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Mcmaster Carr Door Seal for RV-10

falcon900guy

Well Known Member
i know a lot of people are using the mc master door seal for the rv10, but does anybody have a model number or any other info i can use to order the door seal?
 
This summer I ordered 100 ft of 1120A313 (3/8" Diameter Bulb on Side, Fits 1/4) in anticipation the doors. I've been hammering away on cabin top items since that time and am to a point now that I can trim the door openings to fit the seal.

I found a PDF showing some people's installations and it's helped a bit...
http://forums.matronics.com/download.php?id=32109

I have a few questions to those that have gone through this process.
- Should I wait till I have the doors put together and the cabin top in place to cut out the opening? Might make working the fiber glass a bit challenging.
- If I don't have to wait is there a standard lip depth that people have been using? That PDF has some opening measurements but to be honest I can't make sense of them.
- If I have to build up depth do I just do that on the outside, meaning do I say put two layups of clothe on the outside and then trim, sand to the 1/4?

Thanks for any info.
 
I went an easier route using either 3/8" or 1/2" tall self adhesive door seals from McMaster (Weather-Resistant EPDM Foam Rubber Bulb Seal, Adhesive Back, 1/2" Overall Width, 1/4" ID). On now for three years and are still like the day I installed.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/3497/=ypfjzg

These attach to the door, not the door frame.

Carl

I did the same as Carl and Dave Saylor 6 yeasrs ago. Works great and much less brain damage than the bulb seals.
 
Door Seal

I used Ivan's measurements and rough cut the cabin top prior to installation...the measurements were pretty close.

http://ivankristensen.phanfare.com/2292606_3334806

I made a guide for my dremel and a permagrit burr to grind the thicker parts of the remaining flange to 1/4". Make sure to take the time to create a uniform gap between the door and the cabin top. Time spent here will pay of later. I then used a piece of mcmaster seal to form the thin areas of the flange position with an epoxy/milled glass/cabo mix. Basically, I filled the seal with epoxy mix and then put the seal on the flange in it's proper position. When the epoxy cured, i pulled the seal off...yes, it ruins the piece of seal... The result was a uniform 1/4" flange edge that the mcmaster seal fits perfectly.
 
Pix

I think you need to go to the doors section and above the pictures there is a next button. I think they start on page 5 of 9...
 
Going off the pictures it looks like the following measurements;
1 1/8" for top flange
1" around for both fwd and aft side flanges
1" on the bottom flange

I spent a few hours at lunch today trimming to these dimensions. There's a few spots on the sides where I had removed too much material in the past. So will need to build that back to 1".

Another question I have is am I supposed to sand flat the rain gutter lip so that the door facing flange area is flatish? Essentially remove the concave part and then build up the back for the seal? The pictures look like there may be a bit of a lip, but really not all that much.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Door

I left the overall surface alone, i.e. I did not fill the door channel in to make it flat. I am happy with how it turned out. It looks good but more importantly seals really well...
 
Thanks, will just even put the rise and then build it up on the back to a 1/4". Will try the method you talked about with filling in a piece of the seal and taping it to the edge. Can I reuse the same piece over and over? My thoug is do one side at a time.... will take 8 days, but that's okay.
 
seal

I was not able to reuse the seal...when you pull it off, it deforms the inner metals strips a bunch. Might be possible to bend them back but I did not try it.

A word of caution. When you put the seal on, you will go into a corner then straight and into another corner. Be careful when you get to the subsequent corners...you will push the seal into the second corner only to find that it pulled the first corner out. When I did mine, I did the corners separately to prevent this. Once you have a uniform edge, it is not an issue...
 
Okay thanks. I have 50' of the stuff and I remember ordering that quantity per someones build log. Maybe that's why, so you could use some to form the lips, because I measured last night and each door opening takes about 12'... so roughly 24' leaving me 26' to waste....
 
Lip thickness

Guys

Having opted by using the McMaster Carr seal, I already cut the lip (aka rain gutter flange) of the cabin top door openings, which left a variable thickness of this lip.
In the bottom lip, and most of both sides' lip, the thickness is around 3/16", which is right on for the seal I ordered.
But the upper lip, near the hinges, and especially in the corners, the lip thickness is way bigger, almost 1/2" thick...!
I suppose I have to file and/or sand the inner surface of the cabin top, to obtain the 3/16" desired uniform thickness, but I wanted the hear from you guys, if you did the same, or is there another way to skin this cat.

Thanks
Carlos
 
Guys

Having opted by using the McMaster Carr seal, I already cut the lip (aka rain gutter flange) of the cabin top door openings, which left a variable thickness of this lip.
In the bottom lip, and most of both sides' lip, the thickness is around 3/16", which is right on for the seal I ordered.
But the upper lip, near the hinges, and especially in the corners, the lip thickness is way bigger, almost 1/2" thick...!
I suppose I have to file and/or sand the inner surface of the cabin top, to obtain the 3/16" desired uniform thickness, but I wanted the hear from you guys, if you did the same, or is there another way to skin this cat.

Thanks
Carlos

Typically the lip is undersized after cutting. Most folks will build back up with a few layers of glass until the desired thickness is reached.

Having a 1/2" think edge is a red flag to me. I've not heard of that before. The thickest dimension on mine was about 1/4". Without seeing a picture, I would be concerned about how far back you cut. Otherwise Vans has done something new to the cabin cover mold.

Ivan Kristensen has a great video on his Phanfare site that shows how to cut and the respective measurements. I don't have a link handy, but search should find it for you. I know I've posted it several times in the past.

A photo would help to all others to render better advice.
 
Lip thickness

Having a 1/2" think edge is a red flag to me. I've not heard of that before. The thickest dimension on mine was about 1/4". Without seeing a picture, I would be concerned about how far back you cut. Otherwise Vans has done something new to the cabin cover mold.

...........

A photo would help to all others to render better advice.[/QUOTE]

How do I insert a photo?
 
Having a 1/2" think edge is a red flag to me. I've not heard of that before. The thickest dimension on mine was about 1/4". Without seeing a picture, I would be concerned about how far back you cut. Otherwise Vans has done something new to the cabin cover mold.

..........

A photo would help to all others to render better advice.

How do I insert a photo?

Carlos
 
Lip thickness

Having a 1/2" think edge is a red flag to me. I've not heard of that before. The thickest dimension on mine was about 1/4". Without seeing a picture, I would be concerned about how far back you cut. Otherwise Vans has done something new to the cabin cover mold.

............

A photo would help to all others to render better advice.

Here they are

https://www.wetransfer.com/download...fc846b80ae9b91441af00ae520170305160146/981a05

You can see that, especially in the corners, the thickness is way bigger than the 3/16".

Should I file or sand the bottom?
Thanks
Carlos
 
Here they are

https://www.wetransfer.com/download...fc846b80ae9b91441af00ae520170305160146/981a05

You can see that, especially in the corners, the thickness is way bigger than the 3/16".

Should I file or sand the bottom?
Thanks
Carlos


You cut off a bit more than I did, which may explain the differences.

I would probably just sand the interior down to you get the 1/4" diameter to accommodate the seals. I would also recommend getting planearound.com strut brackets if you don't already have them.
 
Just like mine

I cut using Ivan's measurements and mine looked just like that. I bought a Permagrit burr and made a guide for the dremel to get a nominal 1/4" X 1/2" deep flange. Worked fine. And the Permagrit tools are worth their weight I. Gold when working on fiberglass...
 
lip thickness

Thank you to both Bob's

@Bob L
PlaneAround brackets, together with their third latch, were already ordered, actually they are just now crossing the Atlantic inbound Portugal (where I live and I'm building the -10 :) )

@Bob (rocketman)
I'm on my way to Google to find out what a Permagrit burr is ... :confused:

Thanks
Carlos
 
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