4 Steps To Replacing A Food Truck Door Hinge Pin

Food truck vendors who purchased older vehicles consistently run into issues with their trucks. Some builders have kept the typical sliding doors in place. If that’s the case for your truck, this article won’t be any help. If your builder installed swing doors, you may need to replace a truck door hinge pin if a door on your food truck is damaged, worn and sagging. Save yourself a few bucks and trouble of replacing the entire hinge by replacing just the door hinge pin.

4 Steps To Replacing A Food Truck Door Hinge Pin

Purchase Replacement Pins

An online truck dealer may carry replacement pins for the specific model truck you own, but their kits may be expensive. Look to auto parts stores and online for additional options.

There are many variations in sizes of hinge pins. Be sure to find one that fits the exact model and year of your food truck. Kits will vary in price, but most will cost approximately $25 to $50.

Remove Lower Hinge Pins

Unless you have an engine hoist to hold the door in place or 2 other people helping you, you must change the hinge pins one at a time. Have another person or a support that will fit under the door as you work.

Use a pin removal tool or a nail punch kit to remove the old pins.

It will be necessary to allow the door to hang slightly out of alignment in order to get enough give to remove the pins. Note that the bushings come in two parts (upper and lower).

Install New Lower Door Hinge Pins

Put the top pin into the hinge. During this process, it’s much easier to have someone helping you with the door rather than having a support to hold the door. Why? It will require constant adjusting to get the bushing to seat properly.

Then install the lower pin into the upper pin, moving and adjusting the door as you go to allow the pins to slide in somewhat freely. With most doors, this process does not go smoothly. The fit is tight, and it will likely require some force to complete the installation.

If you use a tool to hammer the pins, cover them with a protective cloth and tap gently. The bushings are prone to breakage.

Repeat Process For Upper Door Hinge Pins

Once the lower door hinge pin is complete, repeat the removal and replacement process for the upper door hinge pin.

Please Note: Be sure to have the door supported during the removal, and preferably by a person during the installation of the new pins so the door can be adjusted to ease the installation.

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By Richard Myrick|2017-10-12T09:12:48-04:00Sep 12, 2017|Under the Hood|

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].