How Do You Update an RV Bathroom? 5 RV Bathroom Door Ideas
It is not going to be simple. RV bathrooms and their doors are not full-sized. This ‘RV’ dimension can make replacing the door a little more difficult than replacing a traditional home’s bathroom door. You may have to get creative when renovating this room in your trailer or RV
This project will depend on how much room you have to work with and what fixtures you want to change. It may not be possible to make the room larger but you can renovate by making smaller changes that provide more space or an updated look.
To learn more about this type of project just continue to read our article. It provides important information that will help you create ideas for updating your bathroom in your RV or trailer. Take a few minutes to see how this information will make your project a little easier.
RV Bathroom Door 101
Finding an RV Bathroom Door Replacement
If you go to your RV or trailer’s brand, you may find that getting a new door will be more expensive than you expected. They will sell you every part of the door and frame that you need but your costs will be higher than if you bought through a big box outlet or an RV supply store.
Those would be your next location options. Many RV supply stores and home improvement big box outlets will have a fair amount of selection for you to look through. The problem with these outlets will be they may not have a new door in stock.
Also, you can check the surplus stores that may be in your area. But doors are large and few in number. With roughly 1 to 2 bathroom doors per RV, trailer or camper, there will be a limited supply of doors you can try.
Another place to try would be door-making shops. They may be able to make a custom-sized door for your situation. But that too may cost you a little more than your budget is prepared to spend. Wrecking yards would be your last hope but their supply may be less than surplus outlets.
RV Bathroom Door Size
This will vary from RV to the trailer to the camper. The size of the door will depend on several factors including the space available to open it. You can find these doors as wide as 14 inches or even less on up to 30 inches if you have a larger RV or trailer.
That means that there is no one-size-fits-all standard for bathroom doors in RVs, etc. You will have to measure your specific door to get the right size. Once you get that size, you can begin your search for a new door and frame.
If you have a Class B RV, then do not be surprised to find that the door is nothing but a glorified closet or a cabinet door. There is a lot less space in a Class B RV and the bathroom and its door will reflect that lack of space.
It is impossible to give exact measurements here as all RV brands make different-sized bathroom doors depending on their floor plans and the size of the RV or trailer they are producing. Make sure to measure twice to be sure of the exact size your RV or trailer has.
RV Bathroom Door Casing
This may be more like glorified molding than an actual door casing. Since weight and size are an issue for RV and trailer makers, do not expect to see a solid wood casing for your bathroom door.
Instead, you may see something that is molded to fit the area and size allotted. Or you may actually have it look like wood molding trim that goes around a room in a traditional home. To save weight, RV makers use creative thinking to design the bathroom door casing.
The casing can be made from vinyl, metal, or wood depending on the cost of your RV, etc., and what material would be the cheapest to use in that situation. Inspect our casing well to make sure you know the construction material used so you can find a duplicate replacement for it.
The casing you buy will have to fit the type of door you want to use. When shopping you may not be able to get the door you want as the casing may not work in your RV and vice versa. Take your time, in this case, to make sure you get every component that is compatible with the room you want to renovate.
Why are RV Bathroom Doors Short?
When privacy is important to you, you may not find the RV or trailer’s bathroom to be the best place to find it. The reason for that is RV makers tend to make these doors shorter than other doors. There may be gaps at the top and the bottom of the door.
However, there is a very good and legitimate reason for this design. That reason is that a gap is required for the exhaust fan to work properly and provide proper airflow and ventilation to the room.
This design is not just for the exhaust fan but also to help circulate the air when you have either the air conditioner or your heater running. No one likes a cold bathroom when the temperatures outside are cooler than expected.
A good question to ask is why is it only the bathroom that has these shorter doors? The answer is that it is the bathroom that does not have any ducts or grates inside the walls. There is no real way to transport the air to that room without shortening the doors.
How do You Update an RV Bathroom?
Even with the lack of space, there are still some good ways to update and renovate your bathroom. You do not have to tear everything out to get this project done the way you want it to. It is possible to do the renovation in increments.
For example:
- change the toilet only. Replace the old one with a new design
- change from a tank water heater to a tankless model
- change the fixtures on the sink and in the shower or change the sink
- paint the interior- this is always a good way to update the look of a bathroom
- add a backsplash over your sink and under your mirror
- replace the shower or tub or shower floor pan
Any one of these upgrades has limitless options. But they will depend on your preferences and the amount of room you have in your bathroom. If it is possible, you can always add a cabinet or storage space inside or knock out a wall to make the room a little bit larger.
How you do it will be up to what you want to be changed and how much money you are willing to invest in the project. You can also do all or some of those ideas to get a new look inside that room.
RV Bathroom Door Ideas
There are several different door designs you can turn to change the way you enter or exit the room. However, there is not an unlimited number of designs for this room. Space is one reason why there are not a lot of options for you to choose from.
The cheapest way would be to simply put up hooks in the ceiling and hang a curtain down to the floor. It will cut weight but may not look that great. Or a shower curtain with a little rod would work. That will also keep the weight down and improve the look of the doorway.
Other options would be a folding or accordion door. These designs will have the door fold to one side where they can be secured by a strap until needed. The weight of these doors is not that heavy and should not influence your overall weight limits.
Another good idea when you have a lack of space is a sliding door. These are very handy and are easily kept out of the way when not needed. They are also called pocket doors because you can create a little pocket for them to slide into.
At best, you may only lose about an inch or two after they are installed. These are the best options you have available at this time.
Pop up Camper Door Gap
There are several sources for this problem. We will start with the easiest fix first. Sometimes when the door does not close properly, it just may mean that the striker is out of position.
The way to solve this issue is to simply move the striker so that the door will close again. Another simple source that is easy to fix is checking the level. If the door has a gap, it could be that you did not level the pop-up enough. This situation will create a gap.
Double-check your level when you see the gap. Adjusting the level is an easy way to solve the problem. or you can remove the door assembly and adjust it. But if you do that option, make sure to remember to re-caulk around the doorway to keep the rain out.
The final source is not going to be easy to solve and it could get kind of expensive when you try. Some people tend to use their stabilizers to level their pop-up campers. This is the wrong mechanism to use for that task.
When you do use it you run the risk of bending or twisting the frame. When the frame twists, the door usually does not close very well and you will see a gap. Fixing the frame can get costly.
How To Lock/Unlock RV Bathroom Door
This is a common situation and not something to be embarrassed about. It will happen at some point in time even if you are extra careful. Young kids or grandkids have a way of locking bathroom doors that no one is prepared to avoid.
Usually, these doors lock with a hook or a button and that is the easy part. A pin in the lock may not do it and you would have to use something like a nail file, flathead screwdriver, or something similar to get inside the lock and turn it.
If it is possible, you can always disassemble the lock, and once taken apart, you can unlock it at that point. This is a little more work but it is a good way if you are trying to avoid doing any damage to the door or the casing.
One owner was a bit upset as when he called the dealer, they told him it was a dealer fix only. This seems ridiculous as RV makers make all other door locks the same so anyone can enter your RV or trailer, yet make a specific and unique lock for your bathroom that requires a dealer to open it.
How To Adjust RV Bathroom Door
One method would be to work on the hinges. You can use a chisel to cut out a little extra notch where the hinge attaches to the wall. Then you simply move the hinge a little bit and place the screws in their new home.
This will take a couple of extra hands to get done as someone needs to hold the door while you are working. Or you can simply adjust the hinge on the door side to achieve the same result.
This is only possible if you have room to make that adjustment. Another adjustment you can make would be to change the hinges. There are hinge models that will have the door open partly in the bathroom and partly in the hallway. This option means that the open door will not block off the hallway.
Or you can just replace the door with a design that is more appropriate to the situation and floor plan of your RV or trailer.
RV Bathroom Door Won't Close
There are going to be multiple sources for this problem. The first one would be too much humidity in the air. This will cause a wood door to swell making it impossible to close. You would have to run a dehumidifier or your AC unit to help cut the humidity levels down
Another source for this problem will be that your RV or trailer is not level. This is probably the most common source for this problem. If you do not get the level right, then you will have trouble with more than just your bathroom door. Other doors, like cabinets, may be difficult to close as well.
To solve this issue, you just need to be patient and level your RV or trailer till it is right. When you do this solution, you should do manual leveling and not use the automatic mechanism.
A more rare source would be that the hinges got bent somehow and that situation would keep the door from closing. Replacing or straightening the hinges would be your only solution.
Check the casing and the latch area as well. Sometimes these areas break due to abnormal treatment or even bumpy roads and vibrations. If they are cracked or out of alignment, you would have to make solid repairs to get the door working like normal again.
RV Bathroom Door Won't Stay Closed
Again, there are several sources for this issue. The first one would be the level of your RV or trailer. If they are not leveled just right, your bathroom door may pop open at the unlikeliest times. Double-check your level first, it is the easiest problem to fix in this situation.
Next, it could be that the frame twisted a little. This happens when you use the stabilizers to level the RV, etc. It does not take much to twist the frame so be careful and avoid using this mechanism for leveling.
Another source for this problem would be the latch itself. It could have gotten broken in some way and it is incapable of performing its duty. Replacing the latch is the best option here.
Or you may need to adjust the hinges a little to make sure the door is fitting into its spot correctly and giving the latch enough room to work.
Some Final Words
Updating a bathroom or a bathroom door depends mainly on your preferences and how much space you have to work with. The doors will be the most difficult to update as there may not be enough of a selection to find one that works for your RV or trailer.
Or you can simply change the design of the door from a traditional opening to a pocket or accordion door that saves on space. In the end, it will be up to what you prefer or what your wife prefers.
