If your RV screen door is difficult to operate, many issues can be resolved with the right RV screen door cross bar. This frees up hands for carrying groceries, reduces the odds your kid damages it, and makes getting in and out of your RV easier. But what is this RV screen door accessory? And is the Lippert Screen Assist really the best option? Let’s find out!
Key Takeaways
- Enhanced Convenience & Protection: The Lippert Screen Assist RV screen door cross bar improves ease of use by providing a larger grab handle. This makes it easier for kids and adults to operate the door while protecting the latch from wear and damage.
- Adjustable & Easy to Install: Made of corrosion-resistant aluminum and plastic, it fits Lippert screen doors 26-30 inches wide and offers two installation methods: a lever-style push bar (which integrates with the latch) or a fixed grab bar.
- Step-by-Step Installation Guide: The installation involves measuring the door width, gathering basic tools, choosing the installation method, assembling the push bar, securing the end caps, and finally mounting the bar—providing an easy RV upgrade with minimal tools required.
What Is an RV Screen Door Bar?
An RV screen door bar provides a larger grab handle for easier opening and closing. Some designs feature a horizontal bar for pushing the RV screen door open or pulling it closed. Others actually integrate with the screen door latch, allowing you to push the larger handle down to open the door. Young kids especially have an easier time with this design. It’s convenient for adults, too, when delivering S’mores supplies to the folks around the campfire.
Lippert Screen Assist RV Screen Door Cross Bar Benefits
Photos by Lippert
The Lippert Screen Assist RV screen door cross bar does more than just make opening and closing your RV screen door easier. It protects one of your screen door’s most sensitive components—the latch. So whether your latch is hard to use, you’ve broken it several times, or you’re tired of trying to open it with your elbow when your hands are full, the Lippert Screen Assist will be handy.
The Screen Assist is a full-width RV door bar manufactured with corrosion-resistant aluminum and plastic. The adjustable length makes it compatible with Lippert screen doors from 26 to 30 inches wide, and it comes with a replacement door latch handle for easily integrating its unique articulating function that allows you to use the grab bar for your RV screen door to open the latching mechanism.
It’s also an easy RV door upgrade to install. You won’t need any complex or hard-to-use tools. When installed on compatible Lippert RV screen doors with a lever-style latch, the push bar replaces the latch operation, offering an easy-open alternative to sometimes hard-to-use RV screen door latches.
Combined with other Lippert RV door modifications like the Screen Defender and LatchXtend, the Screen Assist RV screen door cross bar handle makes your RV entry door easier to use and reduces maintenance needs over its lifetime.
How To Install the Lippert RV Screen Door Cross Bar
In the video above, Product Expert Ian Baker outlines the benefits of this Lippert RV screen door push bar and walks you through the step-by-step installation. Follow the written steps below for installing this screen door bar on your RV:
Measure Door Width
Start here to verify that the Lippert Screen Assist is compatible with your RV entry door. Use a tape measure to measure the width of the rough opening from doorjamb to doorjamb. Then, round up roughly ⅝” to calculate your door’s rough opening size. It must fall between 26 and 30 inches for the Screen assist to fit.
Gather the Required Tools
With compatibility verified, gather these RV tools before starting your RV screen door bar installation:
- Tape measure
- Small flathead screwdriver
- Philips screwdriver
- Non-permanent marker
- Impact driver with square #2 bit
Choose Your Installation Method
Your two options for installing this RV screen door handle bar are as follows:
Option 1: As a lever-style push bar (i.e., Push Bar Installation)
Option 2: As a fixed grab bar (i.e., Fixed Bar Installation)
The first option has the added benefit of using the Screen Assist to activate the screen door’s latching mechanism by pushing it down. The second option still provides a grab handle for easier door opening and closing, but it doesn’t integrate the bar with the screen door latch.
Technician Tip: The Screen Assist kit has an extra end cap with a second set of mounting holes if you choose the second option. However, you can skip the next step if you opt for the Fixed Bar Installation method.
Install the Smaller Door Handle
If you choose the Push Bar Installation, you’ll swap the screen door’s existing latch for a smaller version that comes with the Lippert kit. Use the small flathead screwdriver to remove the screw cover on the original latch, revealing the Philips screw holding the latch in place. Use the Philips screwdriver to remove that latch and set it aside. You can install the smaller latch that came with the kit, securing the lever assembly on the opposite side of the screen door to prevent it from falling out. Reinsert the screw, tighten it, and replace the screw cover to complete this step.
Assemble the Push Bar
Now, you can add the end caps to the push bar. For the push bar installation, the non-level end cap has a ball that is inserted into the pocket of the door mounting bracket. The opposite end cap is open on the end, where the lever handle will insert in a later step.
Technician Tip: For the Fixed Bar Installation, you’ll use the end cap with the second mounting bracket. This will require repeating the steps for mounting that bracket on both ends when securing the push bar in the final step.
Secure the End Caps
With both end caps added to the push bar, place the bar against the inside of the screen door frame. This is your “dry fit.” For the Push Bar Installation, the end with the opening should insert onto the door latch up to the insertion line. The opposite end should line up with the screen door frame. Using the non-permanent marker, draw lines on the push bar at the inside edges of both end caps.
Once marked, remove the door bar and set it on a stable surface. Take the end caps off and measure from the ends of the bar to each mark. Add these two measurements together and divide your result by two. Use that number to make new lines on the push bar, measuring in from either end to your calculation. This step will center the push bar on the end caps, ensuring an equal amount of bar inside each.
You can then re-install the end caps up to your second set of marked lines and secure each using the supplied screws.
Technician Tip: Beware that the screws will make a small hole in the bar once fully installed, so it’s best to measure twice to ensure accuracy. You can also “dry-fit” the bar onto your screen door again after re-installing the end caps to test.
Secure the Push Bar
To complete your Lippert Screen Assist installation, slide the open end cap onto the door latch handle up to the marked insertion line. On the opposite end, use the supplied screws to mount the bracket to the center of the raised section of the screen door frame.
Technician Tip: The bottom of the bracket should rest near the top of the screen door’s mid-cross bar, and the Screen Assist push bar should be parallel to the crossbar.
For the Fixed Bar Installation, you’ll secure mounting brackets to the raised section of the screen door frame on both ends, choosing a mounting location that doesn’t compromise the operation of the door handle or sliding panel.
And now you can test the operation of your new Lippert Screen Assist RV screen door cross bar!
These tips will help you install your Lippert Screen Assist RV Screen Door Push Bar. But if you don’t feel comfortable doing so, contact our Service Department.
Explore additional RV modifications:
- Lippert Screen Defender RV Screen Door Protector
- LatchXtend RV Door Handle Upgrade
- Echo Trailer Brake Controller
What do you love about your RV screen door push bar? Do you have questions about the Lippert Screen Assist? Let us know in the comments below.
