Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion – Bi-Fold Door Removal

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In NSW, for a bus to registered as a motorhome, it is a requirement that it must have an “outward opening door”. For us this meant we would need to remove our Toyota Coaster’s bi-fold door.

If you are researching Toyota Coasters as an option for your bus conversion, it is a good idea to look at the current door on it, and know the regulations for your state. For NSW an outward opening door, is any door that opens out of the bus, or even slides on the outside, on the left hand side or rear of the vehicle.

Unfortunately, a bi-fold door like the one we have, does not count. We also did not have a rear door that would not be obstructed by our bed. So that means it was time to remove the old bi-fold door from our Toyota Coaster, and replace it with a complying outward opening door.

Now, removing the bi-fold door and replacing it are not the only options, and by far not the cheapest option. After chatting to our engineer, they stated that we can adjust the current bi-fold door to fit regulations. This is not something we did, however it can be done by welding the current bifold door so it can no longer bend, and changing the hinge system so that it swings outwards. If you are handy on the tools, and looking for a cheaper alternative, this is something worth researching further.

In saying all that, at this point in our conversion, we were not that handy, and decided to remove and replace the old bi-fold door. Read below our how to guide to remove this, or click through here to read about installation of our new Aussie Travellers Caravan Door.

How to remove the bi-fold door of your Toyota Coaster

Step 1 –

Begin by removing any hand railings that may get in the way of removing the door. Each hand railing is attached with four bolts, and is stuck to the walls with silicone, so we used a flat head screw driver to pry them off.

This a simple, yet tedious task and worth it when trying to remove the door.

Step 2 –

At the bottom corner of the door there is a hinge block attached with metal screws. You will need an impact drill to remove the screws. Eventually without much success, we ended up threading the screws and used the grinder to remove the block.

Step 3 –

This is a very important step, and one we found out way too late. At the top of the door, on the outside of the bus, there is a cover plate. Underneath the cover plate, are bolts which attach the door. This plate needs to be removed in order to access the bolts underneath. We thought this would be simple and the cover would just ”pop off”, however it wasn’t, and we essentially had to rip it off. We then used the grinder to smooth down the edges of the metal frame that had been pulled out of position.

Step 4 –

Once you have removed this cover plate, you will now have access to the bolts underneath at the top of the door. Remove all visible bolts from the door track. Once these are removed, using a flat head screwdriver or similar, you can pry the track off. This is once again, a very tedious process. The adhesive that has been used on the track is very strong. With a lot of effort, it can be removed.

Step 5 –

Now that the track has been removed, your door should be detached and be able to be taken off.

If for whatever reason you are still having difficulty, there is also an option to separate the two doors and remove one at a time. The doors are just bolted together and can be easily separated by removing the bolts.

So that is a summary of how to remove the bi-fold door from a Toyota Coaster.

We have put together a video of us removing our door, which can be viewed below.

Even though this was a more expensive option to remove the bi-fold door and replace it with a new one, if we were given the choice again we would still do it. The new door has been such an asset, and makes our Toyota Coaster feel like home.

We have also spoken to people from other states that were able to keep their bi-fold doors, but they generally were not happy with them. They do not seal properly so let in lots of water and dust, and also rattle substantially.

Our next post will be on installing our new Aussie Traveller’s Caravan door, and if you would like read about it, you can do so here.