The rubber bulb seal on our screen door has torn. I purchased the replacement seal from Foretravel and removed the door and existing seal. I am perplexed, however, on how the rubber seal was so perfectly cut, at 45°, and joined at each of the four corners. As you know, the bulb seal is attached to a rigid plastic mounting strip with metal inserts to hold the seal to the steel door edge.
After a couple of practice cuts, it was apparent that getting the 45° cut and trimming up the mounting strip would not produce the clean 45° angle necessary. I understand from Red Tractor that the factory used superglue to join these joints. While that seems straightforward, having less than perfect cuts will make the gluing process more difficult.
We considered leaving square corners by leaving the long edges tall enough to overlap the top and bottom short edges. We considered these vertical flat cut joined with superglue where the edges of the top meet the vertical at 90 degrees rather than 45 degree miter cuts. Assuming a relatively solid joint with superglue seems like it should work but before we attempt, I thought I would see if there were any better ideas for the original 45° cuts.
Miter saw?
I used my Craftsman cutters similar to the one below. I would use an angle tool like below to get the first cut then lay the next strip and match it to the first one and so on around the door.
ForoGore Stainless Steel Protractor 180 Degrees Two Arm Ruler Adjustable... (https://www.amazon.com/ForoGore-Stainless-Protractor-Adjustable-Woodworking/dp/B0BKSP5N57/ref=sr_1_44?crid=1RJNN50479WL5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aG73B_YsqUe0-lHnMU4HqlfuY15TCD7W_PKE448yaCNlLTocB0HGEct5wQLz4a-OaQdLAixlbhIupJlKprZRQBEZtbmepDtH12RjIzjEEF0Rf-8tTupQyR_64c7PiddtJyXmzUcKLNLp5VDCT0LC-7KQS_Arkb8yLJYvZ7StQ97vniETiuUrUbl0LFVfwhisM3URixyVxf41_qfXkVs36NVhOhwoJi1Qhw6AxpMEB21LOF4MLBOPQsL4lBsLqPFyaM73el8Fkr8PO4KZtT_DcBjm4X3FaSKge12IvdhUBxo.wsYmk4HLeu4Re97QcLU-xYucOVAzAs8_6XVPHC7kE04&dib_tag=se&keywords=angle%2Btool&qid=1713796588&sprefix=angle%2Btool%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-44&th=1)
Ronan Multi-Cut Rubber Cutter: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement (https://www.amazon.com/Ronan-Tools-D434955-Multi-Cut-Rubber/dp/B00K6JIM78/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.d8a1EZCaqKQ2JEVP_bVzs7ThGV8t1o2Kbu-TqcZLS13RLwr3ZFgqyedSb3rwOJK2l1kjpDDzKm7_ek6l8WV3wnDRbw3W92h3VDwqk9TaP9JF3zzKKSU-_xpO86IrEd299OZjV2a8eRXeN5lR9Vtz_xCNrwsPJBUHSj_2igi7USWINnHUDoiL5UWDnamB-M6clW8mPc-RKRs4APzmi-PW0TregkCgJakH-6HLkdJgM4Hrt0Fp42TjYfOUJS6M2UaarnlQ-01WgZoXO04CLnyF8lNDImjtbecBIzTY_4PZc2U.ijIBmMrb6xhdfsQ87metp38cNTAtq-zhFWn6Zjv79eQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=craftsman+handi+cut&qid=1713796455&sr=8-1)
After cutting, 3m weatherstip adhesive can be used to join the two halves. Comes in black, and if properly done will not tear or pull apart at the point of the glue. Ive been using this stuff for classic car gaskets, and repairs on new rubber seals for well over 30 years, good stuff.
Amazon.com: 3M 08008 Super Weatherstrip Adhesive, 08008, Black, 5 oz Tube :... (https://www.amazon.com/3m-08008-Black-Automotive-Adhesive/dp/B01M9C8BHN/ref=sr_1_2?adgrpid=1335907190006661&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.I1Pgw-CaIEYyPeoATQjzvy6JJuVD67xMuUzK-0lKZsRwzadm31ubmsFOzqwd_n4CBoBPSi6Kg3PA3KqZlU0GnnPDxvjQn7b6ELEmi2EyL5hRR3U5RTsHux_cy0yWWHNv74juYE_wlVqbOqz1IpiEEmZ_BJJ1ARZTdaBLUnGaXUl9QMFf_VxyLpCDsk7WanLdEfGXtXxOkYTWtaE6TAFylccu_igzdGqr1hQuXPyzv1uH-sAZOAHPHqyRVw0tVZw3LRumtfXGDCFpnYOz5ADJblKHWLSBLthlalYd6JWcBaA.oRaWKqf1rjmVitTArI62Vm3DFn4kF4hFZ1GBWrERwHk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=83494522310609&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=76147&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83494538314861%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=7498_13249747&keywords=3m+weatherstripping+glue&qid=1714189728&sr=8-2)
Seal installed. Had Paul Yasbeck do it after our unsuccessful attempt. Bulb portion of seal is quite round when new resulting in door hard to close and even harder to open after replacement. Inner bulb will eventually compress making door easier to close. Even screen door requires a push to close and with outer door closed takes a big push against the door from the outside to open. From inside requires a meaningful pull on inside handle to be able to open.
Apparently the PTL door was redesigned in 2001 to remove outside door seal to be removed. For our year screen door bulb seal provides rain seal for door.
With our door seal removal and replacement should be good for another 20 years. Should be quieter inside too.
Replacing the bulb seals as made the main door hard to close...and especially....open. The seal at the hinge side, in particular, was pretty flat on the old, 20 year old seal. Now with new rubber the bulb is still quite round making the door hard to close and even harder to open. To open it requires using against the outside of the door near the striker to take sufficient pressure off to allow the outside handle to unlatch. From the inside it means pulling pretty hard on the inside chrome handle to again take sufficient pressure off the striker to unlatch. I'm concerned DW may not be able to get into or out of the coach on her own!
Any ideas on how to hasten the compression of these seals?
My seals loosened up after 2 trips. Really like the tightness of the door. My brother has a '05 Monaco and on vacation he used the door and wished his was that tight..
We had our seal replaced more than 2 years ago and while it has gotten better, it is still hard to open and close. There were times I could not open the door and had to have Jimmy come open it for me! The outer door STILL does not quite touch the side of the RV and I fear one day the door handle will break.
Keith played with ours a bit and got it to close a bit easier, but in order to lock it, we still have to slam the heck out of it - hard enough that it triggers our dash cam... every time!
Wish I had a solution, but nothing we have tried (except time) has made a bit of difference.
We were repeatedly assured that it is the correct seal, but I do wonder it it really was...
I had mine replaced at FOT about a year ago, it was very tight then, it's still tight now and often catches while opening, but yours sounds worse than mine.
The only ways I know to help compress it is to use it a lot, or you could also try careful application of a heat-gun or hairdryer to soften it but I urge caution on this method. Perhaps a combination of both would be best?
Are there any signs of the seal catching at the latch? Would some careful trimming there be the solution?