Screen door 2000 concourse

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chinook4x4
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Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by chinook4x4 »

Is there any way to make the screen door stay attached to the main door so I don't always have to fumble with both when opening?

JP
2000 Chinook Concourse 4x4
Manitou
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by Manitou »

Mine does stay attached.. Thought they all did? Can you post a picture or 2? It's pretty easy to post pictures here.
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caconcourse
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by caconcourse »

Your latch is probably missing or broken. This is the part:

AP Products 015-201471 Right Hand Screen Door Lever

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HR ... ge_o09_s01


Clay
Clay
2001 Concourse
Santa Barbara, CA
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Blue~Go
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by Blue~Go »

I don't know exactly when the switch took place, but I have noticed that "later" Chinooks use a different attachment than my '99. The later ones use a "typical" RV screen door latch (you reach through the gap made by sliding the cover plate sideways, and it's a little dohickey that you release).

However, on my '99, there is a built in magnet system consisting of two different sets of magnets for the two purposes. There are round plates recessed into the main door, and the screen door "attaches" to those with matching round magnets. No latch! The two doors stay together "automatically" in normal use, and you just "pull them apart" when you want to separate the screen door from the main door.

Then there is another magnet (two thin bars in one fitting) on the screen door, with a matching plate on the Chinook door jamb (body/door frame) that holds the screen door to the doorway (to keep it closed when you are only using the screen door and have the main door latched open).

I noticed that on mine, the "another magnet" was over-riding the round magnets, so the screen door would tend to stay magnetized to the Chinook, and not "stick" to the main door (when I just wanted to open them both as a unit). I think the reason is that one of the round magnets is missing from the inside of the screen door, making it only 2/3 as powerful as it should be. I haven't as of yet looked for/found a source for the round magnets, so I guess my "bailing wire solution" is working too well ;) -- but what I did was put a piece of tape over about half of the "another magnet" (the one that is two long thin bars in a single fitting) on the inside of the screen door which made it less strong. That achieved a perfect balance between the two sets of magnets: Now the screen door "sticks" to the main door all the time - unless/until I pull the screen door off of the main door on purpose. The screen door also sticks just fine to the (now) "half a magnet" that holds it to the Chinook body when you only want the screen door. So all are happy and no latches (they were never installed since the magnets were used instead as per Chinook originally).

So if you have a magnet system, maybe this will help. Just look for the following:

1) On the main door (inside surface) three flush round metal fittings embedded in the door along the side opposite the hinge (in other words, inside the door near the opening side).

2) On the outside of the screen door, three corresponding protruding round magnets ;) (My lowest one of these is missing, hence my "tape balancing" mod.)

3) On the inside of the screen door (just above handle area), a metal plate with a magnet consisting of two vertical lines of magnet.

4) On the outside of the Chinook door jamb, a metal plate that "catches" the magnet from #3.

The #3/#4 system is where I put a piece of tape to reduce its strength. If/when I find another round protruding magnet to replace the missing one on the screen door, I don't think the tape will be necessary to "balance" the system.

It's pretty slick, really. Let me know if you need photos to visualize. Also if anyone has replaced the protruding round magnets on the outside of the screen door, and has a handy source, I'd like to know it (the round plates that are recessed into the main door are fine; it's just that one of the matching protruding round magnets on the screen door is missing)
1999 Concourse
9chinOoK8
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Joined: May 27th, 2017, 7:42 am

Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by 9chinOoK8 »

My screen door magnet fell apart and was troublesome. The verticle magnet I found a similar item at a wood working store. It is very similar to my '98' magnet. I'm new here so I don't know if I'm allowed to say the business name. Send a pm and will say. Also my doghouse door was falling open all the time. I bought round magnet also and used epoxy to glue them on the door. So far so good.

New member

Tim
1998 Concourse XL
pdemarest
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by pdemarest »

Speaking of screen doors, has anyone figured out a way to lock the screen door from the inside of the rig? We usually camp in spaces with no hookups so we sleep with the solid back door open and the screen door closed. A simple latch to slow down anyone trying to open it from the outside would be sufficient but I haven't seen anything that would work. Ideas?
Paul Demarest
2003 Premier V-10
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kdarling
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by kdarling »

Hmm... makes me think that someone should do a Dutch door, where the solid bottom can stay closed while the top half is open to a screen.
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deppstein
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by deppstein »

]JP--I just went out to check the type of latch I have on my 2004 Premier. It is not magnetic, but a "paddle" type screen door latch with a cut out for the actual latch in the frame of the door. It attaches to the main door via a "hooked catch" that is secured by screws to the main door at the right location so as to "catch" (via a square cut out) the paddle handle. I took a picture of both pieces and will attempt to attach to this post. The square cut out I am talking about can be seen at the opposite end of the paddle latch from the latch itself.
Let me know if this is the same system you have and I will attempt to get some more info from it so you can perhaps find a place to order one.

David
Attachments
screen door catch.JPG
screen door paddle.JPG
deppstein
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by deppstein »

JP...forgot to mention--the white patch you see in the paddle photo is a fuzzy piece of velcro...its mate is on the main door. I had a slight rattle of screen door that was bugging me and the velcro did the trick. Can't stand squeaks and rattles...my wife calls me the Squeak and Rattle Police! One of the reasons I shopped so long for a Chinook was that of all the rigs I looked at, it was by FAR the most solid. A few well placed sticky pads in strategic areas of the window screens were also required to meet my exacting standards! :)

David
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Blue~Go
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Re: Screen door 2000 concourse

Post by Blue~Go »

Okay, I'm a moron. First, I responded to pdemarest's question about locking the screen door. Then I scrolled back up to check on something and saw that, wait, the question was about the screen door sticking to the main door. So I cut out my long-winded answer about locking the door, and wrote about the door magnets. THEN I went back up to check something AGAIN, and saw that I had already written a post about the magnets (duh!) and it was a question about locking the door that was asked later on. Geez Louise, have some more coffee, BG :roll:

So anyway: This isn't exactly what you want, but since it's basically on topic: I have the style of screen door that stays shut by magnets. I really like it. Or at least prefer it to the other style I have seen (buddy's RV) that has a latch, and to open the latch you have to open the sliding panel (hello mosquitoes!). I can just open the door and go in and out all day long, ahhhh.

However, I'm fostering (adopting?) a pup right now and it only took him about 30 seconds to figure out how to push on the door and have it magically open. Um, no.

Since I'm camping out in the woods I went for a solution that was close to hand. I picked up a short stick (6" long) that was attractive and without bark. Then I made a sort of "turban" of knot at one end with some 4mm cord I have on hand. Now what I can do is slide that down from above between the screen door and that "pants catching knob" that holds the main door latch closed. Voila, the door isn't opening. Nice thing is I can do it from outside or inside (from inside I do have to slide the panel open to do it).

Not exactly a lock when it comes to humans, but since it's only a screen door anyway...maybe useful? At least if the door is tugged on "just to see" it doesn't open. If you used something a bit more camo-ed to the door it would be less obvious.

I think later Chinooks went from the magnetic latch to the more usual RV lifting plastic latch, so there's that to consider.

******

On the topic, I've been thinking about replacing the back door window with a double hung sliding window that opens/with screen. A jalousie would be nice, but too easy to lose an eye when it's open, hence the inferior-in-rain slider. I'd want a good quality window so that dust wouldn't seep in when closed/driving on dusty roads. I'd have to open the door and go out to open it (to get past the screen door), but once that was done I could sleep with the door closed/locked, but the window open. Nicer for security and also if the wind comes up you don't have an un-reefed door sitting out there at 90º.

So those are my two inputs.

BG

PS: The round magnets I got that look like they will work to solve the original problem at the top of the thread were from Rockler woodworking supply. But, the tape has worked so well that it has (ahem) slipped down on my project list and I haven't actually installed them yet. I'll still probably have to make a little "pedestal" though to match the other ones.
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