Ever since we got the storage trailer we've always had to deal with the shitty entry door that would periodically bind up where we couldn't get it shut properly unless we lifted it or otherwise manipulated it in some way to get it to close. Just recently the door's internal framework weakened to the point that the whole door sagged when opened so the thing looked like a parallelogram instead of a rectangle. I finally had enough of this shit and decided to fix the door. After removing the door from the trailer I had to straighten the thing back out to where it was a rectangle again. I also had to tuck the skins back into the outer frame moldings around the door as well so they wouldn't find themselves flapping around excessively. Once I straightened the door I had to survey the bottom of the door where the inner framework was missing. After seeing that the thickness of the door frame was the same as that of a normal 2x4 I decided to just use a length of 2x4 to make the repair. The first thing I had to do was cut some of the internal foam away to make room for the 2x4 since the old board was a length of 2x2 board. After cutting the foam away I measured out the length of 2x4 I needed. With the 2x4 cut, I had to screw it in place. First thing I had to do was trim the lips of the outer metal frame to make some room for the 2x4. Even though the door was the same dimension as the board, the outer frame metal was slightly narrower than the board. By trimming the metal from the frame I was able to rest the 2x4 against the inside of the frame where I was able to secure it with wood screws. After repeating this on the other side of the door, I had the bottom held together properly and the door was solid once again. With the door solid I wanted to do some fine tuning with the door. I used some small washers and more wood screws around the edges to help secure the skin to the 2x4 so the skin won't be able to flap around or otherwise get caught up in any way where it can be torn or broken more. With the skin solid and the door frame solid I was able to re-hang the door. Afterwards I found that the whole setup was better than expected. The door was able to close smoothly, being able to easily lock with little effort. Since I was this far ahead I even went ahead and trimmed the opening for the bottom latch on the door so the door can be latched closed without having to lock it. At least now the door can be locked and/or latched with one hand, no more having to lift the door and manipulate the lock to get the damned thing to latch properly.
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May 2023
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