Got the new hinges on in October, have spent the majority of the winter in cold snowy climates camping a ton. Rear hinge just froze and the entire hinge sheared off from the mounting screws
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I also be curious to know if something broke, or if the t-nuts pulled out of the track? I could see them popping out with any real force considering how twisted they are when mounted.
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The new hinge design does seem inherently susceptible to trapping moisture and contamination. Interested to know if they have any long term testing data that was used to validate the design. Why not use a piano style hinge?
The t nuts all popped out and the screws stripped out of them. So I gotta get some new screws and eventually new t nuts. The t nuts will be able to grab fine enough for now just to hold as a replacement. But probably not a long term fix.
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I keep an eye on my mounting bolts - especially since I replaced the hinges myself. So far all seems to be tight…
i have wondered about the possibility of them freezing, we live in San diego, recently several days after some rain and the truck had been driven - upon opening the rear door a considerable amount of water came out, i wondered about somehow sealing the ends of the hinge. In a slight rain ours was leaking water on tailgate area thru old (unfilled) rivet hole. i found that ironic…
I think some rain is fine, it’ll never be a huge issue. Ice/frozen moisture just makes the hinge gears inoperable. When I looked back in the track where the hinge attaches with those little half nuts, the ice that had frozen on the bottom also put the hinge itself out of place. Frustrating but not sure what can be done. Just gonna ask for new hardware and replace I guess. Just gotta be careful when I’m in below freezing weather which is often
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I also noticed that mine drips water from above as the new embassy hinge is shorter than the old hinge, so water that would have been diverted by the old hinges just runs right down now.
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I notice when installing the tnuts don’t get fully vertical and I have to set the tnut in place vertically first and then find it with the screw. Should help if you can get the full perpendicular seal. And this completely validates my thesis that the end user needs to fluid film the inside of the hinge regularly (probably once a year or so). Fluid film displaces the water and lubricates. It kept my locks from freezing up this winter and kept the salt from intruding too far; last year it completely locked them up with the salt.
Fluid film really you sure about that? I’d be worried about that potentially voiding any kind of warranty down the road from GFC? GFC has said not to use WD40 and I am aware it it’s not the same as fluid film. What they’ve recommended to me and others is Bozeman T9.
Fluid film outperforms T9 every day of the week. Don’t know why they still use T9 unless it’s cheaper in bulk. They are the same category of lubricant, GFC would have to prove it beyond reasonable doubt anyways. If fluid film were to void warranty so would T9. https://www.mtbr.com/threads/anti-corrosion-product-shootout.1073581/. Either one repels water and lubricates, but 1 is superior to the other for corrosion particularly.
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Again totally agree with you.
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I had my hinges proactively replaced in Bozeman. That was the first thing the tech told me after the install. DON’T OPEN IF THE HINGE IS FROZEN. Here’s case in point. Still, I hate seeing this hinge failure. I feel you, jimbon.
Peace.
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what did they tell you to do (if its frozen) -
I don’t remember them telling me what TO do, just what NOT TO do. I do remember something like don’t force the hinge open if the hinge feels frozen or gives resistance. I don’t remember them saying do not open in freezing temperatures. I think it was more like just pay attention and don’t force it if it does feel frozen.
If I encounter a frozen hinge, I plan to try to not open it if possible. I can imagine situations wherein that’s just not feasible; like upon exit in the morning if you don’t run a ladder. Dunno. Maybe try to get the camper in the sun to warm the hinges.
Peace.
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Mine rear has been frozen to the point it had a bunch of resistance. I just worked it back and forth slowly and it broke up the ice and eventually it freed up enough to open it. Maybe all the sand inside the hinges helped break up the ice?
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Not being able to open the hinges if they’re frozen is then just a horrible design. The hinge shouldn’t have moisture inside of it. The company is headquartered in Montana so to not be able to use the camper if it’s snowing outside just seems insane to me.
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I eventually used my heat gun to melt all the ice in the hinge after it broke off the tracks. It was a fine solution then but being someone who is constantly in colder weather it’s not going to be a sensible long term solution
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@jimbon, what was the response you got from GFC after sharing this with them? Did you do the install of your new hinge back in October or did GFC do it?
Mike did it, super smooth install - I emailed them but haven’t heard back yet so hopefully will get some new hardware that I can replace the stripped ones with.
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