Warwick Duo

Has anybody considered or even fitted an internal handle to aid the closing of the sliding door from the inside.

Yes

willconquerer wrote:Yes

Is that a 'yes I considered it' or 'yes I fitted one'?

I fitted a handle a few years ago and it greatly helps in closing the door. I got the handle on eBay and I think that it came from a Renault car but can't remember the model. As the metal is fairly thin I used a clinch type fixing rather than self tapping screws. 
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Yes, I fitted the same type of handle in the same position as above however 'nimbus' method of fixing is inappropriate in my opinion as the type of fixing he chose needs to be fitted from inside the door requiring all the trim to be removed and re-fitted. More appropriate and a more rigid fixing is the use of rivet nuts that can be fitted instantly from inside the vehicle without the trim being removed.

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M6 aluminium provides a perfect fixing.

It was rivet nuts that I used, not the clinch type. In fact a friend did it for me and I remember him saying it was these that he used! Sorry for the confusion. I certainly didn't remove the trim panel.

I do have a spare handle as they came as a pair so if anyone would like it perhaps you would send me a pm.

It would only take about five minutes* to remove the trim anyway as its about 10 screws. Not that there is going to be anything behind where you drill, but I always like to check if its easy.

* And another 5 minutes finding the three screw caps that you lost.

willconquerer wrote:Yes, I fitted the same type of handle in the same position as above however 'nimbus' method of fixing is inappropriate in my opinion as the type of fixing he chose needs to be fitted from inside the door requiring all the trim to be removed and re-fitted. More appropriate and a more rigid fixing is the use of rivet nuts that can be fitted instantly from inside the vehicle without the trim being removed.

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M6 aluminium provides a perfect fixing.

Is there a way of fitting the rivet nuts without having to use the special tool? Its a lot of money if you only use it a couple of times.

Infared wrote:
Is there a way of fitting the rivet nuts without having to use the special tool? Its a lot of money if you only use it a couple of times.

I suspect that you could improvise and set Rivnuts with a long bolt or length of studding and three or four nuts (two used at the end to stop the studding from turning once wound in). But in my experience the aluminium ones are not easy to set without a bit of practice - it is a bit too easy to overdo them and weaken the threads, or pull them in slightly crooked, or pull them in not quite tight enough and have them just turn when you want to unscrew the bolt!

Having an assistant available would probably be of great benefit if you are going to try to DIY without the proper tool.

The setting tool can be quite handy to have anyway, as typically you can use it to set blind rivets as well.

Thanks for the reply.

Sounds as though it might be difficult without the proper tool. I can't see me using the tool enough to warrant the cost so will use an alternative method of fixing.

Ironically I suspect that for me the improvised approach might be easier than the proper tool! The problem I have is that the "proper" tool that I have seems to be designed for people with Size 12 hands, and unless you are very careful, the tool opens fully and it's then very difficult to apply enough pressure when the handles are so far apart. They can be adjusted, typically, but I never seem to get it exactly right on the first attempt.

The alloy ones are easy to drill out and start again, unless you under-set them, in which case they just spin at the same speed as the drill bit!