Hydraulic vs Bifold hangar door?

[AV8ER]

Inquiring minds wonder about the advantages of one style over the other? Cost, maintenance, operation in heavy wind, safety, ease of installation, etc. Please weight in with your experience (and particularly with a brand if you have used one you liked (or didn't)).

Thanks,

Tim

 

[UnPossible]

I have a Higher Power 44' x 16' door and it is great. What I liked about the Higher Power is that door swing up and in... so when fully raised ~1/2 of the door is in the hangar and 1/2 is out.

Some of the other hydralic doors just swing up, which seems like it would put a huge load on the hangar structure.

I've had my door for 5+ years now and it just works. - 0% maintenance needed so far.

 

[Mel]

I have Hi-Fold doors on both my hangars. One since 2003 and the other since 2018. Wouldn't have anything else.
I particularly like the auto-latch. To open or close, just punch the button and walk away.

I don't like the one piece doors that swing out. Danger of hitting something parked too close that you can't see from inside.

 

[Mike S]

Another vote for Higher Power.

Easy assemble, and to install, and doesnt impose any load on the building when open.

 

[RV6_flyer]

Higher Power hydraulic is what I have and I like it a lot but just coming up on 3-years. The only thing I dislike is that the door uses "Dead Man" switches. Must hold the button till all the way up and all the way down. The remote control is the same way. Nice thing about the remote control is I can start to open the door as I taxi in and it is completely raised when I taxi up. I typically shut down with nose pointing into the hangar and then rotate airplane 180 and back it in.

 

[Dbro172]

I have Hi-Fold doors on both my hangars. One since 2003 and the other since 2018. Wouldn't have anything else.

I don't like the one piece doors that swing out. Danger of hitting something parked too close that you can't see from inside.

agree with this 100%. I once parked outside a friends hangar with a door like this and as I was stepping inside side the man door, noticed he was opening the hangar door and it was tipping outward - dead sprint to pull the RV out of the way

 

[Jpm757]

Just finished installing a 44'X12' HiFold door to my 50'X50' hangar. Installation was surprisingly easy using a fork lift to hold the door in place while you bolt the hinges to the header. Cables and locking mechanism already pre- adjusted, plugged it in an works like a charm. Very sturdy and well made steel frame. Door opens to 11'5"" only losing 7" of clearance. A very good value.
https://i.postimg.cc/YqHcC480/20200824-111450.jpg
Door $6800
Sheeting & Insulation $1000
Shipping $800

 

[jnmeade]

I have two Hi-Fold doors and like them very much. They are a good value and easy to install. My 16 year old daughter and I installed one with my loader tractor.
On the other hand, my friend has an hydraulic door and likes it very much. I am impressed with it. If I were buiding again and wanted to spend the money I'd go hydraulic. I'd put in a pioneer coupler so I could raise it with my tractor hydraulics if the power went out.
Whichever door you use, keep in mind to add in the weight of insulation, sheeting, etc., to the door load. It's easy to get the door over weight.

 

[Carlos151]

Happy with Schweiss door

I’ve got a 44 ft by 16 ft Schweiss bifold door that I’ve been very happy with for the last 5 years. They’ve got a pretty good comparison for the two types of doors on their website.

 

[woxofswa]

https://www.kitplanes.com/airpark-living-continued/

 

[ssokol]

Fold-Up

Slightly off topic (since you asked about bi-fold vs. hydraulic lift) but...

I went with an accordion-style door from FoldTite for my new hangar. The price was about half of what I would have paid for a bi-fold, and about a third of the bids I got for hydraulic. It was easy to install, takes about a minute to open, and works even when the power is out (it's 100% manual). It's also dirt simple, so if anything was to go wrong I can fix it myself with parts from the hardware store.

The only down side is that you lose a bit of clearance on either side, which may or may not be an issue depending on what all you're going to put in there. The opening on my building is 40' wide but the maximum clearance with the doors open is a bit over 37'. Not really a problem for an RV-6A.

 

[scard]

And looking good!
Some keen viewers will recognize the man lift. It has been all over the airfield.

Slightly off topic (since you asked about bi-fold vs. hydraulic lift) but...

I went with an accordion-style door from FoldTite for my new hangar. The price was about half of what I would have paid for a bi-fold, and about a third of the bids I got for hydraulic. It was easy to install, takes about a minute to open, and works even when the power is out (it's 100% manual). It's also dirt simple, so if anything was to go wrong I can fix it myself with parts from the hardware store.

The only down side is that you lose a bit of clearance on either side, which may or may not be an issue depending on what all you're going to put in there. The opening on my building is 40' wide but the maximum clearance with the doors open is a bit over 37'. Not really a problem for an RV-6A.

 

[jnorris]

i have a Wilson bi-fold on my hangar. It has the automatic latch system so you just push the button and the door goes up or down. Works great! A friend has a Schweiss that works very well too. I don't think he has the auto latch though.

 

[larrys]

Hangar doors

We design and supply the buildings. We have put in almost every hangar door out there.

I favor the Schweiss strap door. The main reason is it is very sturdy, great hinges, the straps last an incredibly long time and won't snap, straight forward to install and for ice and snow it is the way to go because it pull straight up. And one of the best things about it is once the door starts to move up the straps wrap on top of each other making the door move faster and they have the new auto latch that automatically pulls in and closes tight. The Schweiss engineering sheet we detail the buildings to is second to none. We have done many all over the US and the world and they fit!

A comment on bi-fold vs hydraulic; The bi-fold would be good anywhere. The hydraulic door, be careful, some of the older ones sold from companies that have gone under the hinges would rip off the wall - check your hinges if you have the door with a smaller black pump. With a hydraulic door when it opens the first 6" is pushing straight down at a tiny angle. And if you had any ice or snow the pressure has to go somewhere if the bottom seal froze often it will buckle the door at the end of the rams. One other thought on the hydraulic door is you can't park your plane of truck too close to the door because it needs a lot of swing to open and it will dent or flip whatever is in the way.

I like the Hi-fold they do a good job.

Wilson, be careful their system are not very automated and it takes a while for them to come through.

Higher Power, please first understand that I come from a perspective of detailing and supplying building where the door needs to fit and it must work well. So far we have had issue with every one of the higher power doors we have detailed. Understand we have sold and delivered 1,000's of buildings, not all hangars so it is not something new to us. Right now I have a bill for parts and labor on my desk for a higher power door problem that would not seal up for over $2,000. And that is after having the door companies (higher power) confirm and sign off on on the building design. I need to make a decision if we simply do not do their doors any longer - just say NO. But on this forum I have hear of many that like them and people call and say "they are all over our airport... So I don't know what to do.

We have done some of the slider style like Horton or Cool Air and seem fine but I think as an end user I does not seem that secure or airtight. But if it was a private airpark in a warmer climate I can see using that style door.

Norton is for very large rolling door and I think Wilson bought them or they bought Wilson. There are not that many companies that do the huge doors and from the building design perspective it is very different then a typical hangar.

There are some others, usually regional like Crown in the southeast and Trident down in FL.

When I used to go to tradeshows a lot of people I talk with want to build there own doors. Sure, there are a few hangar door parts suppliers out there now. Just be careful if you do a bi-fold that you have enough cables if that is how you are building your door. I have seen some doors where it is scary to walk under them and they sound scary to open. Sliding doors are very simple but people often don't take into account where the door will slide to. If you are opening the whole face of the building you need to building some sort of wings for the door to slide on.

My suggestion is if you are building a hangar you won't regret going quality. A saying I saw one time on a Canoga Cement Mixer was "The quality remains long after the price is forgotten"

Hope that helps, Thanks, Larry

 

[Carl Froehlich]

Decide before buying what you want to do for hangar insulation, heating, cooling and such.

What to look for:
- Are there bottom, top and side seals that will keep out critters and outside weather? Doors like Wilson also offer twin bottom seals for very cold climates. Critters in the hangar gets old.
- Can you put insulation on the inside of the door? Some doors have weight limits. I have a Wilson door and added 1” rigid foam insulation from Lowes using Liquid Nails. Very effective.
- Do you need professional installation? My Wilson door went up with the help of three neighbors. I did the external steel cladding myself.

Carl

 

[Wingnut]

Higher Power

We just had a 48’x16’ Higher Power Door with 12v DC backup power installed in our hangar. The door was the correct size but unfortunately, the rough opening on our building needed some modification. Somehow, the building manufacturer got the dimensions wrong even though I gave them to them and Higher Power called and spoke directly with them. The dimensions weren’t even consistent across the opening. After a little torch and weld work on the building, the opening was the correct dimension and the door was flawless. Two of my neighbors also have Higher Power doors. So far we are very pleased. We do need to seal the bottom skins at the frame as the rainwater tends to leak in depending upon the angle at which the door is open during rainstorms. My other neighbor’s Schweiss door has the same issue. I like the fact that I don’t need to add extra bracing during hurricanes as do my neighbors with the accordion style doors. I do miss the extra light they have with their translucent door skins.

 

[Mike S]

I do miss the extra light they have with their translucent door skins.

When I skinned our Higher Power door (13' high) I used 10' steel panels at the bottom, and 3' high translucent Lexan panels above that for light.

Works well, and the Lexan panels are available in matching rib style to the steel panels.

Lots of light gets in, but nobody under 10' tall can look in

 

[Wingnut]

Great idea!

I wish I had thought of that!

 

[gasman]

Another plus for Horton folding doors is there is no load on the hangar. And the hangar cost is reduced.
You can open one center panel to walk through instead of lifting the entire door 6 ft.

 

[Snowflake]

I don't know who the manufacturer is, but the new hangar complex at our airport will have horizontally-opening accordion doors... Pictures here: http://blueheronaeropark.com/

Having opened sliding doors in all of my hangars so far i'm looking forward to this option. There were pictures on here recently of an RV-4 that's being sold cheap because a vertical opening bifold door lowered on the tailcone... That was always my concern with the vertical-opening doors.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

I've been planning and dreaming of Hangar doors on my custom hanger on my airport property. Well I did have the airport property and plans and developed the land in prep of construction. However before construction I sold the land and still dreaming. After going to Oshkosh and looking at Hangar doors for a few decades, the commercial fold/swing up ones are so over build. There are many good plans for making DIY hangar doors, different designs, construction, methods and materials. All these commercial doors seem massively overbuilt. However they are extremely secure.

The DIY doors are lighter and of course cheaper. Tend to be manually operated but can be electrically open and closed. DIY doors are able to withstand normal historical peak wind loads, minus hurricanes and tornados. The steel doors are more secure both from unauthorized entry and impact from a ground vehicle standpoint. The latter one may seem far-fetched but I've heard of many cases of a car or other plane driving into/through hangar doors. Does it happen often? No.

 

[AV8ER]

Thanks for all the insight. I have been busy planning the hangar (and working to pay for it). As we want a door anyone can open a manual door is not in our short list. A few observations based on your posts and a few trips to the airport to look at powered doors:

Single Piece Hydraulic Swing Door
PRO
1. Provides a large shaded/covered area for protection from sun and rain.
2. There is less reaction on the building than a bi-fold door = cheaper steel building cost.
3. Many of these style doors close against a stationary frame. This makes a great seal similar to how a cooler lid seals and has overlapping material at the joint. Less rubber required for the seal.
CON
1. Initial door cost is higher than bi-fold.
2. Some manufacturers require THEY install the door.
3. Large swing radius of door in front of hangar = no parking zone.
4. Some lower themselves in the event of hydraulic failure. Better be ready to move the BBQ quickly when the door starts coming down on its own!
5. Most likely not going to open with snow in front of it (not a problem I will have but others may).

Bi-fold Door
PRO
1. There is a much small if non existent swing radius of the door to hit things parked outside when opening/closing.
2. The door is cheaper (but requires more structure in the building to carry its weight as it basically does a pull-up on the buildings header so the in-place cost is somewhat similar as the steel building costs more).
3. It can be installed by ME or my choice of hired gun.
4. If we had snow to contend with the motion of this doors opening would most likely allow it to open with a snow drift out front (although not sure why someone would need to open in this situation unless you needed to get your snow machine out?)
CON
1. More moving parts and wear points.
2. Building needs to supply more support.
3. Slower to open?

After going and looking around at what others had done locally I saw (2) main manufacturers. Higher Power and PowerLift. Prior to seeing them in person I was fairly certain my mind was made up on Higher Power. When I saw the doors in person this may have changed. The HP door has rubber seals on the sides of the door and the door frame that rub each other as the door moves. When the door is closed the gap between the door and the door frame is approx 3" wide. This gap is closed with the two rubber seals. The PL door has an internal frame that the door comes to rest against when closed. In our hurricane weather I feel confident that the overlapping frames will handle the wind load better. IMHO the HP door has a significant advantage in the design that the hydraulic cylinders do not change their geometry during movement. The cylinders are mounted stationary. With the "traditional" swing doors the cylinders do lots of moving and go from vertical to horizontal putting some lateral loading on them when the wind blows with the door open.

The HP door also has (2) pins that support the door when it is open as well as when it is closed. These two pins are seeing most if not all of the load as the only other attachment point are two rollers located at the top of the door. These two pins are all that would be taking the load during a wind event when the door is closed. The bottom line is the answer is not as cut and dry as I had imagined but right now am planning on a PL door.

Thanks again for insight and please point out anything I have missed in my overall review.

 

[Greg Arehart]

+1 on the Horton doors. Easy to work, can open partially, can be insulated, manually opened (if installed correctly, easy enough for a 10-yr-old to open it) so requires no power, reasonable cost. Steel frame construction so pretty robust. Downside would be if you live in an area with a lot of snow/ice it could jam up the track and requires clearing an area of snow in front of the door so it opens.

Horton people were very good to work with.

 

[rv4bill]

Ibeamdoor.com

I built a hangar on my strip and was planning on two large sliding doors. Issue became that I needed to be able to drive beside the hangar as I was putting an entrance road there. The sliding door was going to stick out too far into the road when opened. I have had large hydraulic doors previously and was familiar with how they worked but they were going to be too heavy for my home built hangar.
I found Jon online who builds custom sized Aluminum doors that swing open. The door frame and parts showed up on one large long pallet And we assembled in about 8 hours. Because my hangar didn’t have 220 v or three phase I needed something that worked off of 110 v.

The door has two large jacks that have 20-1 gear boxes and 110 electric motors that are synced together with a single control unit.

My door is 39’ wide and has 15’ of height clearance. It’s working great for me and was less than 12,000 all in

I believe he has video of the doors in his site. Ibeamdoor.com

 

[Dad's RV-10]

I very much like that the Higher Power door frame supports the full load of the door with none of the load transferred to the hangar structure. But in a perfect world, I'd prefer a strap-driven bi-fold door?

Does a strap-driven bi-fold door exist with a self supporting frame, similar to the Higher Power design?

 

[[email protected]]

I have a 42'x18' Schweiss strap door on my current hangar and have had no problems in 23 years with it EXCEPT if you need a new remote it will cost you north of $250.00 as they have a different frequency than normal door openers.
I have a couple more older (35Years) Schweiss "cable drive" in one of my barns and they still work.
But my luck varies FIXIT

 

[msires]

I have a Higher Power door on one hangar, and a Schweiss bifold door (cable) on the other. If the Schweiss every gives up, it will be replaced by another Higher Power door. It was easy to install, no engineering for the building needed, and works great. I looked at converting the Schweiss to straps, it was over $5,000 5 or 6 years ago, probably close to $10,000 now. New cables from Schweiss were under $200, so that's what I did.

 

[Pilot135pd]

Fold-Up

Slightly off topic (since you asked about bi-fold vs. hydraulic lift) but...

I went with an accordion-style door from FoldTite for my new hangar. The price was about half of what I would have paid for a bi-fold, and about a third of the bids I got for hydraulic. It was easy to install, takes about a minute to open, and works even when the power is out (it's 100% manual). It's also dirt simple, so if anything was to go wrong I can fix it myself with parts from the hardware store.

The only down side is that you lose a bit of clearance on either side, which may or may not be an issue depending on what all you're going to put in there. The opening on my building is 40' wide but the maximum clearance with the doors open is a bit over 37'. Not really a problem for an RV-6A.

I installed the same door (56'x12' with smoke top for light) but disagree with the "easy to install" part. Now that I installed mine I might also be tempted to say it was easy but in reality the instructions are horrible and outdated. Some instructions start explaining something and stop mid-sentence leaving it up to your imagination. You also have to stick to the drawings, not to what they tell you to do over the phone when you call for clarification. When I told them "if I install it the way you're saying and not as per the engineering drawings, then when it rips off during a windstorm you'll claim I didn't install it correctly". So they sent me the amount of rollers in the drawings.

I have tips for anyone who buys one, contact me. For example save yourself over $1000 by buying the insulation boards at Lowe's, a $0.99 box blade, and installing it yourself. Also don't buy the optional $350 levers, which I ended up removing.

I still like this choice and would do it again if I ever wanted to go through the hassle of building another hangar home.

 

[Mike S]

Just another data point.

Higher Power door, now 7+ years and totally reliable (with only a squirt of grease as per the install/maintenance manual).

Would definitely get another HP door if I ever built another hangar.

 

[MacCool]

My T-hangar has a Schweiss bifold door (cables). I find I vastly prefer having a hangar door that doesn't intrude into the opening nor the interior, or put its contents at risk in any way. Furthermore, I like the considerable rain shield that a bifold overhang provides when open, as well as the ability to hit the open or close button and walk away. The new hangar block that I'm in has limit switches, but the PBS-3 up/down button requires constant pressing throughout the cycle. I cobbled up a little magnet that holds the switch and eliminates that issue. I passed a few out to my hangar neighbors, thus pissing the airport off a little, but so far they haven't said anything directly. Their attention has, so far, kept me from buying the wireless remote-controlled replacement PBS-3 switch from Amazon. That would be convenient, but I'm keeping a bit of a low profile for now.

 

[Mike S]

I like the considerable rain shield that a bifold overhang provides when open

OK, your door is a bifold, which means it folds so that a 10' high door only sticking out 5' (+/-) when open.

My Higher Power also had half (+/-) its height sticking out when open.

 

[msires]

With the Higher Power door, I only needed 6" of header space, so my 16' door didn't need a lot of room above it, which is good since national building codes limit residential hangars to a maximum of 20' at the highest point. Even in Florida where a 1/12 roof pitch is sufficient, a 50' wide hangar with 18' sidewalls tops out at 20'. I store a 5th wheel in this hangar, which is 13' 6" tall. I didn't want to be close because the approach angles are a little steep. Bonus I can stand up inside on the roof of the camper when I need to work on it.

 

[MacCool]

OK, your door is a bifold, which means it folds so that a 10' high door only sticking out 5' (+/-) when open.

My Higher Power also had half (+/-) its height sticking out when open.

Yeh, it's nice. Working in the hangar in the rain is soothing and I like not having it splashing back inside. Also provides a bit of shade after about 11 AM.

 

[raabs]

Have a 50x12 hydraulic door, opens out. I like it because it provides a extra 12ft of shade when open or it can be open w/ rain and nothing gets wet. Never a problem with something outside in the way, just takes a sec to check. Had the inside sprayed with isonene insulation and then had the whole inside door covered in polyfiber and painted polyfiber with house paint. Great finished look. All of the doors at our field are similar. We even use the doors as a lift for engines, unloading trucks etc. The 12' overhang when open is nice. Never an issue.

 

[robertahegy]

We've had our Wilson Bi-Fold door for over 30 years with no problems. They are out of business now, but I prefer the bi-fold with the winch cables to open and close it.

Roberta

 

[JonJay]

People seem to like what they have….shocker.
Not all doors of the same type are alike. Look carefully at how they install. Folks mention Hydraulics don’t take any building engineering. Not necessarily.
Some do, some don’t.
Lots of good options out there with pluses and minuses for each.

 

[msires]

People seem to like what they have….shocker.
Not all doors of the same type are alike. Look carefully at how they install. Folks mention Hydraulics don’t take any building engineering. Not necessarily.
Some do, some don’t.
Lots of good options out there with pluses and minuses for each.

Most hydraulics require building engineering, particularly if they open outward only. The Higher Power door was the only one I found that was completely self supporting. They have a video of it operating on a slab by itself with no building at all. One other thing to watch for with hydraulic doors is where the servo valve is. It should be on the end of the cylinder with no hoses between it and the cylinder. You don't want the door slamming shut if a hose breaks! I've seen several with a hose between the valve and the cylinder, and I've broken too many hoses on equipment over the years to trust that.

 

[Snowflake]

I think everyone has seen a photo or two of a vertical bifold that has come down on an airplane, I am fairly sure i've seen hydraulic, cable, and belt-operated doors all in a failed mode. Regardless of what you chose, never, ever, leave anything under it when it's open.

 

[RV7ator]

I own Higher Power, Schweiss cable and strap doors. No problems with any except the bifolds have hinge pin creep and lubing the uppers is a difficult reach and access. I'd choose HP again. I've seen plenty of hydraulics that hinge at the top and are pushed out on struts; reminds me of a giant broom across the apron and a sail in a high wind. (BTW, I believe Florida has discovered that track doors are the first to fail in high winds.) If you live in snow country, the HP doors initial movement is up five inches before starting to swing out. Bifolds start to lean out but neither does much good if an ice dam has formed at the base. Hangar roofs pitched to the side are superior in that regard.

John Siebold