Bathroom door hinge problems

I noticed today while getting ready for a trip that the bathroom door seemed a little difficult to easily close.  No wonder!  The top hing had completely come loose from the wall where it attaches the door.   This door has a mirror on it and after looking at the floorplans on the PC home page it appears several models may have the same door.   

Here is the problem:  the door is attached with only three hinges and they are CABINET HINGES.  Each hinge has only two small cabinet screws to secure to the wall.  Since the backboard in the walls is only slightly thicker than a sheet of paper, that is a lot of weight for the two screws on each hinge to support.  The top hinge had completely lost its two screws and I found them on the floor far back in a corner.   The center hinge was being supported by two screws which were very loose and the bottom hinge where the torque of opening would be least were both a little loose. 

I was shocked that a piano hinge had not been used, although I confess I never really thought about it much until this discovery.   Looking at a couple of the youtube tours on line from the site for various models, I saw some with cabinet hinges and at least one appeared to have a piano hinge. 

I suggest you check the mounting of your door.   Since we are getting ready to be in the rig a few days I screwed in a couple of oversized screws and will probably add two more cabinet hinges when we get back home.   That alone would reduce the weight distribution significantly.    I suspect it would be a real riot to be going down the road and the door fall off.  Or any other time for that matter.................

Paul

Thanks for the info, Paul.   We do have the same hinges but if I remember correctly in our model they are screwed into a wood frame not  the wall.   However, we will check them this week.

Have a fun and safe trip.

Gail

Upon close examination, I think you are correct, Gail.  The wall is about an inch thick.  It may well be a piece of wood with the plywood on the outside and the bath wall on the inside.  In any event, the small diameter and shortness of the screws is just apparently inadequate for the weight.  Mine are now supported by  #8 woodscrews 3/4 inches long.

By the way, I checked the mirror screws this morning and about half of them were loose.   Now, any rv going down the road can loosen things up over time  but was surprised how quickly these caused a problem because when we bought the rig I spent a full day just making sure everything was ship shape.  

Paul

Paul,   Glad to hear you also discovered the mirror's screws were loose and now have everything ready for the road.   

I remember in 2010, during our travels on the Alcan Hwy. heading to AK,  being  amazed the cabinets weren't falling off the wall.  Those frost heaves were really bad.  We were in our LTV Free Spirit that suffered no damage.  So yes, we do take these vehicles over some rough roads at times.

We will check our mirror as well as the door hinges the next visit to the storage facility.

We sure do appreciate all the tips and warnings from you and the other forum members.

Gail