RE: [SilverStreak] New Stainless Steel Hinges

["Ralph Cooke" <rcooke@xxxxxxxxxx>]

STAINLESS STEEL HINGES
I picked up my new Stainless Steel Hinges and my partially repaired
door on Friday morning 5/23/08.  I spent Friday and Saturday
completing the repairs and replacing the door seals on the door, and
installing the hinges, then the door on my 26 foot 1972 Cont. Atlas.
I had the hinges made up slightly oversize to hide all of the damage
from four or five hinge replacements over the past 35 years.  Based on
the hole patterns, the original hinges were much smaller, such as the
older 1960's style.  I have taken a LOT of pictures and as soon as I
get time I will download them to my computer and make them available
to Tom to post, and will send them as email attachments to anyone who
wants them, just send your email address to me at
rcooke@bak.rr.com
 
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS.	FIRST THE GOOD NEWS!
The hinges fit and the doors operate perfectly.  I had to use a small
"drift" to help line up all of the holes for the Pop Rivets.  The Pop
Rivets are Large Head 3/16" Aluminum with a Steel Shank.  These are
the strong, large head, rivets we use in Auto Racing and are available
from "5 Star" in boxes of 500 Rivets.  5 Star is a maker of racing
body panels and bodies for various classes of circle track race cars.
I used an Air Operated Rivet Gun to "Set" the rivets, as a small hand
rivet tool is not really adequate, it can be done, but will be a lot
of work and very slow.

Because the previous instillation of many sets of hinges left the
trailer body looking like "Swiss Cheese", I also ran two 1/4" 4" long
stainless steel bolts through each hinge and the body of the trailer,
into the, sliding door cabinets next to the hinge side of the door.  I
used Stainless Steel Lock Nuts and 1/4 inch Stainless Steel fender
washers to secure the bolts.

I installed the hinges with a layer of "CRL" Aluminum Silicone
Sealant.  I bought the Silicone Sealant from a small local RV shop.
"Camping World" does not carry this sealant.  I also used this sealant
to seal the new Aluminum panel that repaired the damage to the top
"latch side" of the door.  The use of the sealant sealed all of the
extra holes in the trailer body and the two doors, as well as
providing a seal around the Pop Rivets and Bolts that were used to
mount the hinges to the trailer body and the doors.  I used quite a
bit more of the sealant that necessary, but I am more interested in
"Function" than" "cosmetics".  I lubricated the hinges with Silicone
Spray Lubricant.

NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS!
PRICE.  My cost was $540 for the set of hinges.  I asked if there
would be a lower price per hinge set if we order hinges in quantity.
I was advised that as everything is very precise "Hand Detail" work so
each set of hinges would cost the same.  Each hinge takes a little
more than 3 Hrs for a total of 6 hours labor for a set of two hinges.
The shop rate is $75 per hour, for a labor total of $450.  The special
Stainless Steel Hinge material, plus the stainless plate and TIG
welding supplies added another $90 for the total of $540.00  I know
the material cost is accurate as I chased down the hinge material and
the stainless plate and my cost was $81.40 including tax, so I was
only charged $8.60 for the welding supplies.

Only one man at the shop is capable of building the hinges, so "mass
production is out of the question"  

I have been advised that if I prepay for each set of hinges, I can
have any number of hinge sets made up at the $540.00 price, it will
just take time, as there is only one man who can make the hinges, and
it is all detailed and very precise "hand" work.  The guy that built
the hinges is quite a "Craftsman".  I had been told in the past, by
several larger fabrication shops, that they could not build the
hinges.

I was further advised by the shop owner, that he does not want to get
into the "Hinge" business, and has no interest in building a lot of
hinges and hoping to sell them.  I was also advised that if they did
go to that effort, they would have to mark them up at their standard
40% mark up, making the end price $756.00 + Taxes of $54.81 for a
total of $810.81.  As the shop has no interest in searching out
potential buyers of the hinges, and or advertising, they will only
build the number of hinge sets that I can prepay for.

I will help anyone who wants a set of hinges get them at a price of
$550 + shipping, I will check the shipping cost with UPS (they are
more dependable than USPS for shipping high value items).  My guess is
the cost, with insurance, will be in the range of $25 to $40,
depending where in the country they are shipped to.  Because I have to
be involved, I will add $10.00 to my $540.00 cost for the hinges, to
cover my gasoline expenses only.

I sure wish there was a cheaper way to get good dependable hinges for
our Silver Streak's, but I, as well as many others of you, have been
trying to get a source for hinges for the past two + years, and this
is the only success I am aware of.  

I was able to purchase a set of "New" Silver Streak Hinges that I
bought on Ebay over a year ago for $450.00 + $25 Freight, which I
never installed, as I knew they would not last and there would by no
more "Original Silver Streak Hinges" at any price.  I saved the hinges
to use as a pattern for new stronger hinges and am now convinced I
have a "PERMINANT" set of Stainless Steel hinges, they look good and
should out last the trailer.  As all of us Silver Streak owners are in
the same "Leaky boat" with respect to finding a solution to the hinge
problem, I am willing to take a bit of my time to facilitate a
solution to the problem.

Several of you indicated that you needed more than one set of hinges,
I suggest you get one set and assure your self that you are truly
satisfied with the hinge fit and quality before you commit to more
than one set of two hinges at $550.00 + freight per set.

For anyone on the West Coast, I will be attending the Vintage Trailer
Rally at Smithwoods RV Park at 4770 Highway 9, Felton CA 95018, Phone
(831) 335-4321, on May 30 through June 1.  If you can drop by, you can
see the new Stainless Steel Hinges installed on my Silver Streak.  I
hope Tom will have a chance to attend the Rally, as his opinion of the
hinges would carry a lot of weight.  Lets face it if it were not for
Tom Patterson, we would not have this great resource for our Classic
trailers, and we would not be able to share information and knowledge
about our Silver Streak and Streamline trailers, campers, fifth wheels
and motor homes.

Ralph Cooke
rcooke@bak.rr.com