Fabric hinge?

[mvankanan]

Hi has anyone thought of a fabric hinge, it's been something I thought of but don't know if it's possible, or even a good idea. But if there was some kind of fabric that could bend a bunch of times, stand up to the elements, and be able to be fastened, preferably glued to or under the canvas, seems it might be pretty fast and easy? Some folks use piano hinges, which I like. I was thinking more for lift up doors, a vertical door would probably put to much stress at the top? It would be continuous, act as it's own weather stripping, possibly be water proof?

Mike

[GPW]

Mike , we’ve used fabric hinges on model airplanes for over 50 years , and with great success... but on a trailer ??? The problem is likely there’s not enough adhesion between the Hinge material and the substrate (foam) , not enough to take the stresses of an overhead door ... But on a 5 or 6 foot wide hatch .... maybe ???
Maybe better , attached to a wood strip glued to the foam ...

[KCStudly]

I think Laura may have tried that, and there was at least one other. The problem as I recall it was that it was not rigid enough to keep the hatch seal compression consistent.

The plastic living hinge is close in concept, but stiffer; some people have had problems with these cracking, especially when used in very cold weather.

Works good on small scale model planes, but less so when scaled up.

[GPW]

Model Planes , Yes !!! Trailer hatches, door hinges , etc . .... Not really !!! We discussed this at length a while back ...

[mvankanan]

Well thanks, just thinking out loud, I'm building another roof top carrier. I was thinking about this for the side doors, they will be about 16-18" x 3-4' of 2" foam, they could be light enough for fabric hinge(?).

Mike