# Thinking Of A Door Mod.........



## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

Good morning folks. I have been interested in installing a door to acess the under sofa area. While pondering this endeavor I began reading various threads here in the forums. One of which was how to find the studs. One way was in the morning when the temps and dew form lines on the side of the TT. So this morning I went out to take a look and see if this really works. It does! I placed tape on the studs to find them later. They are clearly visible and you can follow the route of each one like a road map all around the trailer. Ok, here is my concern. I can only find 4 vertical studs that represent the center portion of the side with widths between each that vary from, 3ft, 5ft, 4ft and about 7ft respectfully and these are not exact. I would have thought there would have been more. I only see a few horizontal studs and they are near a window, water heater and the front bunk door. Did they cut back on these studs due to the construction being of aluminum and not wood? While this makes me happy having not to have to deal with studs with the door install, it does concern me with the structure. I can only assume (I KNOW







) that the laminated sides are "super strong". Anyone want to weigh in on my findings and maybe a suggestion or two?

Bo


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Check this out.

My link


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## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

thefulminator said:


> Check this out.
> 
> My link


Great info, thanks. So........did you do it?


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Although I have complained about poor use of space under the couch, I haven't done that mod. Notice the dimensions of the door in the pictures. The height is only about 8+ inches which doesn't give a lot of room for stuff to go into. It looks like a taller door could be used but I'm not sure if one is made. The other issue is that I get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I even think about cutting that hole in the wall.

On the same subject, I really wish they would have made an outside door for the rear dinette bench.


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## typz2slo (Jul 31, 2009)

We didnt add a door but a window. A leak developed to poor construction of the trailer and turned into a delamination on the exterior of the bunks. We bought an 18" x 15" crank out window to match the others and removed the inside wall of the bunk and built an aluminum frame that we attached to the existing frame. The area we cut out was the majority of the delamination.


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## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

typz2slo said:


> We didnt add a door but a window. A leak developed to poor construction of the trailer and turned into a delamination on the exterior of the bunks. We bought an 18" x 15" crank out window to match the others and removed the inside wall of the bunk and built an aluminum frame that we attached to the existing frame. The area we cut out was the majority of the delamination.


Thanks for the reply Typz2slo, you just brought up one of my concerns. The actual cutting into the side of the trailer is not a problem due to not finding any studs near this area. My concern is after the installation and over a period of time with moisture and humidity seeping in and causing delamination. Moisture has a way of finding it's way into everything. Is there a special way of treating the cut edge and sealing it so this would not be a problem down the road?

I would really like to do this mod. The space measures about 35 wide x 27 deep x 14 high. This is a nice size area. Now that I made a way to get in there from under the sofa, it is difficult to put anything of size in there the way it is now.

Bo


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## luckylynn (Jan 9, 2007)

TeamCyBo said:


> Good morning folks. I have been interested in installing a door to acess the under sofa area. While pondering this endeavor I began reading various threads here in the forums. One of which was how to find the studs. One way was in the morning when the temps and dew form lines on the side of the TT. So this morning I went out to take a look and see if this really works. It does! I placed tape on the studs to find them later. They are clearly visible and you can follow the route of each one like a road map all around the trailer. Ok, here is my concern. I can only find 4 vertical studs that represent the center portion of the side with widths between each that vary from, 3ft, 5ft, 4ft and about 7ft respectfully and these are not exact. I would have thought there would have been more. I only see a few horizontal studs and they are near a window, water heater and the front bunk door. Did they cut back on these studs due to the construction being of aluminum and not wood? While this makes me happy having not to have to deal with studs with the door install, it does concern me with the structure. I can only assume (I KNOW
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Have you thought about making your under sofa access be on the "inside" Sometime back one f the members here did that kind of Mod. It seems like they made a drawer under thiers and used the front of the sofa as the drawer front. I am not good at surching for things on the forum,but maybe someone will remember and show you that one.

Happy Camping


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## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

luckylynn said:


> Good morning folks. I have been interested in installing a door to acess the under sofa area. While pondering this endeavor I began reading various threads here in the forums. One of which was how to find the studs. One way was in the morning when the temps and dew form lines on the side of the TT. So this morning I went out to take a look and see if this really works. It does! I placed tape on the studs to find them later. They are clearly visible and you can follow the route of each one like a road map all around the trailer. Ok, here is my concern. I can only find 4 vertical studs that represent the center portion of the side with widths between each that vary from, 3ft, 5ft, 4ft and about 7ft respectfully and these are not exact. I would have thought there would have been more. I only see a few horizontal studs and they are near a window, water heater and the front bunk door. Did they cut back on these studs due to the construction being of aluminum and not wood? While this makes me happy having not to have to deal with studs with the door install, it does concern me with the structure. I can only assume (I KNOW
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Have you thought about making your under sofa access be on the "inside" Sometime back one f the members here did that kind of Mod. It seems like they made a drawer under thiers and used the front of the sofa as the drawer front. I am not good at surching for things on the forum,but maybe someone will remember and show you that one.

Happy Camping
[/quote]
Yes, I have cut an access to this area under the sofa. The front panel would have to be cut due to the bed step being there. Not sure I want to do that. Anyway, here is a pic.


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## typz2slo (Jul 31, 2009)

TeamCyBo said:


> We didnt add a door but a window. A leak developed to poor construction of the trailer and turned into a delamination on the exterior of the bunks. We bought an 18" x 15" crank out window to match the others and removed the inside wall of the bunk and built an aluminum frame that we attached to the existing frame. The area we cut out was the majority of the delamination.


Thanks for the reply Typz2slo, you just brought up one of my concerns. The actual cutting into the side of the trailer is not a problem due to not finding any studs near this area. My concern is after the installation and over a period of time with moisture and humidity seeping in and causing delamination. Moisture has a way of finding it's way into everything. Is there a special way of treating the cut edge and sealing it so this would not be a problem down the road?

I would really like to do this mod. The space measures about 35 wide x 27 deep x 14 high. This is a nice size area. Now that I made a way to get in there from under the sofa, it is difficult to put anything of size in there the way it is now.

Bo
[/quote]

Before we got brave enough to cut a hole in the side of the trailer we took out a window that needed resealing so we could see how things were put together. we didnt see any special treatment of the edges so we did our new window just like the existing.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I just don't understand why Keystone laid out the under side of the sofa the way they did. If the water heater was moved to the rear in that space and the water pump moved a little forward, it would be quite a large storage area.


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## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

thefulminator said:


> I just don't understand why Keystone laid out the under side of the sofa the way they did. If the water heater was moved to the rear in that space and the water pump moved a little forward, it would be quite a large storage area.


I totally agree! I ahould have snapped a pic without the panel on. There is plenty of room to move the pump towards the center and shift the tank down some. Which would make it even bigger. Go figure!


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## luckylynn (Jan 9, 2007)

TeamCyBo said:


> Good morning folks. I have been interested in installing a door to acess the under sofa area. While pondering this endeavor I began reading various threads here in the forums. One of which was how to find the studs. One way was in the morning when the temps and dew form lines on the side of the TT. So this morning I went out to take a look and see if this really works. It does! I placed tape on the studs to find them later. They are clearly visible and you can follow the route of each one like a road map all around the trailer. Ok, here is my concern. I can only find 4 vertical studs that represent the center portion of the side with widths between each that vary from, 3ft, 5ft, 4ft and about 7ft respectfully and these are not exact. I would have thought there would have been more. I only see a few horizontal studs and they are near a window, water heater and the front bunk door. Did they cut back on these studs due to the construction being of aluminum and not wood? While this makes me happy having not to have to deal with studs with the door install, it does concern me with the structure. I can only assume (I KNOW
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Have you thought about making your under sofa access be on the "inside" Sometime back one f the members here did that kind of Mod. It seems like they made a drawer under thiers and used the front of the sofa as the drawer front. I am not good at surching for things on the forum,but maybe someone will remember and show you that one.

Happy Camping
[/quote]
Yes, I have cut an access to this area under the sofa. The front panel would have to be cut due to the bed step being there. Not sure I want to do that. Anyway, here is a pic.








[/quote]

Oh yea I forgot about the step. Have you thought about making storage there?That has been done a lot too,again i no longer have the camper,but if you are interested I think you can see how to do that ...it is easy & if done right you still have your carpeted top. I know the under sofa storage has been done I just can't find it.

Good Luck and Happy Camping


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## TeamCyBo (Oct 22, 2011)

luckylynn said:


> Good morning folks. I have been interested in installing a door to acess the under sofa area. While pondering this endeavor I began reading various threads here in the forums. One of which was how to find the studs. One way was in the morning when the temps and dew form lines on the side of the TT. So this morning I went out to take a look and see if this really works. It does! I placed tape on the studs to find them later. They are clearly visible and you can follow the route of each one like a road map all around the trailer. Ok, here is my concern. I can only find 4 vertical studs that represent the center portion of the side with widths between each that vary from, 3ft, 5ft, 4ft and about 7ft respectfully and these are not exact. I would have thought there would have been more. I only see a few horizontal studs and they are near a window, water heater and the front bunk door. Did they cut back on these studs due to the construction being of aluminum and not wood? While this makes me happy having not to have to deal with studs with the door install, it does concern me with the structure. I can only assume (I KNOW
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Have you thought about making your under sofa access be on the "inside" Sometime back one f the members here did that kind of Mod. It seems like they made a drawer under thiers and used the front of the sofa as the drawer front. I am not good at surching for things on the forum,but maybe someone will remember and show you that one.

Happy Camping
[/quote]
Yes, I have cut an access to this area under the sofa. The front panel would have to be cut due to the bed step being there. Not sure I want to do that. Anyway, here is a pic.








[/quote]

Oh yea I forgot about the step. Have you thought about making storage there?That has been done a lot too,again i no longer have the camper,but if you are interested I think you can see how to do that ...it is easy & if done right you still have your carpeted top. I know the under sofa storage has been done I just can't find it.

Good Luck and Happy Camping
[/quote]
Yep, done that too. I even made it a little taller and longer. I've even added a hydraulic shock to hold up the lid.









Bo


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