Large MH garage door problem

[PJGWiltshire]

I have a Carthago which has two very large garage doors. Over time on many occasions these sails...doors have been caught by the wind and swung back against the hinges causing slight creases on the door where the leading edge has touched the hinge.
My problem now is that when driving in the rain (presently in Scotland and there is a lot of it at the moment) I am finding that water is getting past the door seal. Checking both doors I have found that the top hinge on both sides has pulled away from the frame a couple of millimetres and thus the inner seal is not fitting tight.

The hinges appear riveted to the door frame. Can anybody have a look at the picture and please confirm that this is the case. If they are riveted is it a case of drilling out and popping in new ones.

 

[Brains]

Sorry can;t help

Just remember where your door seals come from

 

[Clivefog]

Yes they are rivets, however the star screws should allow some adjustment?

 

[Dorset Diver]

Just had a good look at mine. Yes they are rivets but I'm not sure what could be achieved by changing the hinges when the problem is a distorted door frame. If it's just a case of very minor adjustment I believe that you can do that with the hinge pin location.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

I get confused on these bits. Are you saying that either the frame in the walls have gone out of alignment or the door has dropped. I would have thought it looks like the top hinges are coming away thus there is a gap at the top

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Steve and Denise]

Is it the rivet side of the hinge that has pulled away ? Hard to see in the photo

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Yes it’s the top and middle Pins that connect to the main frame of the MH. The screws go onto the door it’s on both sides top hinge

 

[Dorset Diver]

I get confused on these bits. Are you saying that either the frame in the walls have gone out of alignment or the door has dropped. I would have thought it looks like the top hinges are coming away thus there is a gap at the top

We can only really guess from your pictures but if it is just the hinges coming away from frame you may get away just replacing the rivets.

 

[Gellyneck]

I'm guessing the door side of the hinge (with the star screws) is OK.
I reckon that the body side of the hinge has been pulled from out from the vehicle body at the hinge pin and pivoted over the open edge of the hinge by either stretching \ bending the door frame [] or, more likely, by stretching \ pulling the rivets []. If so, it's probably a matter of removing the door (the star screws), and drilling out the rivets (through the blanked off holes on the hinge body and refitting new rivets pulling the door back to it's correct alignment. However, if you do have to go through the hinge body it will be awkward to get rivets located and fitted. Maybe the hinge will fold back far enough with the door removed to allow direct access?

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Thanks. I think a body shop will be getting a visit upon our return. Looks like the rivit gun will need to be high pressure not the small pin gun. Thanks fir your in put. Good old duck tap now stuck down the leading edge of the hinges

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gellyneck]

Thanks. I think a body shop will be getting a visit upon our return. Looks like the rivit gun will need to be high pressure not the small pin gun. Thanks fir your in put. Good old duck tap now stuck down the leading edge of the hinges

As an interim fix you might be able to pick up some "E" profile door draft excluder (you know the stuff you use at how) or something similar you could build up exiting seal or pack into the expanded joint? Always concerned around what mess will be left after using \ removing duck tape particularly on a nice polished \ painted metal surface.

 

[Diabalo]

Its difficult to give advice when you can't see the exact problem but going by the info it seems like the hinge has pulled the frame out of line, if that's the case I would remove the door and bolt a length of steel on each of the hinges to see if I could force them back into line.

 

[Lenny HB]

Can't really see the problem in the photos but if replacing the rivets there might be a plate inside of the door that they are pulled up against. So don't remove all three and have the plate move out of position. If no plate you may need to use peel rivets.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Many thanks for everyones help . Here are some more pics. Zoom in on the rounded door sections and you can see how the gap has appeared on both top hinge side corners. The pic of the top hinges show two of the rivets that seem to have been drawn through the wall fixing. Due to the size of the gaps above both top hinges I can only guess that the attached rivets have pulled the frame away from the side walls slightly.
Is it the case that the rivets were just simply popped through the door frame or would there be something more substantial inserted into the wall of the van for the rivets to connect onto

 

[Lenny HB]

I'm fairly certain there will be a plate behind the door frame as there is no way the thin frame would be able support the weight of the just with pop rivets.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Beltie]

I can't offer any repair advice beyond what has already been posted, but every Carthago I've seen has a gas strut on the door. Shouldn't that have prevented the door opening too far?

 

[Minxy]

I can't offer any repair advice beyond what has already been posted, but every Carthago I've seen has a gas strut on the door. Shouldn't that have prevented the door opening too far?

It should but doesn't totally hold the door where it should when it's windy! In order to prevent my large garage door being blown too far one of the first things I did was fit a strap so even if the strut gives more than it should the door still can't open too far and cause damage.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Indeed I sent you the tip soon after you presented the fine beast you have. I had by then had the doors swing out on me. Yes they have the gas struts but the door weight and under power of mother nature, a fare bit of wallop is generated. So after my initial bad experience of the doors swinging away I installed straps. It appears the damage was by then done. The hinges have been damaged and now it looks like the doors have dropped thus allowing in water.
It appears a job for a person better equipped than me so I will get a body shop have a look at it when I get back from Scotland.

 

[wiljoy]

I've already had the Carthago garage swimming pool issue. Mine was eventually traced to the garage door frame base. The shock absorber on the doors is something Lego would fit. Change it for a heavy duty item that's fit for purpose.
If you're sure your water ingress is from the area stated then it's yet another area to watch out for.
My repair was easy but very complicated to access with panel removal involved.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

I've already had the Carthago garage swimming pool issue. Mine was eventually traced to the garage door frame base. The shock absorber on the doors is something Lego would fit. Change it for a heavy duty item that's fit for purpose.
If you're sure your water ingress is from the area stated then it's yet another area to watch out for.
My repair was easy but very complicated to access with panel removal involved.

Its the obvious place. I have two identical located wet points on both sides in the garage at the bottom of the hinged side if the door. As both door top hinges have been damaged and there is a gap in the outer seal which can be seen if you zoom in on the pics, it seems this is where water got in when under pressure as I was driving.
The test will be on Friday when I again will be driving in the rain. I have put tape over the whole length of the door gaps so that water cannot get into the space by the hinges. So on my reckoning there should not be any water getting in.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[wiljoy]

Its the obvious place. I have two identical located wet points on both sides in the garage at the bottom of the hinged side if the door. As both door top hinges have been damaged and there is a gap in the outer seal which can be seen if you zoom in on the pics, it seems this is where water got in when under pressure as I was driving.
The test will be on Friday when I again will be driving in the rain. I have put tape over the whole length of the door gaps so that water cannot get into the space by the hinges. So on my reckoning there should not be any water getting in.

Slide a piece of paper down between the garage floor and the wall in the corners. My false floor was full of water and after drilling a couple if drain holes out it gushed. The problem is a common fault on some Carthagos. The dealer will tell you differently. I had an honest one.
The repair is a real pain but doable with time and patience.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Have spoken to Carthago authorised agent who carry out my Ingress checks. He confirms that Carthago have issued a repair guide and kit for water ingress from wheel spray. So he is in a position to repair the matter should it be confirmed that it’s ingress from said wheel spray. It’s due to rain here in Scotland tomorrow afternoon. I will make sure all outside door seals are taped up and go for a drive for an hour in the rain. That way any wet area in the garage can only be from the outside and not through the door seals. So will get to the bottom of it somehow

 

[Karlthago]

I've already had the Carthago garage swimming pool issue. Mine was eventually traced to the garage door frame base. The shock absorber on the doors is something Lego would fit. Change it for a heavy duty item that's fit for purpose.
If you're sure your water ingress is from the area stated then it's yet another area to watch out for.
My repair was easy but very complicated to access with panel removal involved.

Hi wiljoy

I have a 2019 c tourer, which from reading your posts, has similar water ingress issue in the garage. I was wondering if you can shed more light on how you repaired your motorhome? I get water at the base of the large garage door. I can't see anything obvious, but following prolonged heavy rain, water appears. I've tried spraying with a hose all around the door, but nothing shows. Mystery!

 

[wiljoy]

I received instructions from a Carthago mole as the manufacturers told me they hadn't had issues.
The problem was traced to the sealant, or lack of it, along the bottom of the door.frames. My local professional guy repaired it as I wouldn't trust Carthago.
He removed the rear skirt and skirts below the doors. This allowed access to the problem. He found a gap of about 100mm with no sealant.
Good luck
Wilf