After owning our camper for two years, we’ve found some features and designs that don’t work well for our family’s needs. Some of those things we can’t change, like the location of the camper’s CO2 detector, which is low on the wall within easy reach of our curious kiddos. Other things can be modified to make them work better for our family, like fixing the screen door handle to eliminate the precarious way our kiddos had to get into the camper.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Our disclosure policy can be found here.
Here’s how the kids used to open the screen door on the camper:
Our blood pressure skyrocketed several times after watching a kiddo almost fall off the camper steps while trying to open the door. So I hit Pinterest looking for a solution … and here is what I found:
This modification only took me about 15 minutes and using the following steps we went from a precarious situation to a much better solution for our kiddos.
Here are tools and supplies that I used:
- Drill
- 3/32 drill bit
- about 18″ of picture hanging wire
- Screen Door Handle
- black electrical tape
Step 1: Use the drill to add a 3/32″ hole to both the new handle and the old handle. (Our camper steps conveniently had a gap in them so I could rest the handle on the step while drilling this hole.)
Step 2: Place the new handle just above the lower kick-plate, pre-drill holes into the door, and use the included screws to secure the new handle to the door.
Step 3: Thread the picture hanging wire through the hole of first one handle and then the other to attach the two handles. (TIP: While you want this to be a taunt fit, if it is too tight, the top handle might not fully engage in the latch. You may need to experiment to get the right amount of tension.) I also used electrical tape to cover the loose ends of the wire to prevent any cuts or scratches.
Project complete! So now Flash demonstrates how he and his siblings can easily open the door and go up the steps without any precarious leaning and stretching.
The content of TheTouringCamper.com is intended for entertainment and information use only and is not to be construed as providing professional advice. Extra precautions, additional expert input, and additional research are always advised.
Leave a Reply