Battery Door Rubber Hinge

jap42 · September 03, 2020, 03:52:51 PM

Last night my wife went to close the battery door without removing the pin and ripped the hinge in half. Its a 20" piece of rubber shaped like a fat I. They fit into the channels on the hinge parts.

Anyone know if there is a name for it and where I can find it? I have seen in used in other places.

richard5933 · September 03, 2020, 03:54:09 PM

They kept it simple - it's called a rubber door hinge.

Call Luke at US Coach in NJ. He'll have it to you in just a few days. Order some extra so next time a door does that you'll be ready.

windtrader · September 03, 2020, 03:57:27 PM

The battery door on my MC8 now has a stainless piano hinge. Was quite an easy DIY project and looks fine, should outlive the rest of the coach or at a long time. Drilled and used nuts/bolts to secure.

richard5933 · September 03, 2020, 04:12:18 PM

Quote from: windtrader on September 03, 2020, 03:57:27 PM
The battery door on my MC8 now has a stainless piano hinge. Was quite an easy DIY project and looks fine, should outlive the rest of the coach or at a long time. Drilled and used nuts/bolts to secure.

How do you keep that water tight?

My rubber door hinges have been on the bus 46 years and still are going strong.

It's possible to screw and/or rivet a metal hinge to the door, but it does take away from the look of the bus. A shame to drill holes in the aluminum or stainless skin of a bus needlessly.

There are who have used a stainless steel insert on the last couple of inches on each end, with rubber the rest of the way. In this application the stainless hinge is customized so that it can be inserted into the same slot the rubber goes into, and no holes need to be drilled in the skin of the bus.

buswarrior · September 03, 2020, 04:25:58 PM

Battery door has no need for water tight.

The slick install, the existing rivets are removed, and replaced through the new metal hinge to secure it.

You'd never know it had been changed unless you went up close.

Someone was making these up for busnuts for many years... who remembers the name?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

richard5933 · September 03, 2020, 04:33:31 PM

Quote from: buswarrior on September 03, 2020, 04:25:58 PM
...The slick install, the existing rivets are removed, and replaced through the new metal hinge to secure it....

Someone was making these up for busnuts for many years... who remembers the name?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

What you're describing isn't too bad. I've seen people really butcher the side of their bus and the edge of the doors to install metal hinges.

The ones I remember being made were the ones which slide into the slots for the rubber hinge.

Right now though, since the door is no longer attached, get yourself a few feet of rubber hinge to hold it together while you research things. Not very expensive and not very difficult.

luvrbus · September 03, 2020, 04:39:10 PM

Luke is a good friend and spends a lot of time buying and finding parts to keep you guys going but he gets screwed by suppliers his rubber hinge material was a good example that stuff wasn't worth the time and effort to install,good hinge material doesn't look like mud flap material with fibers in it

richard5933 · September 03, 2020, 05:07:09 PM

Quote from: luvrbus on September 03, 2020, 04:39:10 PM
Luke is good friend and spends a lot of time buying and finding parts to keep you guys going but he gets screwed by suppliers his rubber hinge material was a good example that stuff wasn't worth the time and effort to install,good hinge material doesn't look like mud flap material with fibers in it

Is that the latest stuff he has or from back in time a bit? I remember that he had a bad batch at one time, but the stuff I got from him to keep on hand "just in case" looked pretty good the last time.

luvrbus · September 03, 2020, 05:23:57 PM

Quote from: richard5933 on September 03, 2020, 05:07:09 PM
Is that the latest stuff he has or from back in time a bit? I remember that he had a bad batch at one time, but the stuff I got from him to keep on hand "just in case" looked pretty good the last time.

I haven't bought any from Luke in a while don't what he is selling now I get mine from Steve at IBP in FL for double the price Luke was charging but it's good stuff

benherman1 · September 03, 2020, 05:57:15 PM

I bought a bunch from Luke a couple months back. No fibers and it did great once I got the rest out of the battery door. I still need to do all the baggage doors but haven't gotten to it yet.

chessie4905 · September 03, 2020, 06:12:05 PM

I understand that those special metal hinges are no longer available? Person quit making them, retired od passed away. Guess I got a couple of the final sets a little over a year ago.

dtcerrato · September 03, 2020, 07:56:39 PM

Our current rubber hinges were purchased from GM parts division in the mid 80s & still going strong. We have seen some of the bootlegged crap that got on the market - it wasn't only US coach that got hit. We do have spare that is packed away in an air conditioned basement along with other temp/UV sensitive parts. We try to keep living in the past but it seems to be getting more difficult to do as time goes by...

windtrader · September 03, 2020, 08:13:12 PM

Looks alright to me and not leaking that I know of.

silversport · September 03, 2020, 09:31:36 PM

There are who have used a stainless steel insert on the last couple of inches on each end, with rubber the rest of the way. In this application the stainless hinge is customized so that it can be inserted into the same slot the rubber goes into, and no holes need to be drilled in the skin of the bus.
[/quote]
This is what the PO installed on my 4106 twenty plus years ago, still going strong, no leaks. I am not sure if anyone is still making them though.

richard5933 · September 04, 2020, 03:48:42 AM

If anyone is thinking of going with a metal hinge, note that they are available without holes pre-drilled in them. This allows you to drill holes as/where needed so that there are no unused holes.

Personally, I prefer the type that goes into the slots from the rubber hinge. I believe there is a YouTube video somewhere showing how to make them yourself to fit in the grove.

I'll stick with the rubber hinges, as they continue to work for us.