Doors pt.2: Started From The Roll-Up, Now We Swing (DIY Tutorial)
This is a two-part series on how I transformed
my van’s original roll-up door into a pair of swing doors.
Part 2: Hardware, Hanging, & Waterproofing
A note on hardware: It’s a good idea to buy the hardware you want to use prior to building your swing doors. You’ll want to make sure you have framing in the right spots to support the door handle, deadbolt, and hinges. You can always build to accommodate hardware, but if you purchase hardware after you’ve built something and realize you need to make modifications, you might waste a ton of time backtracking.
Materials:
Hinges
Weather stripping
Bolts
Washers
Lock washers
Threadlocker
Door handle
Door pull
Deadbolt
Heavy-duty bolt locks
Tools:
Miter saw or Circular saw
Drill
Impact driver
Clamps
Saw horses
Sockets and wrenches
Deep sockets
Cobalt drill bit set
Socket set
Tin Snips
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Door Handle + Door Pulls
Any door handle you choose should be rated for interior/exterior use. I got the Universal Hardware one pictured in this article from Home Depot.
Instructions for installation come with the door handle, so here I’d just like to point out a couple of things:
Make sure you include supports in the frame for the handle.
Note that this particular handle will only work with doors that are 1 ⅜” - 2” thick.
Another tip: using your actual locking door handle to pull the door shut will put unnecessary wear and strain on the handle over time. To avoid this, I installed a couple of door pulls (pictured below).
Door handle, from Home Depot.
Door pulls, above the handle.
Deadbolt + Secondary Bolt Locks
The deadbolt should also be rated for exterior use. Installation is similar to the door handle.
Note: it’s a good idea to practice placement and installation of the handle and deadbolt. I put together the mockup pictured here in about an hour and felt much more confident when it came time to drill two huge holes through my labor of love.
The secondary bolt lock pictured here is pretty heavy duty. I added one to each door. Recommend mounting these after the doors are hung for extra security.
“Exterior” deadbolt mock-up.
“Interior” deadbolt mock-up.
Secondary bolt lock on the bottom of one door.
Hinges
I ordered 8” strap hinges, but they seemed a little too small. I traded them in for 12” and felt much less worried about the hinges snapping and the doors flying off the back while cruising down the interstate.
I mounted the upper and lower hinges through the top and bottom door frame members, and the middle hinge through a horizontal member across the center of the door. I used threadlocker on these bolts for a little extra peace of mind.
All hinges were mounted to doors prior to hanging.
Close-up: the lower 12” inch hinge.
Removing the Roll-Up
Once you’ve finished building your doors, it’s time to remove the dirty ole roll-up and prep to hang the swingers.
What follows is how I removed the door that came with my 99’ MT45. Mounting may vary with other makes and models, so be sure to carefully inspect what’s what prior to tearing anything down.
Warning: Removing a spring loaded roll-up door can be very dangerous. The tension potential in the door spring can cause serious injury or death. The following write-up outlines what worked for me, and is for entertainment purposes only. Consult a professional if you are uncomfortable with removing your own door.
The giant hole you end up with where your door used to be.
Put door in fully raised position – this releases tension from the spring.
Grab a friend or two and have them hold the door in place.
Using tin snips (or “action snips”), cut the cable connecting the door to the spring (be careful, look away while cutting, and hope for the best).
Remove any stoppers positioned at the end of ceiling tracks guiding door.
Bring door, panel by panel, off tracks with help from your friends – it’s really heavy.
Removing the Tracks
With the roll-up door gone, the tracks that worked to guide it can now be removed.
Inspect how the track is mounted to the ceiling. Note: Mine were mounted with 3/16” steel mandrel rivets (a major pain in the ass). If you’re dealing with rivets, the following steps should prove useful.
Slip a ¼” cobalt bit (these are the hardest bits you can buy) into your drill. I found that using a larger diameter drill bit made the process of removing the rivets much quicker – instead of drilling through the entire mandrel, I just removed the head of the rivet.
Following this process, remove every rivet standing between you and a trackless ceiling.
Pro-tip: List roll-up door for sale as soon as you decide you’re going to replace it. If you find someone to buy it, you’ll likely make more than I did taking it to the aluminum recycling yard.
Adding Supports for Hinges
The body of the MT45 is made from ~3/16” aluminum sheeting. This wasn’t going to be strong enough to support the weight of the doors, so I added 2x3’s on the inside walls where the doors would be mounted.
With that, bolts would now pass through the hinges, through aluminum spacers on the outside of the van, through the aluminum body of the van, and finally through the 2x3s.
Hung doors in all their glory.
Using Spacers
I used two types of spacers to mount the swing doors.
Spacers for flush exterior mount
The sheeting that makes up the rear exterior of the MT45 is not consistent from top to bottom – on both sides of the door opening, at the top and bottom, are additional aluminum plating. This plating is ⅛” thick, so ⅛” thickness needs to be added in the center in order to get the door mounted flush.(It’s important the door be mounted as flush as possible to ensure proper hinge operation).
Getting the doors flush in the middle.
Spacers for gaps around perimeter of door
When building the doors, I accounted for a ¼” gap on all sides between the door and door frame. This gap allowed for tolerance necessary to prevent the door from catching when opening/closing. When hanging the door, I used strips of ¼” plywood to get consistent spacing around the perimeter.
Hanging the Doors
Extra hands will make this job much easier – if possible, get a friend to help out with this task.
Make sure spacers are in place prior to setting door in frame. Double-check that the door is pressed against the side spacer (this is extremely important! I had to shave an ⅛ inch off one door after it was mounted because I failed to double-check this on one side. Cutting down a hung door vertically with a circular saw is not a fun activity, so double-check).
Once you’re sure that the door is in the right position, use the holes in the hinges to guide your drill bit through the door supports (while your friend is securely holding the door in place). Work one hinge at a time as follows:
Drill through hole in the hinge from exterior through 2x3 door support. Ensure hole is slightly larger than bolt being used to avoid damaging threads.
Apply threadlocker to bolt and be sure to use a lock washer and washer prior to threading nut.
Use a couple wrenches to tighten each bolt snug (do not fully torque at this point).
Once all bolts are in place, remove spacers and test door for smooth swing. You should be able to open and close the door fully without any binding or catching.
If satisfied with door operation, torque bolts to ~100ftlbs.
Repeat steps 1-6 for second door.
Yoooo! Swing Doors! No more gaping hole in your whip! No more cumbersome tracks on your ceiling! If you’ve made it this far, take a moment to appreciate all the hard work it took to make this happen. After an ice cold one (or two), it’s time for the last big task to make your DIY swing doors fully operational.
Weather/Waterproofing
Flashing + Covering the Gap
I used Gorilla Glue, caulk, and screws to secure flashing to the top edge of the door. The flashing covers any exposed wood and extends off the front end of the door (which acts to carry drops of water away from the door).
Each door gets a strip of flashing, but this leaves a small gap on the top between both doors. If the seams of your door have proper weather stripping, this shouldn’t be an issue. I added an aluminum extension on one door to cover this gap when the doors are closed, for a little added protection.
Stair Edging (Drip Guards)
Drip guards are typically installed above doors to limit the amount of water that comes in contact with the doors. Drip guards can be expensive af tho, so I bought some stair edging from Home Depot.
Stair edging has a similar profile to drip guards, at a much more appealing price point. I cut one length of edge stripping to go across both doors. I mounted the rain guard above the doors with rivets and butyl tape.
Door Frame
The interior of your doors should come in contact with a frame around the perimeter (excluding the center between both doors). The door frame will mostly act as a secondary barrier between the inside of your rig and the elements outside. You can use any sturdy wood, but I decided to go with aluminum angle because I had some lying around.
Make sure you’ve got enough space between your doors and the frame to fit some weather stripping (~ ¼” should work fine). Once you’ve installed the frame, line it with weather stripping and test it out.
Weather Strips
You can buy weather stripping from home improvement stores, but in my experience auto parts stores tend to have a wider selection.
Since I framed my doors with 2x3’s, they weren’t perfectly straight up and down (frame with aluminum and you won’t run into this issue). This meant that I had to use various sizes of weather stripping to get a proper seal on all sides. It was a matter of trial and error, but after testing a few sizes I was able to patch together the right size strips in the right places.
Stair edging mounted above the doors.
The door frame.
Weather stripping, with a sneak peek of the under-bed “garage” storage.
Testing
Once you’ve got all the weather stripping in place, close your doors and check all around the perimeter for any light that might be shining through. If you see light, the seal isn't tight!
If you don’t see the sun shining through anywhere along the perimeter of your doors, you’ve done a damn good job.