Cabinet magnets and hinges
- Thread starter Tkirkla
- Start date
I would 100% want strong magnet vs weak ones. Keeping door closed during travel is key.
Midnight Rider
Prominent Member
I think the magnets are a great feature.
I have had RV’s and the cabinets have flown open going down the road And stuff goes everywhere!
This won’t happen on your Alliance. Those doors and drawers stay shut during travel.
Chaseweston
Well-known member
The magnets are very strong! We have a '24 44V14 and to open the drawers, you develop a sort of flick of the wrist / body weight shift to open them. Better than them launching out during travel though.
I ended up going all around and adjusting the depth on all the hinges after about a year and a half of the doors rubbing on the boxes on most of them. They all worked fine but rubbed ever so slightly that after that long, wore into the finish on most of them behind the doors. You cannot see it unless you're looking for it but worth running around with a screwdriver for ten minutes to check them all and tighten any loose mag catches, struts or hinge screws.
I ended up going all around and adjusting the depth on all the hinges after about a year and a half of the doors rubbing on the boxes on most of them. They all worked fine but rubbed ever so slightly that after that long, wore into the finish on most of them behind the doors. You cannot see it unless you're looking for it but worth running around with a screwdriver for ten minutes to check them all and tighten any loose mag catches, struts or hinge screws.
Agree with the need for strong closure.
Our workaround has been to use a small fender washer on the magnet side of the catch. It is a bit of a PITA so we generally only use the washers on a longer stay and on doors with more use. We remove them as part of our pre-departure process.
OburgOrange
Active member
So we took a magnetic vent cover that costs 5 dollars at Lowe’s and cut it into very small pieces, the size of the cabinet magnets. Put them on the cabinet magnets and and it reduces the strength considerably, and still holds the cabinets closed. When we pack up for travel, we remove them and put them in a ziplock for travel. My wife was having a terrible time opening the cabinets . This solved that problem
Midnight Rider
Prominent Member
Can you post a picture?
thanks
OburgOrange
Active member
My camper is all winterized and stored at another site. What did you want a picture of?
Ben and Kathy
Active member
We bought a bunch of 1" washers and 1" felt circles (floor protectors for furniture) with sticky back. Put the felt on the washer, The washer goes on the magnet when we are camping, and gets attached to the bottom of the magnet when we close everything up.
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Socal-Paul
Well-known member
I'm going to throw my $.02 in, strong magnets are necessary and to be truthful I love the soft close hinges. What I don't care for is the metallic clank that finishes the closing process. The solution I'm thinking about trying is putting a thin piece of felt or something similar to deaden the sound without loosing too much strength of the magnets. Thoughts?
We are not full time living in ours. When we will be in one location for several days I put a couple layers of painters tape on the metal plate magnets attached to. It helps with the noise plus reduces the stress it puts on the cabinets. Hoping it will prevent damage to the cabinets in the long term and also makes it much easier to open. We put it on the check list to remove tape before moving. It only takes a few minutes and it is very pretty cheap compared to dealing with future repairs due to wear and tear.
brenkco
Active member
I think this is the item??.
Attachments
OburgOrange
Active member
Yes. Cut it into small pieces the size of the door magnets, and put them on the door magnets. Makes it much easier to open the cabinets
Just got back from Walmart with the magnetic vent cover and cut them in little pieces. It worked great! The doors and drawers now open with much less force. Now just have to remember to remove them before travel. Easy though to dertermine if they are still there.....the door or drawers don't act stuck! Thanks, easy and cheap
Jwtsg
Well-known member
We live in ours full time and tried several ideas mentioned above,,,our experience is the magnetic vent cover solution has worked the best imho ! 👍🌞🍀!