Can't get door to latch closed

[drew05]

I had been in the trailer earlier and when I tried to close the door, the latch would not grab the striker bolt. I had called the dealer and was told to heat the latch assembly with a hair dryer. I have tried that with no success. The latch 'claws' seem to be hitting the end of the bolt. I had loosened the bolt to see if maybe it had bent. I was only able to get it to work if I pulled the door tightly closed and locked the dead bolt.

Right now I have a piece of 1x2 wedged in the handle in order to keep the door closed. The dealer said if the lock assy. is bad, they would replace it under warranty, but before I go that route I'm hoping for a simple fix. Any ideas?

Thanks

[blmitch5]

It could be frozen and the hair dryer didn't do it. Mine was frozen but I got it to close and latch. Good luck let us know what you figure out.

[drew05]

I'm hoping it is only frozen. With the weather we are having I'm glad I'm not looking at hitting the any time soon. I will drop you an email tomorrow about the Rally in April...

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by drew05

I'm hoping it is only frozen. With the weather we are having I'm glad I'm not looking at hitting the any time soon. I will drop you an email tomorrow about the Rally in April...

Try some "silicone spray".

Andy

[blmitch5]

Originally Posted by drew05

I'm hoping it is only frozen. With the weather we are having I'm glad I'm not looking at hitting the any time soon. I will drop you an email tomorrow about the Rally in April...

Great! I can't wait to see your Airstream. Huge compared to the Bambi.

[Steve & Mary]

Our 2008 did that every now and then when it was new. I called the service manager at the dealer where we made our purchase and he told me to remove the striker bolt and place a very thin shim on the back side to bring the hex head out a bit more. I did and it took care of our problem. You may or may not have the same issues. Examine the "hex" part on the end of the striker and see if the latch is striking it. You may have the same problem....steve

[drew05]

Steve thanks. I did loosen the striker bolt and it did seem to work but I was afraid to loosen it too much for fear of possibly losing the back nut. I'll try it again tonight. Another thing, and I'll pay more attention to it tonight, is it seemed that the door needed to be pushed in with more force/pressure. My mind is worrying about 'worse case scenarios' and I'm hoping the door isn't messed up.

Thanks Again
Drew

[blmitch5]

Do you have your stabilizers down? Maybe there putting pressure on the door.

[drew05]

They were down but not enough to put pressure on the door. I had to visit one of my other sites today and am borrowing their industrial hair dryer. I will probably call the dealer later today or this week and ask if they can stop by to look at my trailer on their way to the RV show in KC next week...

[Leigh Paula]

Make sure your trailer is as level as possible, if its askew, the door frame can torque enough to prevent the latch from engaging

[drew05]

Steve, thanks, it worked. I used 2 fender washers and it did the trick. I'm still a little concerned as to why it just suddenly happened. Maybe it has been the cold weather, oh well...