Door to Cabin Hard to Open

[bjac]

Hi All:
Has anyone had trouble opening the door to the cabin. When we took delivery last July our 260DA sliding door was easy to open and close. It seems it is getting progressively harder to open.
Is there some kind of lubricant that should be applied to the track or (if you can get at the wheels inside) elsewhere. My captain can hardly open it on her own, and sometimes I have to brace my foot against the frame and pull like hell.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Bill

 

[Nehalennia]

Bill
1st let get things straight. You're the Captain. She's your Admiral, you know, the boss.
2nd make sure that track stays very clean.
There are a couple of delrin runners that glide on the tracks and any debris will wedge itself in there making it tough to slide.

 

[Presentation]

The first step is to clean the track. The track has lots of groves so take your time and do a good job. Get as far back as you can. Close the door and clean that back section as well with a rag on a stick.

As far as choosing a lubricant, be careful. Many lubricanst like WD40 will attract dirt. For a short time after applying the wrong lubricant you will have a easy to use door. After that the gunk will build up and even come out the end of the track making a black mess in the footwell.

I have tried many lubricants. Some make a big mess; others don’t work well at all. I have a shelf in the garage with all the different lubricants I tried. Silicone spray lasts only a very short time and does not make it very slippery. CRC was clean but had very little effect so the door was still too hard to move.

I have had the best results with tri-flow RV track lubricant. This is available at walmart in the camping section. It’s a black spray bottle.

http://www.triflowlubricants.com/products/superiorlubricantaerosol.html


I do get some gunk with this product but not near as much as when I tried WD40.

I wipe the track with a Kleenex about every other day we are onboard. Keep in mind we have 3 kids so it gets a lot of traffic. Most of the time the top track does not need it; the bottom track is the one that gets dirty fast.

I reapply the lubricant about 3 times a season.

 

[gerryb]

I discovered the walmart RV lube several years ago and it does work best. But the key is to clean it first, and keep it clean. I use the wet method of cleaning the track - dockside hose with nozzle aimed right into the track. Cleans it out very nicely and all the gunk runs down the drain hole in the footwell floor. The other way is to use a dishwasher scrub brush - the thin ones with a handle. dip that into a little soapy water and run it along the track, then hose it off.

On my wishlist for the 280: a cockpit sink faucet that extends into this part of the boat so I could use it to clean the track. It is about 2' short!

 

[skibum]

I had to work on mine a couple of weeks ago because it started to get tough to close that last 2-3". It kept coming to a halt with a screeching noise. I got it most of the way fixed, but I still think I can make it better.

As others have said, clean the track. I take a hose and blast the crud out of the bottom one frequently. It is amazing how fast you accumulate gunk in there. I get everything from leaves, to seaweed, to gum wrappers (I have no idea how, I forbid the kids from chewing gum on board and I know the admiral isn't letting her wrappers fly), and hair. Every hair that falls off of someone's head will end up in that track.

I then tightened up the 4 screws on the door that hold the 2 top "trucks" in place. These are easily accessable with the door closed. One of mine (farthest to starboard) is stripped. The other 3 were loose. I couldn't back the stripped one out at the time (on the water), but I plan on trying again very soon. I assume that they are machine screws, not wood screws (does anyone here know?), so I am going to attempt to tap new threads and go 1 size larger on the screw. Tightening the other 3 screws made a huge difference. I believe that the last stripped screw is allowing the truck on the starboard side to get out of alignment as the door slides. Make sure that all 4 of yours are tight.

Finally, I took a bit of Starbright polish followed up by Meguires Flagship wax, and polished and waxed the 2 raised "rails" in the center of the top track. I had to use a Q-tip to get the polish and wax the first 2" or so under the door. I can't see the bottom trucks, but they sound like they have wheels and are rolling normally, so I did not polish or wax down there.

Good luck,
Michael

 

[jpk33]

If it's the standard sliding pocket cabin door if you've cleaned the tracks and you still have sticking issues someone here suggested to spray a lubricant/protectorant like 303 form the inside of the door along the two door pieces where they slide together. I had similar issues and it worked like a charm, just wipe up the overspray (inside and out) - just watch out for smashed fingers because the door will slide that easy! Good Luck - Jeff

 

[rcknecht]

I used Graphite power on my door on my 250... It is a heavy door and was never easy to open..

 

[bjac]

Bill
1st let get things straight. You're the Captain. She's your Admiral, you know, the boss.
2nd make sure that track stays very clean.
There are a couple of delrin runners that glide on the tracks and any debris will wedge itself in there making it tough to slide.

Hey Todd:

1. No she is the Captain, I'm the 1st mate. That leaves room for promotion when she learns to do all of the dirty work along with the easy stuff.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I'll clean heartily once again and if it is still hard to close maybe I'll try some of the Wally World spray.

Bill & Jeannie

 

[tobnpr]

You took delivery of the boat last July- it's July...
Why aren't you having your dealer fix this problem while you're still under warranty??

 

[bjac]

You took delivery of the boat last July- it's July...
Why aren't you having your dealer fix this problem while you're still under warranty??

To make a long story short......we have had several visits and repairs under warranty since taking delivery July 3, 2008. The last failure was the kitchen tap total failure last week. The nozzle came right off in the captains hand and shot water everywhere. She was not impressed.

Not only would the dealer not cover it as it fell after July 3, Sea Ray refused to cover it as well. A total failure of a battery........20hrs use this year........not covered. I'm kind of glad the warranty is over. Now I can just fix things properly and be done with it.

Thanks for you concern though.

Bill

 

[Nehalennia]

I don't recommend anyone use graphite. It's an old product that was used in locks for years and on your aluminum track will damage it + it's very dirty
A silicone spray maybe, but if found a very clean track and trolley pad is the best.

 

[tobnpr]

I remember your post about the faucet...
3 weeks out of warranty, and they won't cover it. That's shi**y customer service. Period.

 

[Presentation]

I don't recommend anyone use graphite. It's an old product that was used in locks for years and on your aluminum track will damage it + it's very dirty
A silicone spray maybe, but if found a very clean track and trolley pad is the best.

Todd, what is a Trolly pad?

 

[bjac]

I remember your post about the faucet...
3 weeks out of warranty, and they won't cover it. That's shi**y customer service. Period.

Yeah, dealer hasn't exactly been the best. Just to show you how things work though, after the dealer told me Sea Ray would not cover the faucet replacement, nor would they, I contacted the manufacturer myself. I quoted their mission statement on their website about making the customer satisfied, sent them the pics of the faucet & broken part, sent a copy of my purchase order of the boat with dates etc, and lo and behold I got a nice email in return stating they were shipping me a new faucet ASAP under warranty free of charge.
Squeaky wheel syndrome I guess.
All's well that ends well.

Bill

 

[jpk33]

I will bet that your dealer never event attempted to warranty it through Sea Ray!

 

[ChuckW]

Between all the cleaning and lubricating, when having to deal with a tough to close door, I've found that lifting upward on the door while closing it works like a charm. I can be sitting at the helm and just reach over with my foot and lift and close using the bottom step on the door.

The kids have been drilled countless times to not slam it, so they just look at me and say, "your turn dad." :wow:

I get about 10lbs or dog hair in there each week :smt021

 

[PMC]

Did the door get worse over time, or all of a sudden? It's crap and debris in the track or broken parts. Lubricants may help in the short term, but not the solution IMO.

The lower slide is made up of 2 aluminum tracks, separated by ball bearings and plastic clips. The ball bearings carry the door weight between the track halves. The plastic clips are designed to keep any lateral movement of the upper and lower tracks together - including the balls in the grove. By the looks of the track design, lubrication is not necessary, for that everything is rolling in a track.


I kick myself for not taking pictures when I had mine apart. A picture would help explain.


Edit: Added Cartoon Image

 

[Nehalennia]

Todd, what is a Trolly pad?

Sorry, it's a nylon or delrin pad that skids along a track. It's under the top section of the track on the door.

 

[bjac]

Did the door get worse over time, or all of a sudden? It's crap and debris in the track or broken parts. Lubricants may help in the short term, but not the solution IMO.

The lower slide is made up of 2 aluminum tracks, separated by ball bearings and plastic clips. The ball bearings carry the door weight between the track halves. The plastic clips are designed to keep any lateral movement of the upper and lower tracks together - including the balls in the grove. By the looks of the track design, lubrication is not necessary, for that everything is rolling in a track.


I kick myself for not taking pictures when I had mine apart. A picture would help explain.


Edit: Added Cartoon Image

Paul:

It seems to have gotten worse over time. Today I cleaned the sh__t out of it but it still binds at the top. In fact there is a black mark at the top on the beige fiberglass where the door binds at the start when open and you pull to close it. I could not find any Tri flow RV Track lubricant here in Canada but I was told about a waterproof lubricant available at the RV place for trailers that may do the job. I think I will try that.

Thanks to all for their help.

Bill

 

[Nehalennia]

Well I sell Tri Flow and although I love it for many things, the issue with it in this case will be to watch that it doesn't collect more debris. It has a teflon base but is also suspended in an oil so it will have residue. The "dry lubricant's" are the way to go, if you want to lubricate.