Windows a pain to close? (1 Viewer)

Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,735
Shropshire
Funster No
33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
Exp
Since 2014
Do you have windows in your van that click on 2 stays as they open outwards, and to close them you have to push them all the way open then the stays release to let them close? Do they sometimes stick and take several attempts to get the stays to release?

A quick squirt with an aerosol of silicone lubricant in the stay mechanism takes seconds & works wonders. Unlike WD40, it's a clean lubricant that won't attract muck. Works well on the rubbers for the cab windows as well, makes them glide up & down easier, and anything else that slides.

Readily available on Ebay or from motor factors, I *think* that what Thetford sell as "Seal Lubricant" for their toilet cassettes is just silicone lubricant, if you already have a can.
 
Feb 26, 2012
528
367
Funster No
19,975
MH
coach
Exp
Motorhome since 2006 (caravanning 38yrs)
Thetford handbook only recommends vegetable oil for the seal.
 
OP
OP
Feltwell
Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,735
Shropshire
Funster No
33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
Exp
Since 2014
Might depend on the model - Thetford certainly sell seal lubricant, there was a can in the my MH when I bought it. Seemed to be standard silicone spray lubricant as far as I can tell. I'd use it without any fear as silicone lubricant & grease is specifically sold as being safe for use with rubber components.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

magicsurfbus

Free Member
Oct 11, 2010
4,673
10,127
NW England
Funster No
14,057
MH
Bessacarr Coachbuilt
Exp
Since 1997
A particular problem with those windows is when you're parked on an aire and another MH pulls in so close that you can open the window but you can't close it again :)
 
Apr 11, 2015
5,353
54,338
hull
Funster No
35,812
MH
Laika Ecovip 300
Exp
since 1988 with breaks until 2009
but how do you fix the opposite, mine close ok, just struggle to get them to stay open
 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
Thetford handbook only recommends vegetable oil for the seal.
Specifically olive oil (as an alternative to their own product).
We found a bottle of olive oil in a kitchen cupboard a few years ago that had gone out of date. It has been in the garage since then and I rub some on the seals a few times a year. Works OK.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
Feltwell
Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,735
Shropshire
Funster No
33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
Exp
Since 2014
A particular problem with those windows is when you're parked on an aire and another MH pulls in so close that you can open the window but you can't close it again :)

Blimey - that really is squeezing them in!

but how do you fix the opposite, mine close ok, just struggle to get them to stay open

It's a fairly simple mechanism. It's possible that it's worn but it's more likely that it's just sticking - so again I'd try silicone spray. It's unlikely to make it worse.
 
Oct 18, 2014
1,855
1,155
Salisbury
Funster No
33,868
MH
Hymer B598 PL
Exp
Since 2013
The silicone stuff works well on most things. Definitely improves the window operations and door mechanisms
 

Gellyneck

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 5, 2014
9,132
17,988
Scotland
Funster No
31,836
MH
C Class
Exp
More than toes wet now!
Specifically olive oil (as an alternative to their own product).
We found a bottle of olive oil in a kitchen cupboard a few years ago that had gone out of date. It has been in the garage since then and I rub some on the seals a few times a year. Works OK.

Scatter cash!!!
More effective option would be to scuff the label (on the date) and other half will never know. Just make sure you don't eat any of the salads for a week or two, though!:whistle::whistle:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

magicsurfbus

Free Member
Oct 11, 2010
4,673
10,127
NW England
Funster No
14,057
MH
Bessacarr Coachbuilt
Exp
Since 1997
Blimey - that really is squeezing them in!

Everybody likes to leave as much space on the hab door side as they can, and continental hab doors are on the opposite side to ours. At Mimizan-Plage we had to take it in turns with the French MH next door to close our lounge windows.
 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
Scatter cash!!!
More effective option would be to scuff the label (on the date) and other half will never know. Just make sure you don't eat any of the salads for a week or two, though!:whistle::whistle:
That's OK. I can't stand oily dressings on salads :LOL:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
Feltwell
Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,735
Shropshire
Funster No
33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
Exp
Since 2014
Everybody likes to leave as much space on the hab door side as they can, and continental hab doors are on the opposite side to ours. At Mimizan-Plage we had to take it in turns with the French MH next door to close our lounge windows.

That level of overcrowding really would make me want to move on somewhere else, but then again I'm an anti-social sod who loves having a field to himself! ;)

However, maybe I've discovered an advantage to having the hab door on the "wrong" side of our RH drive van! Or I could just turn the van round of course......

As a yoof I used to do a bit of weekend work at a rural petrol station. It never failed to amuse me how many people would pull up with the petrol cap on the side furthest from the pump - get out, realise this, get back in, turn the car round and pull up on the opposite side of the pump, get out and only then realise that the cap was still on the furthest side from the pump......:rolleyes:
 

Emmit

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 14, 2009
8,010
17,554
Cornwall
Funster No
7,967
MH
Pilote Explorateur
Exp
Jan.2014
Specifically olive oil (as an alternative to their own product).
We found a bottle of olive oil in a kitchen cupboard a few years ago that had gone out of date. It has been in the garage since then and I rub some on the seals a few times a year. Works OK.

Olive Oil out of date? You must be joking.

We've got a bottle with a best before date written in Latin!!!
 

John Giblin

Free Member
Dec 24, 2014
9
5
Newcastle under Lyme
Funster No
34,551
MH
Chausson 620
Exp
April 2016
I had the same windows problem on mine, moaned at the dealer about it, showing him the windows not always locking in place, when open or closing.

He tried, windows worked EVERY time (red face) apparently, I was too fast for the mechanism to "click in" - just slow the action down a bit, and all is well.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
Feltwell
Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,735
Shropshire
Funster No
33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
Exp
Since 2014
That's true, but mine were beyond that stage! You could go as slow as you liked and they still wouldn't release.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top