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If you’re looking to save space in your home or RV, installing a sliding barn door is a great option.
Lightweight DIY Sliding Barn Door Hardware
During our RV renovation, we decided to replace the orginal bathroom door that opened into the hallway with a sliding option. The sliding barn door has saved a ton of space compared to the original, which previously swung open and blocked the entire walkway.
If you’re curious about how we created the copper pipe hardware for our RV sliding barn door, be sure to watch the video below. We also share a quick review for how we built the actual sliding barn door.
Video: DIY Sliding Barn Door Hardware (and door)
Pros and Cons of our DIY Hardware:
While this DIY hardware worked well overall, there were some downsides. Here are some of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Easy to make and Install
- Unique, industrial style
Cons
- Can be noisy/squeeky
- Door would rattle when closed
- Not as cost-effective as it once was (lightweight kits are now available and affordable)
When the door would slide open or closed it would make a sound. This didn’t happen all the time but enough for you to notice. Then when the door was left in the closed position it would shake noisily whenever the RV would move in the slightest. Because of that, we’d leave the door in the open position whenever we weren’t using the bathroom.
Neither of those problems was that bad and we became used to it. The noise made when sliding the door along the pipe was easily remedied with a little coconut oil.
The shaking…not so much.
With that said, to this day I’m a big fan of the way our custom kit looked and functioned for the most part.
The main reason we went the DIY route in the first place was to save on weight. Typical sliding barn door kits seemed to be pretty heavy, and we wanted to save as much weight as possible in our RV.
We did this project back in 2015, and were unable to find any lightweight options at the time.
Thankfully, barn door kits they have become more popular, and therefore more afforable and easier to find.
Buy vs. DIY?
We recently replaced our DIY hardware with a lightweight kit we bought off Amazon, so we could compare the two, which you can read about here.
While we do prefer the new kit, we still think this DIY hardware may be a great option, especially if you like the look, have the supplies on hand, or are looking for a simplified installation process.
Whether you plan to make your own sliding barn door hardware, or purchase a kit, we hope this information helps point you in the right direction.
How to install a lightweight sliding barn door hardware kit in an RV
If you’ve made your own lightweight hardware or purchased one you love, we would love to hear about it!
I love the ACTUAL door that you got/made/used? Where did you get it from? Did you make the door part? Please shar ethe process or the info. I’m looking to upgrade my door and love the colors and wood of this one.
We actually made the door by sandwiching 1/6’s with 1×2’s on the sides. I think we share a bit about it in the video over on this post:
https://mountainmodernlife.com/lightweight-sliding-barn-door/