Lippert/ challenger ramp door failure

[midnight286]

My rear door has started to warp slightly and now has a wrinkle where it’s beginning to fail. I’m nervous that it might snap.
Contacted Lippert, who owns the Challenger brand doors and they told me this was out of warranty and they don’t hear of these failures often. Curious if anyone else has experience with these doors having issues.
For reference, the door says it can take 2500 lbs as long as there is no more than 1000 lbs at any contact point. The vehicle I’m loading is 2000 lbs total and I can’t get more than 2 wheels on the ramp at a time, it’s too long. Meaning I never put more than 1000 lbs total on it, approximately.

The wrinkles may not look like much, but they just appeared after 3 years and these doors are made out of plywood and foam. I’m sure it’s the beginning of the end.

[Rmautoservice]

My 2020 Jayco 272 ramp door is starting to do the same thing. Lippert claims there is no wood in the door, but it is only made of Luan glued onto a sheet of styrofoam. The dor is not sealed around any of the holes or around the framework. So the water seeps in and de-laminates the wood from the styrofoam and now the door has no strength left. Lippert lies. If you look around on the internet it's an extremely common problem.

[atlantaM3]

I thought the Challenger doors did not have any wood as part of the construction. That was supposed to be the advantage of that brand?

That said, I sealed around edges of mine, bolt holes, aluminum frame/edging, etc. early on to prevent water intrusion as best as possible.

Option would be to cut some aluminum diamond plat into tread strips to mount to the door at the frame edges, coat with some bed liner or some other non-skid material to get traction while loading, etc. This would help distribute the weight across the door.

Some have taken the doors apart and reconstructed, but that can get very heavy.

[midnight286]

This is an interesting idea, the Diamond plating. Can you elaborate on the placement? When you say around the edges it makes me think the middle of the door would still be without reinforcement.

I did confirm via email with Lippert customer service that the construction of this particular door includes “Luan” (plywood) and foam.

[atlantaM3]

thinking is make it like permanently attached ramps, attached front to back of door, just wide enough for tread, say 6 inches wide? I have seen something like that done previously on a different brand unit. sort of like this - https://www.bing.com/images/search?v...t=0&ajaxserp=0

Or you could get some loader ramps and make some attachment points in the cargo bay - various options. these are easliy portal, just an idea - https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...2&gclsrc=3p.ds



Odd that it would have luan - I recall that the marketing for Challenger doors was that it was weather proof. Now I am more curious about the door on my Seismic. I few years ago I called to validate the construction, and could not get a straight answer at that time. Now with Lippert ownership, wondering if they are cheaping out to how Lippert used to make their doors, which we very prone to failure.

[midnight286]

Awesome - the diamond plating idea does seem as if it would add some strength to the door.

We also have been considering folding ramps (like these rolling ones you link to) that completely clear the top of the door but I'm nervous to actually try to drive up and down on them. The trailer is high because it has no wheel wells inside.

Thanks for the suggestions! I have also taken this to an RV repair shop that recommended building ramped wood blocks to reinforce them from the bottom.

If I remember I will post whatever solution I go with. I'm basically willing to do anything BUT buy another door made of the same stuff and pay $4000 all in to have it installed.

[Ranger413]

I'm wondering what material they used to seal the edges around the ramp, specifically between the aluminum framing and the skateboard tape-style flooring. On my side patio (2021 Seismic 4113) the bottom edge, closest to the patio door, was pulling away from the aluminum. I don't have any problems (yet) with my rear patio.

I used a scraper and mineral spirits to get the majority of the sealant off and then replaced it with marine-grade silicone. Didn't last but a few days and began to do the same thing, peel away from the aluminum.

Just yesterday I bought Gorilla Glue's version of Flex Seal and am going to see if that works better. I plan to rough up the aluminum this time with some sandpaper to give it some tooth. The applications section on the can say that the Gorilla Glue will stick to aluminum.

Last thing I want is water intrusion on any part of the trailer. These patios/ramps seem to be a trouble spot.

[atlantaM3]

On my 4113 I went around the whole door with Geoflex Procell - both rear and side door. I covered every potential entry point, only leaving the holes on the bottom of the door open to allow drainage. I even ran a thin bead over the edge where the AL butts together, pulled the patio mounts and resealed, etc.

On the back edge, I had some of the 'pulling' you described - used some of the clear Gorilla tape on that seam to insure a seal.

Ditto on not wanting to have any water in the door. I dont leave mine out in the rain, even sealed up the say they are now.