Door handle jamming - can't get in!

[TXstream]

I've had issues with the exterior door handle for some time on the 2005 25' intl. Once the top bolt is unlocked, it takes a significant amount of pressure in just the right spot on the handle (and patience) to open it. In fact my dear old (impatient) dad is using it and could not get in at all last night.

I tried some graphite as suggested in the owner's manual but that didn't seem to help. Has anyone else had this problem? I searched the forums, but couldn't find any threads relating specifically to this problem. Any suggestions?

[Foiled Again]

Take a close look at your door. It might be sagging on the hinge or binding against the frame - or the door could have slammed open due to wind and been warped (in this case flattened) so that it no longer matches the curve of the RV.

[Jim Foster]

The door on our '83 sometimes does this. I have found that pushing the door closed as the handle is pulled solves the problem.

Give it a try, sure won't hurt.

[RoadKingMoe]

Are the jacks at the ends of the trailer too extended? Even though they may be down the right amount for summer, when the pressure in the tires is high, when the tires get cold and shrink in the winter, that amount of extension becomes too much and can keep the door from opening and closing properly. Can also affect the locks.

[Gene]

I am sure we all have a different idea what is the right amount of "downness" on the stabilizers. Barely touching the ground? Tight to the ground? Maybe lift up one side just a little to get it really level?

As we were learning just how far to put these things down, it seemed sometimes the door deadbolt was hard to lock, other times not. Perhaps we had put some jacks down too much and twisted the trailer just enough to misalign the deadbolt, but not make the door hard to open or close. Perhaps when one person does one side and another the other side, each with a different idea of how tight to make them, that can twist the door frame just enough for a problem. I don't know how much flex there is to the frame and how it affects the door, but perhaps a bad road bump one day can knock the frame silly, or knock it out of line for a day or two. Sometimes it has seemed easier to close the door than others—temperature changes, twisted frame, or just imagination?

I also found the deadbolt mechanism needed some grease inside. That helped too.

We were advised when we picked up the trailer to not slam the door and to push it closed firmly, but carefully, at the spot where the handle is because it is reinforced there.

Gene

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

The door on our '83 sometimes does this. I have found that pushing the door closed as the handle is pulled solves the problem.

Give it a try, sure won't hurt.

Jim.

Try some silicone spray on your door lock striker bolt and on the striker pocket.

Andy