Prevent A Rear Door Ladder Or Spare Tire From Slamming Into The Side of Your Van
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A month ago I installed a ladder on my rear driver side door. I love it, but there is a problem. If that door swings all the way open, the ladder contacts the side of my van. As you can imagine, that could easily ruin your day with a serious crease in the sheet metal.
Whenever I opened the rear doors while parked on a hill or on a windy day, I was super nervous that my ladder was going to slam into the side of my van. While looking at van parts websites I came across a door strap to limit how far the door can open. In fact, my Promaster front doors came with big seatbelt sized straps to prevent the hinges from being damaged if the door was forcefully opened too far.
The website where you can get this strap is www.landedgear.com . I ordered one strap and in two days I was ready to put it on. Finally I would be able to relax when my rear doors were opened.
Installation
Installation was quite easy. It was just a matter of removing one bolt from the top hinge on the door and the other one on the van body.
My van did require a torks socket so I had to make a trip to the hardware store. Once I had the correct tools it was a matter of 15 minutes before the strap was ready to do its job.
I dthought the door would open more than 90 degrees once the strap was on, but now I see that would not be possible and still keep tension on the strap.
As it turns out, having the door open 90 degrees is just fine.
Hopefully my pictures can help you orient the strap properly without too much confusion.
Conclusion
I would highly recommend this product if there is any chance of one of your rear doors swinging open and hitting the side of your van. I hope this review has been helpful. Safe travels.
For more information and pricing – Landed Gear Door Check Strap
If you have any questions or comments about this product, please submit them in the comments section below.
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