blue bird emergency door safety hinge

[JustTrynaHike]

Hello all of skoolie.net,

I have a 2002 5 window blue bird. The emergency exit door on the back has a special locking safety hinge. The first time I opened the door it got totally stuck and it took me 5 minutes to close it. I was just picking it up at the depot and was very nervous I was going to drive off the lot with it stuck open. Since then I have gotten better at using it and it has loosened up some, but it is still really annoying to close. With that said it is also kind of nice because that door is heavy and even a slight angle to the bus makes the door want to slam closed on you. I am trying to decide what to do with it, either change it out or service it so it works better. It has what looks like a grease port, so i'm thinking I will try to service it and see if it works better.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with one and what they ended up doing with it. is it worth messing with it or just replace and not waste my time.

 

[Wuzabus]

Hello all of skoolie.net,

I have a 2002 5 window blue bird. The emergency exit door on the back has a special locking safety hinge. The first time I opened the door it got totally stuck and it took me 5 minutes to close it. I was just picking it up at the depot and was very nervous I was going to drive off the lot with it stuck open. Since then I have gotten better at using it and it has loosened up some, but it is still really annoying to close. With that said it is also kind of nice because that door is heavy and even a slight angle to the bus makes the door want to slam closed on you. I am trying to decide what to do with it, either change it out or service it so it works better. It has what looks like a grease port, so i'm thinking I will try to service it and see if it works better.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with one and what they ended up doing with it. is it worth messing with it or just replace and not waste my time.

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View attachment 800297

Well I have a 97 BB with that same locking mechanism and I hate it. Mines jammed at Walmart when I was going to pick up supplies for the bus. I ended up pushing the door to hard an bent the door and the middle screw on the door came completely out and stripped the hole. So I have a mechanic friend who's going to fix the door and put a hinge like the top or bottom one in the center and fix the damage. Stupid hinge is like 100.00

 

[Tybeetime74]

I've got a 2000 BB and have the same issue. Currently can't decide if I'm going to try greasing the hinge or changing it out. I will absolutely share what I've learned (by force not choice lol) so far:
1. The longer that door stays shut tight, the harder it'll be to get it closed once you open it again. We started demo and build in summer 2022 and life was great. Then in spring 23 I fell breaking right knee cap, shoulder, and ribs. I was FINALLY able to work on build Nov last year and i was convinced that door was NEVER gonna close again lol
2. If i do end up changing the hinge, I'll definitely add some sort of gas strut to prevent it from slamming closed.
I'm leaning very heavily towards changing the hinge.
Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

[ewo1]

Question: Can/t you cut and drive out the pin/handle and simply replace with a steel dowel/pin?

 

[magnakansas]

First, grease the hinges at least twice a year, your blue bird has many grease point on it. Are you greasing those points? My tc2000 has about 30 grease points. I grease them 4 times a year. Takes two grease cartridges each grease cycle. My bus was very dry the first time I greased it.