Vista Entry Door Strut
I love my new 32YE, however the door strut is a problem. I'd like to hear other opinions on this poor design decision from Winnebago.
It appears the reason for the strut is to prevent the door from hitting the awning arm when opened. This is a problem for all models in the Vista line. The purpose of the strut is to prevent the door hinge from getting tweaked if high winds were to slam OPEN the door when exiting the RV. Anyone that has owned an RV for a few years knows what I'm talking about. You stop the RV and the wife opens the door to exit the RV and a gust of wind rips the door from her hand, slamming the door open. If there was no awning arm behind the door this "wind situation" typically isn't a problem, the door just slams open. But if there is an awning arm behind the door this can do some damage to the door hinges, or the door itself, potentially affecting the door closing properly.
So Winnebago came up with this strut idea. One of the problems is the door doesn't open up enough, it's restrictive, a nuisance IMO. I've already bought a slightly longer strut, which does let the door open another 6-8", but it's still a PIA IMO. The second problem is the door structure is too weak at the bottom of the door where the strut connects. When the door is opened too hard or with a strong wind, you can see the door frame flex where the strut attaches to the door frame. Try it yourself. Open the door all the way, then push the door open a little more and watch the door frame flex. I'm concerned the door frame will be damaged the first time a big wind rips the door out of my wife's hands, bending the lower door frame, or breaking it.
With the 32YE layout, the awning arm is about 12" away from the door hinge, so without the strut installed, if the door were to slam open, I think the risk is low for any door damage. I think it would need to be a pretty hard "slam open" situation to damage the door. The rubber around the door window perimeter cushions the blow somewhat, if a "slam open" situation were to occur. So I'm thinking about removing the strut from the door, given the problems. I think the 32YE is safe to use RV without the door strut. I actually think it's less risk for damage without the strut, than with the strut. However, this isn't the case with other Vista models where the awning arm is closer to the door hinge.
Let me know what you think, especially 32YE owners.
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2018 Vista 32YE, Roadmaster Swaybars, front & rear
Honda CRV toad, BlueOx/Alpha bar, Haibike Xduro 6.0
S&W Shield
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