Entry door is binding/sticking - Montana Owners Club

David and Jo-Anna · 05-06-2009, 04:03 AM

For the last three weeks, the door into our Big Sky has been binding/sticking such that it's getting hard to open and close the door. It's getting to the point that the metal parts making up the latch and lock are showing distinct rub/wear marks as we have to use increasing force to open and close the door. I can't see any looseness in the door hinge or anything else specifically wrong with the door. I suspect that there is some twisting in the frame, but I don't know how to test for that and/or offset it. We've moved several times in the last three weeks, and I believe I'm setting up the rig in the same way I've been doing it for the last two years.

Any suggestions as to what I can do to determine the cause of the problem and to fix it?

ols1932 · 05-06-2009, 09:08 AM

David,
Sounds to me that you have some twisting in the frame the way you are parked. Way back in the beginning (2000) we experienced the same thing. Come to find out, I had the right leg (curbside) down a little further than it should be. This put upward pressure on the right front, thereby causing the door to bind. Since learning that, I've never had the problem again.

Orv

Glenn and Lorraine · 05-07-2009, 10:02 AM

Going with Orv on this one. We also had the same problem and found the trailer was not sitting level. After we reset everything the door worked fine.

Waynem · 05-07-2009, 03:26 PM

Try a carpenter's square on the door frame to see if it is twisted. A carpenter's square would be easy to store, or buy a straight piece of 1 by 1 and make one using picture corner fasteners. You're only going to use it once for a check, then throw it away. (Cheap)

grampachet · 05-07-2009, 06:24 PM

May not be helpful, but have you removed the shipping shim? It is a wedge shaped plastic piece on the bottom of the door. Many have found this was not removed by the dealer.

JimF · 05-08-2009, 06:59 AM

Try leveling your unit, the Montana is notorious for frame torque when out of level. As are all mid-level units.

TLightning · 05-09-2009, 04:23 AM

Here is CW's leg leveler...a great aid in leveling side to side when un hooking:

http://www.campingworld.com/search/i...pc=1&x=19&y=16

ols1932 · 05-09-2009, 06:15 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by TLightning

Here is CW's leg leveler...a great aid in leveling side to side when un hooking:

http://www.campingworld.com/search/i...pc=1&x=19&y=16

Appears to me that they would work (if you're not like me and can't stoop and bend a lot). But wouldn't you need to buy four of them?

Orv

illapah · 05-09-2009, 11:39 AM

Orv, No, I just use one on one of the front legs. Helps with not having the right width 'shims' when unhooking. I like mine a lot and would recommend it.

Check the top of the entry door also for the mentioned shipping shim.

ols1932 · 05-09-2009, 11:49 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by illapah

Orv, No, I just use one on one of the front legs. Helps with not having the right width 'shims' when unhooking. I like mine a lot and would recommend it.

Check the top of the entry door also for the mentioned shipping shim.

The reason mentioned that was my feeling that if you only raise one corner, for example the left front leg, won't that tend to cause a twist in the frame? In my case with my Bigfoot levelers, the legs must be operated in pairs: both fronts, both rears, left front and left rear, and the right front and right rear. This is to prevent any iota of frame twisting.

When I had the mechanical legs, I tried to do the same thing. Maybe there isn't any twist to the frame. My mind just says there is. Go figure!

Orv

exav8tr · 05-09-2009, 02:09 PM

We also use the CW leveler and can't figure out why all 5th wheels don't have one as standard. I highly recommend it. We have never had a problem with our door binding. I agree it might be a frame twist problem which could be alleviated by the use of a leg leveler. Just my opinion folks.....

Orv, When on an uneven site, you bring one leg to the ground, then screw the leveler on the other leg to touch the ground the same as the other, then raise your front end making both sides even....You must have already leveled from side to side under the wheels for this to work correctly........

rldriver · 05-09-2009, 07:23 PM

David and Jo-Anna,
We are having the same problem with our Big Sky and when we set ut up the last time both front jacks hit the blocks at the same time. Very interesting.

Are you guys still down by Mexico?

Dick, Jackie and CC

ols1932 · 05-10-2009, 12:00 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

We also use the CW leveler and can't figure out why all 5th wheels don't have one as standard. I highly recommend it. We have never had a problem with our door binding. I agree it might be a frame twist problem which could be alleviated by the use of a leg leveler. Just my opinion folks.....

Orv, When on an uneven site, you bring one leg to the ground, then screw the leveler on the other leg to touch the ground the same as the other, then raise your front end making both sides even....You must have already leveled from side to side under the wheels for this to work correctly........

Now I understand what you're doing. What I used to do was put a piece of wood under the "short" leg. Didn't want to spend the money for those levelers.

Orv

exav8tr · 05-10-2009, 03:28 AM

With the leveler you don't have to carry different size planks for under the leg. Sometimes it is just a matter of 1/2 inch or so. Helps to keep rig from flexing...

David and Jo-Anna · 05-11-2009, 03:49 AM

Thanks for all the good replies. We have been using the CW leg leveler which others have described ever since we bought our Big Sky two years ago. Everything worked fine until three weeks ago, when the door started to bind really badly. During that three weeks, we setup the rig several times, and I used the leg leveler in the same way I'd been using it for the last two years, so I don't know why the frame would suddenly start to twist. The one thought that I had is that maybe it has something to do with the fact that we were setup in one spot at Organ Pipe for four months and, even though the door worked fine there, maybe something in the alignment of the frame got "set" in a way that now causes the door to bind.

We've been sitting here in Zion National Park for the last week, so I haven't had a chance to try different things to see if they make a difference. But we head out today for Cedar Breaks National Monument, and tomorrow we go to Bryce Canyon National Park, so I'll try some different things when I setup to see if anything makes a difference.

As for the "shipping shim" some referred to, I don't see anything sticking out around the door and don't recall ever seeing anything like that. Just where would it be, and what would it look like?

beakyfudd · 05-11-2009, 07:13 AM

One shim on the bottom of the door away from hinge with a screw holding it, and the same thing on the top. I think mine were white plastic.

David and Jo-Anna · 05-11-2009, 04:28 PM

I may have found the cause of the binding entry door. When we tried to setup the rig tihs afternoon in Cedar City, I found that the shear bolt on the street side of the landing gear had come loose, interfering with the ability of the curb side landing gear to deploy properly. If this bolt was in the process of working loose when we setup last week at Zion NP, could this have caused the curb side landing gear to extend less than the street side gear when I was lowering them both? If so, that presumably could have introduced a "twist" to the frame that made the door bind.

Now that I have reinstalled a new shear bolt, the door seems to be working more easily than before. But I'm going to keep an eye on it for the next several setups before concluding that the problem has been solved.

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