The Side Door
The side door
Fitting a side door to a pantech
I was originally going to purchase a caravan type door and fit this to the aluminium body, but with prices ranging between $1400 to $1900, I rapidly sought other alternatives.
The door really need to be disability friendly and wide enough to accomodate a wheelchair or walking frame without being excessively huge. A few sketches with pen and paper, a trip to the steel yard, and a visit to the local manufacturing workshop had a new door installed in a day.
The truck was backed into the workshop, and construction begins with marking out where the new doorway will fit. This is something that needs to be spot on as you only get one go at this. It will be very had to change your mind and want to relocate it elsewhere once the hole is cut!
An angle grinder with a cutting wheel made short work of cutting out the opening in the side of the aluminium body, also known as the point of no return! The doorway was sited to provide enough clearance for the front kitchen, sufficient headroom, and a good width, yet we only had to remove one stud or vertical support member.
The 32x32mm galvanised steel door frame was welded together, then bolted and pop-riveted to the pan body, with a generous bead of Sikaflex applied.
The door-frame needs to be quite sturdy, both for day to day use as well as travel vibrations and movements. The door was to be similarly framed and swung using a “piano hinge” along it’s length.
The door frame is welded together, and the original cutout section of aluminium skin is re-attached using pop-rivets and Sikaflex adhesive.
Next on the list is fitting a window and vent to this door.
