Tambour doors

Topic: Tambour doors (Read 1034 times) previous topic - next topic

Tambour doors

January 27, 2019, 10:20:13 pm

After a thread mentioned the tambour doors, being an engineer I must applaud foretravel or others! What an ingenuous solution for a motorcoach. They are simple, lightweight, and not subject to hinge spring stresses encountered trying to keep the contents of cabinets inside the cabinet. No hinge or spring associated stresses on screws that would require thicker and heavier wood. KISS perfected to say the least. As caflashbob pointed out a majority of cabinets would remain closed during an extreme stopping incident in my coach. Bonus is they look and operate imaculatlately with a one finger push in a coach that twists somewhat going down the road after 30 years. Double bonus is they still look awesome, and visitors are still awestruck by the cabinetry. Reframe from putting heavy stuff in the upper cabinets and your coach won't sway as much over bad roads. Just loving a 30 year old work of art.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #1 – January 28, 2019, 09:28:55 am

Really like ours, and it was one of the tipping points for me choosing the '96 over another coach. '96 was the last year of the tambour doors. Although our coach does have a few of the hinged type, which are also nice so long as the struts are still good.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #2 – January 28, 2019, 10:15:51 am

Not sure over the very long term how the tambours door sliders will be replaceable as they harden from age.

They resist rolling up as the backing hardens. I understand Foretravel no longer has them in their parts.

Maybe some here can figure out a source and method of replacement?

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #3 – January 28, 2019, 10:29:24 am

Can't you do a little wood working and shave them to keep in tip top shape?

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #4 – January 28, 2019, 10:45:34 am

Tambour Door Cloth | HardwareTree.com

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #5 – January 28, 2019, 10:59:59 am

The individual strips of wood are glued to a fabric. Either the adhesive lets go or the fabric gets stiff or brittle and the material starts cracking due to the constant flexing that creates fatigue.
Our 1989 has all but one strip of wood still adhered very well to the fabric. If/when the adhesive fails I intend to use a flexible adhesive that will adhere to both the wood and the fabric. What else but SHOE GOO!!!
I think the fabric getting stiff/brittle is probably caused by high temperatures. Also the adhesive letting go over time.
The wood finish that is exposed to our view still has an excellent finish.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #6 – January 28, 2019, 12:51:14 pm

What I know about tambour doors (both our Airstreams had them, too) is one opens and closes them with ultimate care, very slowly. If one binds, don't 'cowboy' it, just move it back and forth gently, maybe spray some silicone on the tracks. Our normal stuff does move around up there and can move to where it blocks the door from opening completely.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #7 – January 28, 2019, 01:08:04 pm

Foretravel tambour cabinet doors were made by a craftsman somewhere over in Florida, I seem to recall. When he died or was disabled, I forget which, Foretravel discontinued this feature.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #8 – January 28, 2019, 05:30:24 pm

I have seen 100 year old roll top desks, with the slats horizontal and sagging somewhat that still work. I guess I wont worry much about my vertical slats. Whoever made them was a great craftsman, I am guessing there are 600 feet of perfectly joined edges in my coach.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #9 – January 28, 2019, 05:49:23 pm

The Foretravels were backed in rubber

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #10 – January 29, 2019, 12:53:16 am

Was in my 36 foot COLD coach tonight and I counted slats on several tambour doors, and multiplied the rest. Over 1200 feet of precision parallel joinery between the 600 slats, that you cannot hardly insert a feeler gauge into any gap on the tambour doors. That is amazing craftsmanship!

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #11 – February 01, 2019, 12:47:44 pm

That's just par for a Foretravel coach. And a fix for a Tambor door issue is just par for the ForFum crowd. Right guys......

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #12 – February 01, 2019, 10:25:12 pm

Sheepishly, I gotta say the FT tambour doors are memorable. Our coach has so many gorgeous woodworking features that really work well together...and these doors are the best. The "baby" doors over the microwave area on our girl measure only 4" or so. Smooth and dramatic. Very polished design, IMHO.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #13 – February 02, 2019, 02:15:55 am

Quote from: Bob & Sue – February 01, 2019, 12:47:44 pm

That's just par for a Foretravel coach. And a fix for a Tambor door issue is just par for the ForFum crowd. Right guys......

30 years old and so far no fix needed, or issues. Could go another 30 years or more. No struts, or highly stressed cabinet hinges that may pull out of the wood. Simplicity squared, KISS. No sense trying to improve it's design.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #14 – February 02, 2019, 08:25:13 am

Some of the earliest 70's coaches with the tambours used in the desert heavily had the backing get hard and resist rolling up.

Had to replace a few 30+ years ago,

Do not see a lot of Orange and brown FTX's here. Sold a lot of them. Now that I look back it was more because of the club than than the beauty..

I doubt that the GVF's and the unicoaches will suffer the same fate,

We are doing a kitchen remodel at home and find I have an extra trash compactor that I am considering mounting into our coach as it has a correct size cabinet i think across from the refer.

Bought a new kitchen aid one for our remodel and so the old one can be recycled into the coach.

Only thing that I thought was wrong when the original owners ordered the coach was to not fit a compactor IMO.

Will, see if giving up the drawer in that area is worth it as it is our junk drawer full of needed goodies.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #15 – February 02, 2019, 09:41:50 am

Trash compactor came with our 97. .....never have used it.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #16 – February 02, 2019, 02:17:36 pm

Was it in the cabinet under the hutch? Ours appears to be that size. We dry camped mostly long ago and the compactor was a space efficiency need.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #17 – February 02, 2019, 06:35:06 pm

Yes. Our compactor is in the cabinet under the hutch.

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #18 – February 02, 2019, 07:28:08 pm

Every coach needs a garbage can and that is what we use the compactor for. It works well, but it is not worth messing with for what little garbage we generate. Have a great day ---- Fritz

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #19 – February 02, 2019, 07:30:08 pm

Don't have room for one, don't know that we would use it. I thought that's what used Walmart bags were for.

Larry

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #20 – February 02, 2019, 07:51:09 pm

Okay....time to 'fess up. WalMart bag in the trash compactor is our trash can 🙄

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #21 – February 02, 2019, 08:25:24 pm

My 30 year old compactor still working, did not have a key when I got the coach, but was able to buy one at local appliance parts store

Re: Tambour doors

Reply #22 – February 02, 2019, 08:52:19 pm

Remember a Foretravel was made to be a self contained dry camp coach. Rving was an adventure 35 years ago. I had customers remote live for long term in non campground conditions.

Affiliate Notice