Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

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Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Gunguy05 » Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:51 pm

I posted over on my build thread a while back about these doors that I had ordered. I haven't installed them yet, but I was able to make a short video on them, and here are some related pics. The nice thin about them is the price... less than 500 bucks for 2 of them, shipped. This is the cheapest that I have found for premade doors with windows in them, so I thought it was worth noting here.

http://Challengerdoor.com The series 805. Based on a label I saw at a recent TJ gathering, they make doors for a very large teardrop manufacturer.

It's a little rough, I had to go outside yesterday in between rainstorms and laying tile in the bathroom. BUT. This video should give a pretty good idea of what they look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skjo4HMzhLM
A few notes:

1. They are screw in from the outside, straight into the frame, with some sealant / putty tape underneath.
2. They have slide up hehr windows. They have screens in them and are either up or down. My others have 2 different levels of "up".
3. The have an inside trim ring that looks like it is made so that you drill your own holes and mount it from the inside with screws.
4. On the outside there is a separate drip edge trim piece that mounts to the top.
5. These are 26x32 (actual 25.5 x 31.5) with a 4.50 radius (4.75 cutout) on each of the doors. I wouldn't think that the 36 inch doors would be that much more... but I know that part of it is a bit apples and oranges as far as price.

The total cost of each door was $205. The packing and shipping was $70 total to GA. $480 Total

ImageIMG_20160605_183101 by gunguy05, on Flickr

ImageChallenger doors by gunguy05, on Flickr

ImageChallenger doors by gunguy05, on Flickr

ImageIMG_20160605_183205 by gunguy05, on Flickr

I'm not saying these are any better or any worse than those that are sold by other TD trailer manufacturers, but they do seem a bit cheaper. My initial impressions of them are good, as good or better than my other doors that cost a good bit more. Again, not "knocking" any of the other folks that sell them, just posting what I have found for others to refer to.
Last edited by Gunguy05 on Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:33 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Alan_H » Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:04 am

Where did you get them? Let the rest of us in on the goodness!!
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Gunguy05 » Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:32 am

Alan_H wrote:Where did you get them? Let the rest of us in on the goodness!!


OOPS! I edited my post above.

THey are not straight off the shelf, you have to call/email and order them. Just tell them your size and what you are using them for. They DO produce these for a very LARGE teardrop manufacturer though, I saw their label on one of said TD at a gathering a while back. It's the "little" one....
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Alan_H » Wed Jun 08, 2016 4:12 pm

Gunguy05 wrote:
Alan_H wrote:Where did you get them? Let the rest of us in on the goodness!!


OOPS! I edited my post above.

THey are not straight off the shelf, you have to call/email and order them. Just tell them your size and what you are using them for. They DO produce these for a very LARGE teardrop manufacturer though, I saw their label on one of said TD at a gathering a while back. It's the "little" one....


Thanks! I have doors, but might need some smaller hatches for storage compartments.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Homebrewer25 » Sat Aug 20, 2016 8:46 pm

I just looked at the Challenger Door site, series 805. They don't look anything like your pictures:

http://challengerdoor.com/?page_id=351

I've looked at most of what they have and don't see anything like these. Are you sure you got the right supplier?

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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Gunguy05 » Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:40 pm

Homebrewer25 wrote:I just looked at the Challenger Door site, series 805. They don't look anything like your pictures:

http://challengerdoor.com/?page_id=351

I've looked at most of what they have and don't see anything like these. Are you sure you got the right supplier?

Steve


Yes. The website is a little difficult to navigate, but they normally supply to LARGE purchasers i.e. teardrop manufacturers, not much retail to folks like up. So, I think the website is meant to show a wide range of what they offer, but each door is made to order. The series number had to do with the door thickness, the raidus (or not) corners, the window type etc. That was a little confusing to me too. I just called/ emailed them and told them what I was using the door for, and they sent me couple photos of them actually installed in teardrops and I told them "yeah, that's what I'm looking for". They were very helpful, especially considering I wanted 2 doors not 200.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Homebrewer25 » Sun Aug 21, 2016 4:42 pm

Thanks for clearing that up.

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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby rruff » Mon Jan 23, 2017 11:13 am

Gunguy05 wrote:The website is a little difficult to navigate, but they normally supply to LARGE purchasers i.e. teardrop manufacturers, not much retail to folks like up. So, I think the website is meant to show a wide range of what they offer, but each door is made to order. The series number had to do with the door thickness, the raidus (or not) corners, the window type etc. That was a little confusing to me too. I just called/ emailed them and told them what I was using the door for, and they sent me couple photos of them actually installed in teardrops and I told them "yeah, that's what I'm looking for". They were very helpful, especially considering I wanted 2 doors not 200.


I thought it was too good to be true! And for me it was.I just got a quote for 2 doors for a camper. Simple rectangular doors, nothing fancy.

Entrance door, 64x24 no window. $431.
Rear hatch, 30x48 with a window and struts. $626.
Packaging. $45
Shipping. $320.
Tax. $77 (why tax to another state?)
Total. $1500.

I was expecting it to be a little more than you paid, but not 3x the price! Did you get something off the shelf? I specified that originally since my camper isn't built yet, but they said they only did custom.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Jados » Thu Mar 02, 2017 2:02 am

I got my 26"x32" 805 series doors from challenger doors and was really impressed with the quality and price compared to the other manufacturers I've looked into. Although it did take some time to get the doors since as gunguy stated they are made to order. I don't believe the do "off the shelf" orders. ImageImage
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Gunguy05 » Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:06 am

Glad to see that they worked out for you!
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby earl84 » Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:04 am

I bought these doors a while ago, and am very close to mounting them. I can't for the life of me figure out what the two straight pieces of aluminum channel are for. The inside frame I understand, the outside drip edge I understand, but what are the two 18"ish straight pieces of aluminum channel used for?

BTW, I have watched your videos on YouTube several times, and they have been invaluable. Thank you so much for doing them.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Gunguy05 » Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:07 pm

earl84 wrote:I bought these doors a while ago, and am very close to mounting them. I can't for the life of me figure out what the two straight pieces of aluminum channel are for. The inside frame I understand, the outside drip edge I understand, but what are the two 18"ish straight pieces of aluminum channel used for?

BTW, I have watched your videos on YouTube several times, and they have been invaluable. Thank you so much for doing them.


Hum... I actually just mounted our's today. We didn't have aluminum channel? Can you take a photo an upload it, or send me a link? We have the drip edge and the inside trim, but nothing else. Maybe it was shipping material?

Thanks for watching my videos. I enjoy the documentation, and hope it helps others out as well.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby earl84 » Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:21 am

IMG_2536.JPG
IMG_2536.JPG (157.03 KiB) Viewed 13907 times
Hers a poor closeup of the aluminum channel. There's two of these pieces for each door. Each pice is 30-1/4" long, and 1-1/4" wide.
I really need some help on resizing and posting photos. I got so frustrated with what a pain it is that I stopped adding stuff to my build journal.
Last edited by earl84 on Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby Wildfire » Sun Jun 25, 2017 11:49 am

I just got a door from them (thanks to you for posting the information)

Mine didn't come with the straight channel. Maybe you got some extra bits for some reason?
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Re: Cheap(er) Pre-made teardrop doors

Postby earl84 » Mon Jun 26, 2017 9:04 am

That's what I'm thinking. Extra pieces not required for anything.
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