Closing the sliding door from the inside...is there a trick?

Hi All,

Closing the sliding door on my bus is a bit of a 2-handed operation: One hand to pull the handle and the other to give the trailing edge a bit of a push when its almost closed. Without that extra push, the door generally closes and catches at the front, but the rear catch doesn't quite make it.

Obviously, from the outside, this isn't a problem, but as I found out at the weekend, it poses a problem when trying to close the door from the inside...

I tried to use a little more elbow-grease - thinking that a little more inertia might help the trailing edge swing in - but this just resulted in the front banging loudly against the B-post. I had to get out, close the door fro mthe outside and then get back in through the passenger door...!

Is there a 'technique' to this, or would it suggest that the door mechanism needs some adjustment?

cheers

Paul

 

Have you got a handle on the inside at the back ?

 

The easiest way to close from the inside is to go outside

 

Crossovers you lift the handle and it locks in.

 

Closing the door from the inside can be a pain. Ideally you need a rear handle inside to pull the back of the door in. You can get a small bracket that bolts to the rear of the door. You attach a second slider handle to this, mounted sideways. Have a search on here for previous posts.

 

Here you go...

 

Thanks, @snotty.

I was wandering if adding an internal handle, on which to pull, might not be the simplest solution, but equally was wondering whether the door shouldn't be close-able from the inside, in stock form...

P.

 

It'll close (sometimes) with an almighty slam, but it's not a good design. There's a company that sells the bolt on bracket (have a search on here), and handle is just another of the same. Believe Westfalia fitted these as standard.

 

Ignore all the above. Your door needs adjusting. Ours closes and locks properly from a reasonable pull shut from the inside and we don't have a handle at the rear to pull it in either.
I believe some early doors did have the extra handle at the rear.

 

We added the missing handle (we had the bracket) and it's so much easier to close especially at night when you don't want to wake the whole campsite.

 

but surely you would not be classed as proper VW camper on site if you didnt wake everyone up in the night closing it init .

 

I believe it's our sacred duty to wake the campsite with the music of sliding doors, it lets them know they are camped in the presence of a very special vehicle which is much much cooler than whatever they're in.

 

Anyone know who does the rear bracket to fit the handle?

 

There's a company in Europe that sells them. Somebody posted a link a while ago. They're very handy things.

 

Mine seems keener to shut from the inside if I sort of give the handle a little anticlockwise (RHD bus) nudge/swing - (pivot arm towards the front of the bus) to pull the back edge in as it reaches the end of travel.

Probably just an imaginary superstitious ritual though.

 

It does sound like it needs some work doing on it to bring it up to scratch, but that's the fun of these bus's.

 

The trick is, slam it or slam it from the outside

 

Ours is the same and Mr Moosey has the knack of shutting it from the inside but I certainly don't, which rules out camping by myself (unless I shut from the outside and climb over the cupboards to get into the back as we haven't got a walkthough... I suppose no-one will see me if I have the curtains shut...). I seem to recall @bernjb56 made a neat DIY solution to this with a belt ...

 

It sounds like yours needs adjustment, but there is a technique.
Pull the door towards the front and simultaneously pull it inwards.
Don't just shove it mindlessly forwards/away from you.

If that works for you, you owe me a quid - all of you!

 

I made a small loop of webing and bolted through the two bolts that hold the lock.the MK 1 model was to long and caught on the rail cover outside and made ***** of it ,so the MK2 model was shorter ,i got the idea from @bernjb56