Been looking around try to gather some information on replacing the exterior seal on entry door. Mine is looking crappy and I don't think it is doing a good job sealing out the water. Has anyone had any experience replacing this seal and where can I find a replacement seal?
Xtreme replaces white door seals with black ones when they do a full paint. They must know where to get them. I'm sure FOT or MOT would know as well or even have them on hand.
If yours is just dirty looking, try wiping it with a rag with some acetone (not toluene) on it (wear rubber gloves). It will stay clean looking longer if you wax it.
Roger
I used acetone to clean the nasty white door seal. It made a remarkable improvement. The folk at Xtreme said not to worry about the acetone harming the paint they apply. It is a catalytic finish. Use protective gloves.
I believe this is the company that makes our doors. They should have the seals.
PTL Engineering | Committed to quality from start to finish (http://www.ptlengineering.com/)
Mark
My seal is pretty well destroyed. I'll need to find a replacement.
Yes, PTL is the correct supplier. Just don't wait till deer hunting season, that is a national holiday in Michigan and they pretty much shut down.
Nice people to work with.
All doors are not the same. Do you have a screen door?
Yes, Barry, I do have a screen door.
I bought a new (black) door seal from Foretravel 3 months ago and never used it. If you'd like a good deal on it, let me know.
I'm in Orlando, FL and can box it up for you.
I have been to FoT twice now to purchase a door seal. They asked for my VIN on the phone. I gave it to them and later after work went to pick up the seal. It was too big.
Before heading back, I called. They said to measure. I measured and took a picture of exactly where I measured so it could be compared to the corresponding location on the seal. When I arrived I handed over the phone, they wrote down the dimensions, looked at the picture, returned with another gasket. The gasket was wrapped in tape with a number on it. I asked if they had measured, they said, "It's the only other one, so this is it."
Needless to say, this one was about 1.5" too short on the width.
Save yourself the trouble (and save some money as well) by going directly to the manufacturer as recommended above.
Here is the exact seal you need for a millenial vintage U270/295/320:
Seals - PTL Engineering (http://www.ptlengineering.com/seals-2/)
If you call them you can get a measuring diagram by email. They will ask for the make, year, model to confirm from their records, and to confirm your measurements. If there is any question they will contact you. Then they will fabricate a seal for you which will be the right size and cost less than the alternative. They will ship within about a week. And you'll get to hold onto that extra little bit of sanity!
I got mine from PTL Engineering, black is all you can get. The door has to come off to change it, get a couple of friends the door is HEAVY, I use a floor jack to hold it.
Wow - I had no idea - THANKS for the heads-up!
Call Craig at Extreme, I think they stock the gasket.
Geezer once the door is off the gasket is held in by what looks like a screen spline it should come with the gasket.
Howdy Rich,
Door is heavy! Had ours changed at MOT, took three guys.
Good Luck, Dave A
Geezer,how bad is your old gasket,will it be worth the hassle to change it?
Geezer the only reason I changed mine it was torn at the door handle area. If it is simply a sealing issue you can use a hair dryer or heat gun to reform it CAREFULLY to take care of wind noise.
I was going to change ours this summer but could not get the right help at the right time. It will be a job for next spring. I bought it from MOT and it seemed too small - but I think that is intentional and you have to install it by doing some pulling and stretching and using some lube (such as windex). You can do the top, bottom and the handle side easily. But Bruce is right and the door needs to come off to do the hinge side. It is NOT a one man job. Hope it goes well for you.
John
Mine is torn - your you can bet I would just hit it with acetone (which also does a great job cleaning gelcoat I have been discovering while redoing all the seams - removes greasy hand prints, etc very easily. I have mixed feelings about using organic solvents in general, but sometimes nothing else comes close. Anyhow, yeah, the seal needs to be replaced -this one has gone around the bend.
I am reactivating this string because the topic title matches what I just learned. Greg and Rance at Xtreme Paint and Graphics explained to me that the seal around the screen door on my coach is what actually seals out weather/rain. The rubber seal around actual main door is primarily for cosmetic purposes.
I have had a water intrusion problem in certain rain/wind conditions for quite some time. I had tried various things to no avail.
Once they explained that it is the screen door seal that was the problem I looked closely and of course they were correct.
I was able to get new seal from FoT and it was very easy to install. One thing I had not noticed at first is that two different types of seal involved. The seal down the outer side of the screen is quite different from the seal across the top and down the hinge side of the door.
Richard
Edit: Sometime shortly after my model ('99) Foretravel went to a different type of door seal. So this write up will not apply to those models.
I'd be interested to hear if you find it also reduces road noise as you're driving
Is your "Air Damn" on leading edge of door still there?
Replacement of exterior rubber around perimeter of entry door (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=33353.msg392920#msg392920)
Good question, I wasn't aware of said air dam until now so I'll take a look the next time I'm at the coach. Thanks!
Funny thread right now for me. I own rtgs coach now. When I bought it from him he had a new door seal in a box as well as the windscreen that went in front of it. When I was at Xtreme graphics recently for body work I had them replace both seals. Randy there told me to get the seal around the screen door replaced as well and I bought one at fot and installed it the other day. It definitely makes the seal around the door a lot better although I still have a gap at the bottom. that may be my fault though since I replaced the stairs. I also had to adjust my door as I got locked out a couple times where the door latch wouldn't release from the outside. But after adjusting it it works fine now. I just have to figure out how to get the top of the door to holds open. that I thought was just going to be an adjustment at the top but I think I'm going to have to take the inside door off again to look at that. I also need to take a hair dryer or heat gun to my outer door seal it doesn't cover the door seal well enough.
Reply #3 in this thread may help some with your latch problem.
Entry door window & latch repair (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=24295.msg189793#msg189793)
Rich
Thanks Rich, I had read that thread before but forgot about it...
Looks like I will need to spray some penetrating oil up there and go from there. Its the cam adjustment cable I'm sure. Hopefully I can fix it without removing the door skin again.