replacement back door or rebuilding back door

[lymanguy]

We own a 2013 Livinlite 10'. It as been a very good camper for my wife and I, and we try to be as proactive as possible for fixing issues and maintaining it. One of the reasons we purchased it was because of the claim that there was no wood to rot in its construction. While in the body of the camper that is true, the back door, one of the most exposed mechanical parts of any rear door camper, is beginning to show its age. While it is not structurally bad, we hope, it does show some staining on the inside bottom similar to the look that other doors on other campers we have owned when the wood frame was breaking down. The other issue is that we have had several oxidation holes appear under the finish paint on the aluminum door. I have some vinyl decals over some silicon for the time being.

So, I am doing some research and reaching out on the forum for a replacement door which would be more durable than replacing the existing door with another similar door. There must be, I hope, a better one out there than the multiple decades old design and construction of most doors on factory built campers. I am also considering taking the door off, not the frame, and re-clading the outside skin, and replacing the inner wood frame with new wood with a soak of CPES, clear penetrating epoxy sealer, as they do in some exposed repairs in boats, and putting it back together.

Has anyone found a manufacturer of a better built door, or done a refit of their existing door? Its too cold in Vermont to do it right now, but it won't be cold forever!

[Merlin]

I don't know about the LL 10', but on my camper built in 2014 the door and compartment doors were supplied by Challenger Door and they had a core of plywood. Since mine deteriorated just like yours, I assume it's the case there too. I replaced my compartment doors with Challenger Doors after they assured me they no longer used wood. The new doors are great. I suggest looking for a sticker on your door with size info and contacting Challenger about a wood free replacement. They were reasonably priced and shipped quickly in my case, plus they were very easy to install.

https://www.challengerdoor.com/

[lymanguy]

Thanks Merlin.
I spent the last hour looking at some videos of amateur camper restorations that did a rebuild, but with a solid plywood door instead of a wood frame, foam core and metal skin. As long as we did not have to go anywhere for a week, it is possible, but the weight of the plywood would be considerably more than what we have on. Hmmm
I will look at the Challenger Door website after posting this. Thanks for the reference!

[Merlin]

FYI, the doors in my camper were a sandwich of aluminum outside, plywood core, and Azdel inside. The aluminum frame around that sandwich was bonded so tightly it was not removable without damage. I tried, because I wanted to DiY a door repair with high density foam. No go for me.

[Lap527]

We also have a 2013 truck camper 10 and had the door replaced, under warranty.  Our 21RBS was on us.  The replacement doors on both campers have been flawless.  Thinking back, the guy I talked to at Challenger said something about sub materials used due to Livin Lite trying to keep the cost down.  We still have both campers and with the TC door replaced in 2014 or 15 and the 21RBS was 2 years ago.  It's all good now.