Sticking Sliding Door Fix

[jamesgang]

FYI in case anyone else has this problem. The sliding door down to the cabin in our 290 began sticking and would not slide unless you pressed on the top a little when attempting to open. We figured somebody had sat or leaned heavily on it. We cleaned the tracks and adjusted the trucks all to no avail. :huh: After searching various boards we didn't find any solutions so just ordered new trucks ($60). And they do look like little 4-wheel toy trucks! :grin: Figured out how to replace the worn ones (which were still in surprisingly good shape for a 9 yr. old boat) and the door slid nicely for about 10 openings, then starting sticking again. Remembered we had some silicone spray we use on the isenglas rubber so gave that a try. The spray did the trick, the door slides effortlessly and has not stuck once since then. If it starts sticking again, we'll just give it another shot. Might work for someone else too! :thumbsup:

 

[Bottom Line]

What kind of silicone spray did you use? Something you buy at Lowes or Home Depot? My door is not sliding at easy as it used to....it probably just needs some lubricant.

 

[gerryb]

After trying various types of lube including wd40, teflon, silicone and loctite lube, I found a product at walmart that is inexpensive and works well. It's in the RV section and is called something like RV Track Lube. About $5 bucks for a big can. The teflon dry lubricant also did well but almost 2x the cost. DO NOT USE A WET LUBE like WD40. It will attract all kinds of gunk and makes things worse. We lube the track every other week, after a quick vacuum or water flush. (they must be cleaned before applying the lube.)

 

[Dave S]

I posted this once before, but I find my door gets a bit hard to open and close as well because the interior vinyl covering on the door drags across the weatherstripping mounted on the door opening. I lubricated the weather stripping and the vinyl covering with 303 and that made the door much easier to close and open.

 

[RobF300]

I actually dont think silicone is the answer, there is specific maintance for those tracks.

I could be crazy but I seem to remember the obvious of keeping them super clean, and talcum powder as a lubricant.

Siicones and other lubes will hold dirt particles that will make things worse. If you notice when you first get the boat there is no lube in those tracks.

 

[signman]

hi there, can you tell me where you got the slider trucks as mine came off and can't get them anywhere here in ireland...
thanks
michael