I have just had to remove and rebuild the entrance door locks on both my Argosy Minuet and AS Sovereign. I am appalled that these things cost $600+ to replace as they are an absolute POS!
The basic casting is some sort of pot-metal and the design has at least 4 flaws which can lead to failure of the mechanism. With a few changes they can be modified to give a longer life expectancy than they have as standard. Even so, if somebody lays into them. they are still going to break! This is why I got into this - a heavy handed wife on the Sovereign and a heavy handed son on the Argosy!
Probably the most frequent failure is related to the outside pull-handle - this is pot metal and connects to the steel shaft which moves the slide bolt via a cam on the end of the shaft. There are 3 design flaws right here:
1) Where the flapper joins to the shaft - this is prone to failure if someone pulls hard on it as the casting can break.
2) The shaft has a cam on the top end to activate the slide bolt. The cam is too thin and can either bend, break or become disengaged from the roll pin in the next flaw.
3) The slide bolt is activated by the above cam which bears on a roll pin - this is barely long enough and the cam can jump over the top of it resulting in a door that won't open.
I have refitted the modified lock to the Sovereign and so far it seems to be stronger than the original - I have been more heavy handed than normal and have not managed to break it again!
I'll post again if I get a premature failure!
In the meantime, if anybody is even remotely considering paying $600 for a new lock - hold off and contact me first - I might be able to help!
Cheers.
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'If you always do, what you've always done.'
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I purchased my 71 Excella 500 with out being able to get into it other than by having my niece go into the trailer and remove the screen for the front windo and then open it so I could get in.
The lock was siezed up buy to water getting in it. If anyone wants tips. I removed and rebuilt it using all the original parts but one. Wasn't all that difficult. For me to replace the whole thing would have Cost about $900.00 Canadain.
I just made a "note to self" - service door lock assembly next chance I get. Clean and lubricate all internal parts with graphite and door lock grease.
So far mine still works, but it is hard to pull the latch sometimes. I can see how this would break eaasily if it was any harder to pull, or if it is locken and someone yanks on it.
Now, if it usually works very easily, one would notice much sooner that it is locked, but if it's hard to work to begin with, then a good pull might just break it.
I've had experience with two lock failures on my '72. I can only say this, if the lock fails, take it apart yourself and find the problem part. DO NOT just buy a whole new lock. Both times mine failed, it took only the replacement of a ~$30 part to fix it. The first time, I had the Factory work on it. Which probably lead to the next failure.
The second time, I worked on it and found the culprit part. I bought the replacement part and found that it really didn't 'fit' and function correctly. I had to spend a lot of time re-milling the bearing surfaces between the engagement points in order to get the handle to lay flat in the resting position AND still have enough movement to retract the bolt in order to unlatch the door. This door lock reminds me of a Rube-Goldberg contraption! They are simple in design, but rely on the interplay of a few very tenuous components, as Gvaman pointed out. I would definitely recommend taking it apart and cleaning, lubricating and just becoming aware of how it works, as Uwe pointed out.
Have the same lock on my 73. For the life of me I can not understand how Airstream engineers allowed this piece of JUNK to get by, or why their Marketing Dept. allowed it to be put on for so many years. Crass incompetence, Managements' gross negligence. I wonder if those involved even realize how stupid they look.
I replaced the key tumbler assembly with an Aluminum plug, trashed the lock pin, and now am in the process of fitting two commercial dead bolts into the frame, with the catches in the door.
Dick
Just be careful how much metal you're removing from the door frame in order to make your pocket's for the bolts, Dick. The door's integrity depends a great deal on a very thin strip of aluminum channel around the outside. You'll have to cut down the bolts along their long axis probably about 1/2 the thickness. Also allow some slop in the verticle dimension of your pocket. The trailer twists a little if you jack up the front to get level for example and you could find your door lock might not close. A dead bolt is definitely a good idea in my mind. We didn't have one on our '72 and I was very glad when our new '78 already had one installed. Let me know if you'd like pictures of our installation. I've also taken photos of other's as I was planning to add one to our '72.
-Dallas
Have the same lock on my 73. For the life of me I can not understand how Airstream engineers allowed this piece of JUNK to get by, or why their Marketing Dept. allowed it to be put on for so many years. Crass incompetence, Managements' gross negligence. I wonder if those involved even realize how stupid they look.
I replaced the key tumbler assembly with an Aluminum plug, trashed the lock pin, and now am in the process of fitting two commercial dead bolts into the frame, with the catches in the door.
Dick
I hear you, Dick. But to add insult to injury, look at how much they charge for new ones!!!! ( If you can find them) A pretty sad scene, if you consider that they even boast on their website abaout how many of their older trailers are still on the road.
Still getting to know my '72 Trade Wind. While parked in front of the house my wife and I were inside the trailer and when she went to open the door from the inside handle nothing happened. I checked it out and the handle didn't seem to be engaging anything. I pulled the screen and the outside lever worked fine.
I've not taken the mechnanism apaprt yet nor have I removed the latch from the door. Any tips on what to look for?
Also, in removing the assembly, is it just a matter of removing the screws from the inside of the door and the one above the actuating rod?
Sounds like I'll be removing the lock then. Andy, since your shop does rebuilds, do you have a sense of the average cost to service the lock if I need to send just that to you?
Sounds like I'll be removing the lock then. Andy, since your shop does rebuilds, do you have a sense of the average cost to service the lock if I need to send just that to you?
Thanks everyone for the quick posts!
Aron
Aron.
The average cost to rebuild a KT lock, varies all over the place.
We call the customer what the cost will be, after inspection, for approval.
Depending on that inspection, and the year trailer, you can choose a kit, but plating the door "must" be done, should you decide not to repair the KT lock.
Parts for KT locks, as we have said before, are not cheap. Airstream "is" the only company that has the KT lock, and the repair parts.
I have a 1977 Argosy 24. The door can be locked with a screwdriver, which is not so bad but it can also be unlocked with a screwdriver. Obviously, the key is useless at this point. Will this requrire an entire replacement or can it be fixed more easily? I really do not want to pay $600 for a new lock
As you have probably gathered from the posts above, the lock is really not very robust. It's not suprising that the cylinder could be turned by a screwdriver. I've heard the same thing said of automotive door locks.
I'm no expert like Andy, but you may just need a new lock cylinder and key. They are not difficult to replace.
My recommendation would be to install a deadbolt and just use the KT to open and close the door. In my case it's doubtful that "locking" the trailer is even a cost-effective proposition. Anyone who wants in could do more damage to the trailer getting around the lock than what's of value to steal inside!!!
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