly.

[itat]

Our 2019 8290BS has a similar bathroom but the door swings in. It makes it a bit tight to step around the door as you open it to exit the bathroom. If I were you I’d leave it as is. IMO, opening the door out into the hallway is better.

Rockwood/Flagstaff have since gone to a sliding door for the bathroom that is much better than a swinging door.

[Theb2b]

Thanks for the feedback, Yukongold yes that makes sense as I have spent considerable time study how the door is assembled or rather hung. The trim is attached to the door frame and appears to be glued on so pulling it off would be simple enough but my concern has been answered by itat that if I switch the door swing the issue from the door swing into the hallway to inside the bathroom stays the same, lack of room.

I'm going to pull the door off and see if it will work or replace it with a new one as a barn door style. Looking at the 2023 model it is now a pocket door, but with the control center on the outside bathroom wall I choose not to try that approach.

[itat]

If you can get a sliding door to work that would be the best you can do. (Are the new ones a pocket door or a sliding "barn" door?) Our 2019 has storage cubby (with a hinged cabinet door) in the wall beside the toilet. So a sliding barn-style door wouldn't work in ours unless we removed the cabinet door.

[Theb2b]

Originally Posted by itat

If you can get a sliding door to work that would be the best you can do. (Are the new ones a pocket door or a sliding "barn" door?) Our 2019 has storage cubby (with a hinged cabinet door) in the wall beside the toilet. So a sliding barn-style door wouldn't work in ours unless we removed the cabinet door.

The new ones are a pocket door, and yes I have the same cabinet and it will be coming down. Going to be a fair amount of work but will be worth it once it is done. Get started on it this weekend as it looks to be finally warming up.

[darndave]

8291RK. Love the floorplan, except for the dumb inward swinging bathroom door. You almost have to step into the shower, then close the door. Bought a larger door from dealer to match, and barn door hardware on amazon. Mounted on hall side of opening. looked and worked great. Then we towed the trailer. Door halfway off track. Messed with it for a few more travel days. Not wanting to make any MORE holes in things, we removed the door and kept the track. Off to Wally world for a fabric shower curtain. Is the perfect height, and folded in half is the perfect width to cover the 20 inch wide door opening. Found a pattern very complimentary to our Newport Ash wood trim. Other than the dog trying to come in for a visit, no issues. Also, if you happen to bump it, it hurts less! Wasn't sure about it when the other half had the idea for this, but it has worked out well and doesn't look out of place.

[firephighter]

Our door is exactly the opposite. I have to walk upstairs past bathroom door to open out into hallway. Would that be a better option for you?

[Theb2b]

Originally Posted by darndave

8291RK. Love the floorplan, except for the dumb inward swinging bathroom door. You almost have to step into the shower, then close the door. Bought a larger door from dealer to match, and barn door hardware on amazon. Mounted on hall side of opening. looked and worked great. Then we towed the trailer. Door halfway off track. Messed with it for a few more travel days. Not wanting to make any MORE holes in things, we removed the door and kept the track. Off to Wally world for a fabric shower curtain. Is the perfect height, and folded in half is the perfect width to cover the 20 inch wide door opening. Found a pattern very complimentary to our Newport Ash wood trim. Other than the dog trying to come in for a visit, no issues. Also, if you happen to bump it, it hurts less! Wasn't sure about it when the other half had the idea for this, but it has worked out well and doesn't look out of place.

Thanks for the feedback, my procrastinate paid off as I haven't even started yet. I was wondering how a barn door style door would travel, that is if it would stay on the track and looks like it won't travel well. So wife is off to Amazon to purchase a curtain, thanks darndave for sharing your experience.

[Jimmers59]

I have a 2021 2893BS and I change the door swing towards the hall instead of swinging to the bedroom. We love it. I never entertained the swinging in because I would have to step into the shower or onto the toilet to shut it. I'm 5-11 and 250lbs. It took me maybe and hour to reverse it and you can't tell it was ever anything different. The only draw back was that the door handle would hit the control panel so I switched the handle to a oval knob added a magnetic door stop at the very top to prevent it from hitting the panel. A bonus is that you can keep the door half open and have access to the bedroom but still have privacy from the kitchen/living room areas.

[IamProStreet]

I have also been contemplating switching the swing of the bathroom door but being a fifth wheel to have it swing into the hallway away from the bedroom door you would have to go up the steps, start to open the door, back down the stairs, open the door, go up the steps and close the door as you go into the bathroom. I roughly measured the swing of the door and I think there will be enough room to have it swing into the bathroom towards the toilet and still have enough room to close the door without going into the shower. You have just inspired me to move forward and finally get rid of the door maze in the middle of the night. Open bedroom door, close bedroom door, go one step down, turn around and open bathroom door, go up and into the bathroom.

[Jimmers59]

I actually flipped my door upside down. The door was almost centered top to bottom in the opening, so the door knob only raised maybe a inch or two. The door frame also easily flipped upside down and reversed to reattach the door to the same hinges. We have found that opening the door from below is much easier then trying to maneuver in the night with the door swinging towards the bedroom. we usually leave the door open when not in use. Probably the only downside is that the door covers the control panel for lights and such so have to swing the door to turn off the interior lights at night. But I do that on the way up to bed anyway.

[IamProStreet]

Well it took all of about half an hour to switch the door from outward swinging with hinges on the right to inward swinging and hinges on the left. There is enough room to close the door without any problems. Think I’m going to put a rubber bumper on the door where it would bump into the toilet bowl. The picture that shows how much room the door has to swing is only half open, it will open almost 90° before bumping into the toilet.

[Theb2b]

Went with a curtain, no more worrying about door being in the way and some larger folks will find, based on my tests, swinging into the bathroom going to be a bit of a problem.

Besides happy wife, happy life.

[Jimmers59]

IamProStreet, after a few trips, could you report back on how the swing inward is working for you? I am curious on how it is working. Bring 5-11 and 250lbs I was thinking it would be to tight for me to get in and out of the bathroom but I like the idea.

[IamProStreet]

Originally Posted by Jimmers59

IamProStreet, after a few trips, could you report back on how the swing inward is working for you? I am curious on how it is working. Bring 5-11 and 250lbs I was thinking it would be to tight for me to get in and out of the bathroom but I like the idea.

Will let you know once we get a trip with it. I’m about the same size as you but 225, don’t know if our bathrooms are the same size though. Before I switched it around I took a stick and cut the length to the width of the door. Took the stick into the bathroom and placed one end on the door jamb and swung it as if it were the door keeping it on the jamb, I did this for both left and right inwards swing. I decided having it swing towards the toilet gave me more room than if I had it swing towards the sink.

[IamProStreet]

Originally Posted by Jimmers59

IamProStreet, after a few trips, could you report back on how the swing inward is working for you? I am curious on how it is working. Bring 5-11 and 250lbs I was thinking it would be to tight for me to get in and out of the bathroom but I like the idea.

So yes I like not having to do the door mambo. The new jamb is not plumb when the trailer is level so the door won’t stay open, will have to shim it. Also the light switches are behind the door so to turn on the lights you have to go in and shut the door. I may add some switches to the other side of the door at some point but all in all I prefer not having the chance of falling down the steps in a mid night trip to the bathroom.

[onederer]

We are picking up our 2022 2893Bs next week. My plan is to split my door in half like tiny french doors. I know its hollow i am sure its going to be a pain. I think it will be better then falling down the stairs trying to get around the door.