1970-1977 Main Door Lock

[Ganglin]

Nice work. Thanks for posting the pics - looks a lot better than I thought it would. The rounded corners are a good idea.

[vhord]

Originally Posted by AlbertF

Don,

The lock pin is costly for a tiny part ($29.95), but a lot cheaper than getting someone to make a "one-off" on an instrument lathe.

I just rebuilt my KT and was also surprised at the cost of the "knurled inside handle" (also $29.95). Mine was missing so I did not know exactly what it looked like. It is a simple shaft with 8-32 threads on one end. I checked in my hardware stock and I could have retrofitted a 8-32 x 1-1/4" socket head cap screw in it's place. Would not have exactly been original but costs $0.60 and it is heat treated!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by vhord

I just rebuilt my KT and was also surprised at the cost of the "knurled inside handle" (also $29.95). Mine was missing so I did not know exactly what it looked like. It is a simple shaft with 8-32 threads on one end. I checked in my hardware stock and I could have retrofitted a 8-32 x 1-1/4" socket head cap screw in it's place. Would not have exactly been original but costs $0.60 and it is heat treated!

You have a KT lock, which is exclusive to Airstream.

The complete lock is very expensive and so are all the parts for them.

That's the reason we chose to come up with some kits to replace that lock, depending on if the door frame is cast, or an extrusion. But, the door must be plated to cover up the old rectangular hole.

Some owners don't want to make that change.

Look at the photo's in post #40 above.

Andy

[WALLY 54]

Originally Posted by maccamper

Removing the lock is not all that hard, after you have done it the first time and see how it goes together.

The lock was originally installed, and must be removed, from outside the trailer. There are three screws on the inside that must be taken out, and one just above the door latch. Once the door handle is removed along with the knurled locking pin, all the rest of it goes through the outside skin.

The lock does not go straight out, it has to be pulled towards the rear of the trailer and slid out once the latch clears the frame. There are several rivets that must be drilled from the inside skin so the skin can then be pulled in (out from the door) about 1/4 to 1/2" to allow the door handle shaft to be slid back and out. I way overdid it on rivet removal, I think about five or six rivets would be sufficient.

Once the screws are removed along with the inside rivets, the next step is outside the trailer. The lock assembly has a gasket that goes all around the frame. On my trailer, this gasket was stuck tight to the lock and to the frame, so nothing budged initially. I took a thin, sharp putty knife and worked it very gently between the gasket and the lock all around the perimeter. Nothing moved until I had worked my way entirely around the lock, only then did it start to break free.

Once the lock frame was loose, it was simply a matter of pulling back and out on the lock while getting the door handle shaft past the hole in the inside skin. The pictures below may help. The lock was cleaned up considerably before taking the pictures. I scraped off a lot of hard, black gunk that once may have been grease and was providing little to no lubrication. Could it be that these locks should be cleaned and relubed every 30 years whether they need it or not? It may help keep parts from breaking.

If anyone has questions, just ask.

Laird aka maccamper

Thanks for the pics Laird. It made the removal of our lock very easy -- only 3 cuss words! No beer!

We bit it and bought a brand new KT Lock from odmrv.net, (here's a picture of the lock). It was expensive, but after we took the lock out we realized that there was up to 5 pieces of the lock that we're broken or not working -- including the key, lock and door handle, which were not available for replacement. Soooo, we bucked for a new 'complete' part.

The lock broke while we were in Death Valley a few weeks ago. Had to break into Buttercup at around 10p.m. under a full moon! Good thing I left a window open. It made for a dicey drive home as we had to secure the door closed via the dead bolt - only accessibile from the inside of the trailer - and keep and hold the door-side window closed with a precariously placed bungee cord.

Tim posted some pictures here, now we're waiting for the new latch arrival.


Kimber

[Dana J.]

At last we have an Airstream! The first project, and sticker shock, is the dreaded door lock. I bought the necessary parts, and got most of the mechanism reassembled. Now I have to drill the vertical shaft to attach the handle. I don't have a clue how to do that, and I don't want to take it to the dealer. Can someone please walk me through this process?

[StingrayL82]

So what is this lock plated in? Mine is so flaked off, I can't really tell anymore. Almost looks like it's brushed aluminum.

[2Alaska]

Mine is completely flaked off as well. Do you think it can be painted? It looks bad and I'd like to find a way to fix it or replace it.
2Alaska

[Eliminator46]

I had the same problem. I drilled, tapped and replaced. Works great.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by 2Alaska

Mine is completely flaked off as well. Do you think it can be painted? It looks bad and I'd like to find a way to fix it or replace it.
2Alaska

The outside of the KT locks can be painted.

It's no different than any other metal, in that proper preparation is necessary first, followed by a "very good" primer. Let the primer age out for a few days and then paint it.

A word of caution.

When the outside of the KT locks peel, it's usually an excellent sign of salt water damage.

That damage usually then has extended to the frame as well.

I would suggest that you remove some of the underbelly and check for huge amounts of rust.

Andy

[Dana J.]

Originally Posted by Eliminator46

I had the same problem. I drilled, tapped and replaced. Works great.

Wonderful clear pictures; thank you for posting them. They will really help.
Dana

[Eliminator46]

I'm glad you liked it. I had originally tapped the cam pin thinking there was not much clearance behind the paddle. After getting back to the house, I noticed there was plenty of room behind for a Nut, and a lock nut. Probably over kill, but I too have 4 kids and you just never know.

Adam

[Eliminator46]

You may want to contact a machinist shop. Take the whole assembly to them and show how it goes together. Where the roll pins will go. Shouldn't cost much.
If you were close to Houston, I would be happy to do it for free.
With the right tools, it's easy.

Notice, I am using original pieces that are broke. You will be drilling new holes for the roll pin. I had a temporary roll pin to maintain cam-pin position. This is critical. Notice the distance between cam pin head (cam), and the flapper edge. Also notice it is NOT at a 90deg angle to the flapper. That is critical in the play between the cam and actuator. So, if you can get those two marks, use a clamp to hold together, a drill press to SLOWLY drill the hole, you should be able to complete the task. They sell those without holes because every assembly is a little different as far as how much play is needed in the cam to actuator.
I hope this helps.
Adam

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Eliminator46

You may want to contact a machinist shop. Take the whole assembly to them and show how it goes together. Where the roll pins will go. Shouldn't cost much.
If you were close to Houston, I would be happy to do it for free.
With the right tools, it's easy.

Adam

Parts to repair the KT lock, are all available.

Or, if an owner wishes, they can send it in to us, to be repaired.

We offer a same day repair for those locks.

Andy

[tamo2000]

Quick question: Can somebody give me some advice on how to clean the lock? There is really old grease in there I'd like to remove.
Thanks!

[DPeakMD]

Welcome to the AirForums, Tamo !

It'd be best if you could remove the lock from the door. Then clean it with a gentle solvent and relubricate it before reinstalling it. I'd probably clean it with something like WD40 and blow it off with an air compressor. There are certainly many other alternatives. I don't think you'd get much accomplished without removing it, however...

Good luck!

[TG Twinkie]

I have recently repaired the lock on my Argosy. It is not a very strong mechanism. Since getting familiar with this assembly. I take real good care of it. I always hold the outside handle out when closing the door, then release the handle. I do the same on the inside by operating the handle to retract the bolt when closing the door. I never ever slam the door.
I recently bought the kit to replace the lock cylinder; which consisted of a new cylinder, keys and the lock shaft. Unfortunately the lock shaft did not work with the new cylinder, because the part of the shaft was machined out too much; thus the rotation of the key would not move the lock shaft far enough up; therefore it didn't hold into position, because it hadn't moved far enough to engage the detent ball into the slot in the shaft. It took some work but I was able to make it work with the original lock shaft.
This whole assembly is a lousy design. It can't take any kind of abuse. You can break the key off in the lock easily if you don't pay attention when locking and unlocking it. You can break the outside handle off if you pull on it too hard. The inside lock handle can work it's way out to the point where when you try to lock the door you break the handle off in the threaded hole.
I don't know if in the past 37 years Airstream or any other manufacturer has come up with a lock mechanism that's hefty enough to handle RV service. But I sure hope so, they've gone thru enough changes in lock assemblies over the years that they should have found one by now.

[coleby]

I ordered a door latch from colonial auto mall for my 1976 28' Argosy and of course it was the wrong size. The latch on my Argosy works but will not lock. Any suggestions?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by coleby

I ordered a door latch from colonial auto mall for my 1976 28' Argosy and of course it was the wrong size. The latch on my Argosy works but will not lock. Any suggestions?

Trailer or motorhome?

2 different locks are used.

Andy

[MikeAir]

Bought a replacement KT lock. Planning to install it. Read a couple of places above about needing to "drill out" surrounding rivets on inside door skin, so you can pull the skin out a bit to make a little room to slide the lock out. I have never drilled out a rivet. What is the best way to do this. What size drill? How far in do you drill? How do you know if you are successful? What was the rivet holding together in the first place? Does it pop loose?

[Belegedhel]

I'm in the middle of this myself. First, I don't recommend drilling out any rivets unless you find that you need to. I removed my old latch without removing any rivets, though I have driilled out the rivets in the inner skin because I am going a different route.

If you do end up drilling out rivets, they are 1/8" pop rivets. They just hold the inner skin to the door frame, but they also can help the door hold its shape, so best not to futz with them if you can avoid it. You can drill them out with a #30 machinist's bit, or a 1/8" drill bit which is almost as good. The one key to success for this operation is to put a bunch of tape or a stop on the bit to ensure that you don't screw up and drill all the way through the front skin of the door To replace them, you will need a $5 pop rivet tool and a dozen or so pop rivets 1/8" x 1/4" or so in length.

Again, you should try removing your old latch first before drilling any rivets. There are four screws on the inside of the door, one below the latch, and a set screw in the handle on the inside. After that, the latch assembly slides away from the jamb, and pops straight out of the front side of the door.