How to install an intermediate door stopper for the big sliding door on a van is today’s project.
Why? Filling the fresh water tank on our van can’t be done with the sliding door all the way open. The gauge showing the water level is just inside the van. Being able to hold the door partially open would be helpful.
Ideally, the sliding door would stay in this position while we access the water fill.
Looking for a solution, we found the, aptly named, Sliding Door Stopper. Though we have a 2018 Pleasure-Way Lexor on a Ram ProMaster chassis, the door stopper is advertised to work with Sprinters and Transits too.
Instructions, shown above, are laid out clearly. Everything necessary, except a marker or painter’s tape, was included in the small package.
We used blue painter’s tape to mark the position of the wheel in the door track where we wanted the door to stop.
With the midpoint marked, we laid the door stopper on the track and marked the area to prep for installation.
Cleaning the track with an alcohol prep pad was easy.
Sanding the track with the included disk was next.
Here’s how the track looked after sanding and cleaning again with an alcohol prep pad.
Preparing the glue was less messy than expected.
Wearing gloves, we squeezed out two toothbrush sized portions of epoxy,
then mixed them together with the spatula included in the kit.
Spreading the epoxy onto the track was the most difficult part of the project. You could probably do a neater job than I did.
Next, we cleaned the bottom of the door stopper with alcohol since we had been handling it and didn’t want oil to prevent it from adhering.
Pushing the door stopper into the glue – centered on where the door wheel would pass over – was the final step. Note the “handles” made out of blue painters tape that allowed positioning it without touching the bottom or sides of the door stopper. Those were Beth’s idea and they worked out well.
Here’s how the stopper looked after the epoxy dried and the door had made a few passes. After letting it dry for a week, I trimmed some of the excess epoxy off with a box cutting knife.
Here’s a photo 5 months later. The stopper has worked well and allows the door to stay open at the perfect spot for filling our water tank, while still allowing for full opening whenever we want it.
Summary
We recommend this product as a great door stopper. The installation is straightforward and everything but the painter’s tape is included.
This is the second item we’ve purchased from OpenGlass Van Mods. If you have a ProMaster click on our review of their Step Grips.
Note: We paid $29.95 for the Door Stopper. It is available direct from the company or on Amazon. We do not receive a kickback or discount from either company.
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