2014 BHS LL, Camper Entry Door Blisters

[Fatdog2]

This past summer I notice a outward dimple in the middle of the entry door and a second one has appeared while the door sat in the garage the past 6 months.   I ended up ordering a new entry door from Challenger door company, OEM supplier for LL. They told me I had one of the older doors that they had issues with de-laminating & bubbling. The original door have a luan plywood glued to the aluminum outer skin with foam core, aluminum square tube frame, and white plastic glued to luan for the interior skin. It's all  glued together to the square fame and outer black door frame is glued along the edge and screwed to make the door.

Here's what I found when I disassemble the door and window. The window frame was cracked in the middle where it meets the glass, and water was leaking in, between the glass and outer frame and at the hair line crack, which I never noticed.  The glass glue was dried up and from the looks of edge of the wood it had been leaking water for a while. The water separated the sheets of wood and started the corrosion process on the aluminum skin which was spayed glued to the create the bond. Challenger door changed the MFR process on the door and went with straight aluminum azdel panels for doors (No more Wood). The new door is the same color as the camper, with out the two small pieces of brown decal. Which is understandable and okay with me. 

An easy way to check to see if you have a wood core door  is remove the door lock, you will see the luan plywood edge.  If you have a wood core door I would inspect the window frame for cracks and caulk around the window glass and the plastic frame outer edge. I would also caulk the edge of the black outer door frame. I had on section that popped right off the door as the sealant was rather light and didn't seal along the edge of the door skin and wood. 

Here's some pictures of the dismantled door and the luan was separating. There's no way to disassemble the door with out trashing the black frame, it bends to easily and they used some strong sealants to glue it in-place.  The new door looks great and matches the camper and that's what we wanted.   

The first picture is the outward bubbles, the picture with the wood chipped up and grey matter is the aluminum corrosion powder, cracked window frame.

[Merlin]

Thanks for posting the info, photos, and solution. Good work. Some of us with older Challenger entrance doors and compartment doors have had trouble with that luan plywood. I'll for sure check that window seal this spring.

[MTCamper]

Thanks for posting and including the good pictures. How much did the replacement door cost?

[surfsup1955]

Thanks for that info [emoji1360]


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[djsamuel]

Thanks for this.  The door on my 2013 21BHS started to bulge at the bottom, and there are a few small blisters.  I was able to remove the window frame a couple of years ago, and used Geocell sealant to reseal the window.  The corrosion and bulging has remained as is now; but I am figuring on replacing the door eventually.

[Fatdog2]

Here's the cost break down for replacement door from Challenger Door, last years prices as I'm sure the cost of aluminum fluctuates and price would change.  Door cost $448.00.  Freight shipping 240.00 From MFR to Moyock, NC, $45 Skid fee, which you don't have to return its a statement they add for local dealers on sales receipt. Skid fee is  the Wood crate that they ship door in, Total cost 733.00

I took pictures of the door, and the door size sticker that was on my Original door and sent them via email, to get a quote. I did look up other RV Doors and they seem to be the same price for standard white door. In the end it was worth it. Freight charges have gone up in recent years from my research on web. It's the cost of doing business I guess. If you live closer or plan a vacation around getting a new door you could save the shipping cost and pick it up from Challenger.

The door is shipped on its side, so it's a long narrow wood pallet and upright wood framed box that the door sits in and strapped down. I has some cardboard covering the parts of the door.  The doors is well protected with the wood framing and cardboard. The design of the pallet, a shipping company can't stack anything on top of the door. as the box frame is to skinny to support anything. The door arrive with out any damage. It was pretty dusty, cleaned up fine. The company left the protective plastic on outer door skin painted finish that was nice. Overall it was worth the investment in a new door. My door was missing the gas strut and few hinge screws, but they sent me the strut right away.   They also have youtube videos on installation. The install went fine no issues. Tina Moyer in Sales was great very helpful in getting my door ordered and answered any questions I had.

[regnaDkciN]

Naptha next. Actually, acetone works better.