Technical Any tips on shutting sliding door without heavy duty slamming?

[Jonthechippy]

Hi,

It's not a big deal but it is a bit irritating that to shut the sliding door it has to be slammed. MH2 X290.
The best answer to this I have found so far is rather than using the handle at the front to pull the door shut is to give the rear of the door a push the back for the last few inches of its travel.
This works okayish.
Or there's a German latch system, which looks to work well but is a bit on the pricey side. https://ast-technikmodellbau.com/produkte/

Are there any other better techniques for doing this or cheaper systems than the German one?

Thanks

Jon

 

[bugsymike]

Hi,

It's not a big deal but it is a bit irritating that to shut the sliding door it has to be slammed. MH2 X290.
The best answer to this I have found so far is rather than using the handle at the front to pull the door shut is to give the rear of the door a push the back for the last few inches of its travel.
This works okayish.
Or there's a German latch system, which looks to work well but is a bit on the pricey side. https://ast-technikmodellbau.com/produkte/

Are there any other better techniques for doing this or cheaper systems than the German one?

Thanks

Jon

I have had several large work vans and serviced repaired many over the years.
All I would say is correctly aligned and with all the guides and plastic plungers in place to locate, well oiled, then what you do assisting at the rear for the last bit of travel is about right.
They are large heavy doors so put a lot of strain on the running gear.
I have no knowledge of the latch system you mention.

 

[Reg 65]

I fitted a handle on the rear inside of the door so I can pull it in when closing it from inside.
(I'm using it as a camper van)

 

[Communicator]

Hi,

It's not a big deal but it is a bit irritating that to shut the sliding door it has to be slammed. MH2 X290.
The best answer to this I have found so far is rather than using the handle at the front to pull the door shut is to give the rear of the door a push the back for the last few inches of its travel.
This works okayish.
Or there's a German latch system, which looks to work well but is a bit on the pricey side. https://ast-technikmodellbau.com/produkte/

Are there any other better techniques for doing this or cheaper systems than the German one?

Thanks

Jon

Have you by any chance lined the inside of your van, particularly in the rear corners? I have an x244 PVC (campervan), and when inspecting the rear light clusters, I noticed numerous small rubber flap valves fitted internally, but designed to open outwards. I assume that they were intended to allow air to exit when closing the doors. Not surprisingly in a PVC, the interior of the light clusters is hidden behind upholstery.........

 

[bugsymike]

Have you by any chance lined the inside of your van, particularly in the rear corners? I have an x244 PVC (campervan), and when inspecting the rear light clusters, I noticed numerous small rubber flap valves fitted internally, but designed to open outwards. I assume that they were intended to allow air to exit when closing the doors. Not surprisingly in a PVC, the interior of the light clusters is hidden behind upholstery.........

Not a bad point, a slight pressure build up when slamming a large door quickly could have the affect of "bouncing " the door open again. Worth trying with front door open say, to see if it makes a difference. It's not something I had considered before.
Probably not as air tight as the original VW Beetles where the seal was so good, having a window down helped and they also floated for much longer if dropped into the water than many other vehicles. They could also make your ears popped if slammed hard.

 

[Jonthechippy]

Hi and thanks,

The handle on the inside would definitely help when closing from inside, it's a shame that there isn't a cool version of this to fix to the back of the door on the outside!!

The vents at the back do exist in my van but they are quite a small area and I imagine don't let in enough air quick enough to be effective. The van is being converted to a camper and I've fitted a couple of permanent vents in the roof which did help marginally. Shutting the side door when the back door is open does make shutting the side door a lot easier.

I wonder if fitting vents in the sliding door behind the lower trim panel (similar to the rear factory vents) would help? (or is that a daft idea?)

Jon

 

[bugsymike]

Hi and thanks,

The handle on the inside would definitely help when closing from inside, it's a shame that there isn't a cool version of this to fix to the back of the door on the outside!!

The vents at the back do exist in my van but they are quite a small area and I imagine don't let in enough air quick enough to be effective. The van is being converted to a camper and I've fitted a couple of permanent vents in the roof which did help marginally. Shutting the side door when the back door is open does make shutting the side door a lot easier.

I wonder if fitting vents in the sliding door behind the lower trim panel (similar to the rear factory vents) would help? (or is that a daft idea?)

Jon

Could you try opening a window the same amount as the vents you propose and see if that makes a difference before cutting the holes?

 

[MSjoberg]

Hi and thanks,

The handle on the inside would definitely help when closing from inside, it's a shame that there isn't a cool version of this to fix to the back of the door on the outside!!

I just press the back of the door with a flat hand when closing it from the outside.
And yes, the handle on the inside definitely helps when closing from inside.

 

[Jonthechippy]

Thanks,

Flat hand it is then for the time being...unless there are other workarounds.

Jon

I think the idea of a hole low down in the door wouldn't work without adding a vent on the outside...that would be a bit of an eye sore!

 

[bugsymike]

Thanks,

Flat hand it is then for the time being...unless there are other workarounds.

Jon

I think the idea of a hole low down in the door wouldn't work without adding a vent on the outside...that would be a bit of an eye sore!

Providing it is on the end of the door where the lock mechanism usually is and on the outside of the rubber sealing strip , I have seen similar from standard on some vehicles.

 

[Anthony489]

Hi

With our X250 panel van conversion, we have about a 50% success rate in getting the sliding door to shut completely first time. The other 50% of the time it looks shut but the rear edge is still about 6mm short of fully closed. However, if a cab window or door is open there is never an issue. So it does seem to be the cushioning effect of the air pressure buildup which slows down the final bit of movement, unless you give it a big heave to begin with. The guiding hand technique on the outside rear of the door also helps, but watch your fingers.

On the inside (at about waist height) I have fitted an extra 4 inch handle made of strong glass reinforced plastic. These are sold online for use with horse trailers etc. This needed a couple of M6 blind threaded fixings so that it could be bolted into the closed box section on the leading edge of the door. Space is quite tight, so check the handle doesn't foul anything with the door fully open or closed, and that there is room for your fingers. This handle offers better purchase than the rubber block handle/stop fitted as standard. I'd recommend this mod, wish it hadn't taken me ten years to get round to it !

 

[Communicator]

Hi

With our X250 panel van conversion, we have about a 50% success rate in getting the sliding door to shut completely first time. The other 50% of the time it looks shut but the rear edge is still about 6mm short of fully closed. However, if a cab window or door is open there is never an issue. So it does seem to be the cushioning effect of the air pressure buildup which slows down the final bit of movement, unless you give it a big heave to begin with. The guiding hand technique on the outside rear of the door also helps, but watch your fingers.

On the inside (at about waist height) I have fitted an extra 4 inch handle made of strong glass reinforced plastic. These are sold online for use with horse trailers etc. This needed a couple of M6 blind threaded fixings so that it could be bolted into the closed box section on the leading edge of the door. Space is quite tight, so check the handle doesn't foul anything with the door fully open or closed, and that there is room for your fingers. This handle offers better purchase than the rubber block handle/stop fitted as standard. I'd recommend this mod, wish it hadn't taken me ten years to get round to it !

I view of the current discussion, I am reconsidering my decision to fit a sealing rubber insert to the Mini Heki rooflight in my PVC.

In response to @Anthony489 's suggestion, I am attaching a photo of the DIY handle fitted to to the leading edge of the sliding door on my x244, where the door closes against the "C" pillar.
Also attached is a photo of the notched angle that I used to hold the door at a preset position when parked on an incline.
The handle which is set at about shoulder height, was made from a piece of recycled beech wood, and is attached by two M6 cap screws inserted into M6 rivnuts let into the door frame.

I have read of a pull strap handle being fitted to the inside rear edge of the door, so that it can be pulled inwards, but that's no use if closing from outside.

 

[Jonthechippy]

Hi,

Well, fixing a handle on the inside (rear) of the door is a great help when closing the door from the inside but what I found really helps when closing the door from the inside and outside is adjusting and fine tuning the mechanism. Thanks @bugsymike
There are a couple of guides, pins/sockets that were way out of alignment and need to mesh well. It's quite a job to get everything right and aligned (the tolerance between good and bad is very small) and also keeping the gap around the door even. It took a couple of hours but the door now closes easily without having to slam it.

Cheers

Jon

 

[bugsymike]

Hi,

Well, fixing a handle on the inside (rear) of the door is a great help when closing the door from the inside but what I found really helps when closing the door from the inside and outside is adjusting and fine tuning the mechanism. Thanks @bugsymike
There are a couple of guides, pins/sockets that were way out of alignment and need to mesh well. It's quite a job to get everything right and aligned (the tolerance between good and bad is very small) and also keeping the gap around the door even. It took a couple of hours but the door now closes easily without having to slam it.

Cheers

Jon

Thanks for letting us know.
They are big heavy doors, but as long as regularly oiled and kept in adjustment should be OK.

 

[Communicator]

Thanks for letting us know.
They are big heavy doors, but as long as regularly oiled and kept in adjustment should be OK.

You need to be careful as to where you apply lubrication. I had an expensive experience with oil swelling the plastic tyre on the bottom front bracket of my x244. The cost of a new bracket was £163, and that was over ten years ago.

 

[bugsymike]

You need to be careful as to where you apply lubrication. I had an expensive experience with oil swelling the plastic tyre on the bottom front bracket of my x244. The cost of a new bracket was £163, and that was over ten years ago.

Always worth checking what the tyre/rollers are, all the ones I worked on were commercial vans with steel rollers and bearing races, so I didn't think to consider that.

 

[Communicator]

Always worth checking what the tyre/rollers are, all the ones I worked on were commercial vans with steel rollers and bearing races, so I didn't think to consider that.

The rollers were/are sealed ball bearings with I think nylon tyres. The tyre swelled and came off the roller. The door jammed. Replaced tyre which promptly came off again.