| Author | Message | ||
| Amy E. Riley (Familycoach)
Registered Member Username: Familycoach Post Number: 14 Registered: 9-2007 Posted From: 130.76.96.15 Rating: N/A |
Hi Everybody. I am hoping you can help me figure out how to install some pocket doors in our GM4905. They are going to go between the bedroom and bathroom, and the bathroom and Kitchen. Our roof isn't raised, and everything I can think of will have to doors running into the roof of the bus when they are in the wall. I have looked through the archives, but haven't seen anything that addressed this particular problem. | ||
| Jerome Dusenberry (Jerry32)
Registered Member Username: Jerry32 Post Number: 46 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 148.78.243.52 Rating: N/A |
I know what you mean as I put in a side isle and doors weren't convenient. I used a track from a closet door for my pocket door. I didn't look around to see if there was hardware for the pocket door as I had the other stuff.I like the pocket door as it takes up no space like a swinging door might do. Jerry | ||
| Tim Brandt (Timb)
Registered Member Username: Timb Post Number: 109 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.165.176.60 Rating: N/A |
If pocket isn't a necesity bifold works well in our non raised roof coach. If you really want pocket maybe it would be possible to cut the outside edge of the door to match the curve of the roof. Then you would need to trim the door opening with a rounded arch to cover the modified door but it could be done (Message edited by timb on January 07, 2008) | ||
| john daniels (Big_john)
Registered Member Username: Big_john Post Number: 9 Registered: 3-2007 Posted From: 75.109.200.178 Rating: N/A |
Amy, I'm going to do the same in my 4903 to put in side hall. I do a lot of home remodeling and I have some drawer slides for deep kitchen drawers that will work. I will use plywood sandwiched between paneling to build door. I'm not concerned about security only privacy. hope this helps.Go to Home depot and look at hardware . | ||
| John Shackelford (Shack)
Registered Member Username: Shack Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 205.172.16.70 Rating: N/A |
Amy, I didn't convert my bus, but here is my pocket door arrangement. The bus is an MC-5B without a raised roof. The door height is just clear of the roof when the door is open. Folks 5'10" or more learn to duck! The hardware on the upper left of the door frame is a metal pin on a chain and hole to secure the door open for driving.(Home Depot). It works fine, doesn't rattle when driving, and beats having an accordion-folding door, curtain, etc.   | ||
| Pete/RTS Daytona (Pete_rtsdaytona)
Registered Member Username: Pete_rtsdaytona Post Number: 429 Registered: 1-2005 Posted From: 72.189.66.206 Rating: N/A |
Hi I have 2 pocket doors in my RTS - I do have lots of head room - but I have rounded corner - so I had to cut a 45 degree angle in my 30" pocket doors so that they could slide into the 36" wall pocket without hitting the curved roof line - I then make the doorway with matching 45 degree archway so my cutout is hidden Pete RTS/Daytona | ||
| david anderson (Davidanderson)
Registered Member Username: Davidanderson Post Number: 225 Registered: 2-2004 Posted From: 66.142.85.12 Rating: N/A |
Amy, Do the arch thing like Tim suggested and arch your door header on both left and right sides so the doorway will look somewhat like an oval on the top. That would give the opening a nice touch of class. Since your roller track must stay on a straight plane, make your hanger attach point as close to the point where the door begins its curve. Hopefully you have enought flat area in the door to attach the hangers without losing much stability. David | ||
| Luvrbus (Luvrbus)
Registered Member Username: Luvrbus Post Number: 239 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 74.32.81.73 Rating: N/A |
Amy, i have two pocket doors that are made out of solid oak in my bus do not make that mistake because they are too heavy the lighter the better | ||
| Don Evans (Doninwa)
Registered Member Username: Doninwa Post Number: 101 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 66.45.165.58 Rating: N/A |
Just a thought. Do the doors really need to go all the way to the ceiling? Would a gap at the top matter? Having a gap might even help with circulating air for heating and cooling and moving air (steam) when showering. If a gap matters you could make a trick door that was straight on top and a section to slide up to fill the gap when closed. I know... I need to get to work on my bus and stop dreaming up goofy ideas. Don 4107 | ||
| John MC9 (John_mc9)
Registered Member Username: John_mc9 Post Number: 569 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 66.217.106.85 Rating: N/A |
In the "for what it's worth" department..... Our Winnebago had a pocket door. It looked great, and took little space, and opened and closed easily..... Uhhhh.... For the first year, that is... After much travel, bouncing around on highways and side roads, the blasted thing would lose it's rollers. Well... having a pocket door that works, and having one that you need to work on, are two completely different animals. It's a real pain in the arse, to try to get the blasted door off the track, after it's installed. It's three times that, to find new rollers and re-fit the things and re-install the door.... Ask me, I had to do it so many times, I was doing it between snores. Soooo...... I would check with Ace, and take note of the way he constructed his sliding doors before using any conventional "pocket door" assembly. His method is probably 1/2 the price and 1/100 the repair headaches (if any at all)! (Just an opinion, youse unnerstan..) | ||
| Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member Username: Buswarrior Post Number: 1155 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 76.68.132.227 Rating: N/A |
Using the big drawer slides instead of the hanging track and rollers is something to think hard about. This door is going into a moving vehicle, and will be bouncing and banging around. Busnuts, many being frugal, may be tempted to use cheap closet door hardware, and the end result will be unhappiness after some miles down the road. If the door operates as tightly and closely controlled as a draw slide... No noise, and better chance of surviving the harsh movements? Also, pocket doors come at a space price too, the thickness of that cavity is lost permanently, the space for a swinging door is lost temporarily and may be used for other things in a pinch? happy coaching! buswarrior | ||
| Amy E. Riley (Familycoach)
Registered Member Username: Familycoach Post Number: 15 Registered: 9-2007 Posted From: 130.76.96.17 Rating: N/A |
Thanks everybody for all of the great info. We had talked about doing something similar to Johns with a curved opening. If our mockups dont work we will probably go with the acordian doors. Amy | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Registered Member Username: Gusc Post Number: 568 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 208.54.200.166 Rating: N/A |
My 4104 came with two accordion-folding doors and I couldn't be happier. They are probably the cheapest way you can go and the easiest to install or replace. In my case they even match the darker stained wood in my bus. I don't see how these doors could be improved on for the way we use the bus. | ||
| Jerry Liebler (Jerry_liebler)
Registered Member Username: Jerry_liebler Post Number: 319 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 67.140.160.139 Rating: N/A |
Amy, I gave up on pocket doors and settled on 2 ea. 20" hinged doors. In their normal position they close off the toilet & bathroom sink compartment (it is 40" wide). The rear opens to close off the passage way to the bedroom and the front opens to close off the passage to the kitchen. When both are open and the closet rolled back the bathroom is the full width of the bus with the tub on the curb side. These doors are very light being a 1x2 maple frame around 1/4" maple veneer plywood. Regards Jerry 4107 1120 | ||
| Tim Brandt (Timb)
Registered Member Username: Timb Post Number: 113 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.165.176.60 Rating: N/A |
This photo shows the bifold that separates our galley and head area FWIW hope that helps http://members.tccoa.com/timb/pilgrim4.jpg | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Registered Member Username: Chessie4905 Post Number: 807 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.58.48.5 Rating: N/A |
If you are able to split the pocket door in half vertically and move each half away from each other you wouldn't have as much of a problem with the roof ; just a short header at top of door opening. Of course, you will then need room on both sides for the pocket, but only half as deep. | ||
| H3-40 (Ace)
Registered Member Username: Ace Post Number: 733 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 70.221.2.152 Rating: N/A |
Wow John you remembered about my pocket door! Good for you! I had those bi-fold doors in my Eagle and they served the purpose but were a PIA to be honest! I opted to do a pocket door in our H3 and everyone that has eyeballed it agrees that it takes up much less room and by using the extended drawer slides, it has support top AND bottom. It slides easy and most people don't even know it's there until I point it out to them! I used a sheet of plywood. Covered it on ALL sides with matching laminate. Like John said, cheap, easy and very functional! I lock it down while traveling with a brass barrel clasp. You know the type that slides out and then into a hole. The clasp is mounted next to the door and the hole is in the door with a brass cover. Again, very easy and very cheap! If anyone needs detailed pictures, I'm sure I can take some! One thing I haven't done yet is install some sort of finger grab on the door! The door is only 3/4 inch thick and slides back into a wall that goes behind my fridge! Well hidden and the whole space lost is about 2 inches! Might add that my door is a LITTLE off center but you would never know it and that too helped with the curved sides. Ace | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Registered Member Username: Chessie4905 Post Number: 810 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.58.48.5 Rating: N/A |
If you look at your coach picture in your sig. I can see that the doors are off center a little bit. When I first noticed it, I thought it was a distortion of the picture. Oh well, only you and I notice it. | ||
| H3-40 (Ace)
Registered Member Username: Ace Post Number: 735 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 70.221.2.152 Rating: N/A |
John Roan thanks but I was actually replying to MC9John but that's ok! To add, the door I was referring to is my bathroom door that separates the kitchen/bath. I don't think you can see that in my bus pic so the picture your looking at probably is a little distorted! Heck everyone knows I am so my bus must be too!  Man, I'm in a GREAT mood lately! Ace | ||
| Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay)
Registered Member Username: Oonrahnjay Post Number: 211 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 72.12.39.78 Rating: N/A |
Ace wrote: "I lock it down while traveling with a brass barrel clasp. You know the type that slides out and then into a hole. The clasp is mounted next to the door and the hole is in the door with a brass cover. Again, very easy and very cheap!" Operating on the KISS principle, I like that. But a bus conversion owner near home showed me a pocket door that had the "heavy duty" velcro on both sides of it. When you slide it open, the velcro on the back edge meshes with its other half in the back of the pocket; when you pull it closed, the velcro on the front edge sticks to the other half on the door jamb. He said that in 4-5 years of owning his bus, he'd never had it go closed when he wanted it open and he'd never had it go open when he wanted it closed; he'd driven with it on the velcro in both places. Simple, "automatic". This guy knows his stuff, he uses his bus for vacations and band travel so he uses it pretty often -- but I don't have first hand info on how well this velcro works, but he swears by it. It's pretty KISS. Anybody have any experience this way? | ||
| FAST FRED (Fast_fred)
Registered Member Username: Fast_fred Post Number: 189 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 66.90.229.32 Rating: N/A |
The Johnson Co has a variant of pocket doors that require no pocket. The track is external to the wall and that could work to make the wall less complicated , thinner , and lighter. Looks fine. FF | ||
| Don Evans (Doninwa)
Registered Member Username: Doninwa Post Number: 102 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 66.45.165.58 Rating: N/A |
"The Johnson Co has a variant of pocket doors that require no pocket." Try as I might not a day goes by that someone on the boards comes up with something I had no clue about. Having a surface mounted slider looks far simpler than a pocket. Both to build and service and take up less space. I was thinking about using long draw slides but why reinvent the wheel. Thanks FF Don 4107 | ||
| don (Bottomacher)
Registered Member Username: Bottomacher Post Number: 163 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 72.15.86.59 Rating: N/A |
The Johnson unit is a wall,or surface, mounted slider. Good hardware, but the price will get your attention. | ||
| R.C.Bishop (Chuckllb)
Registered Member Username: Chuckllb Post Number: 212 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 4.240.144.249 Rating: N/A |
Also, probably the fact that it must slide OUTSIDE the wall. In our case, we simply do not have the room for a door to slide "outside" the wall. Pocket doors are easy to fabricate and easy to install. If necessary, use a 5/8 or better, 3/4 piece of plywood, laminated both sides, run on a lower track with bearings....or an upper track with hanger bearings. As I recall, Ace has the thing down pat. FWIW RCB | ||
| H3-40 (Ace)
Registered Member Username: Ace Post Number: 740 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 75.200.120.200 Rating: N/A |
Yea her too but right now I'm with Susan... oh wait, that would belong on a different board! Uhh yea it's really not that hard to do and like R C said, use 5/8 or 3/4 inch plywood covered on all sides and use extended drawer slides. EVERYTHING is available at your favorite home improvement store and for way less $$$ than anything else that is pre-made! I have used mine a bunch with absolutely no adjustments or hang-ups! Works now just as it did when I first installed it! Ace, (not with pat anymore) |