Door Lock Loose interior Lock Pin..

[Bootsinister]

Thanks for Your Help With The Missing key!! Now I have another? The door latch on our coach works but has quite a bit of slop in the interior up down locking pin I have tightened the pin itself to no avail.. If the door gets open and closed the pin wiggles down and I have locked my self out .. any Ideas? I recently saw the price of replacement latch WOW !! so that is not an option right now!! As always Thank You for the Info !!

bOot

[DKB_SATX]

So, check this out. This is the same mod that the PO of our Argosy did. He removed that locking pin altogether, and put a slightly modified deadbolt on the frame side (the bolt throws into the door rather than having the mechanism in the door with the bolt throwing into the frame.)

It works very well.

[sharbours]

I can certainly sympathize with your door lock issues; ours was broken when we bought it.

I want to give a little bit of warning though - those house deadbolts aren't made for the beating that towing a trailer (especially one with older axles) can dish out. Our PO made that same mod, and during our second camping season it failed while we were on the freeway. I just HAPPENED to be looking in the rear view mirror & saw the door fly open & bang against the side of the trailer! Instant 'sprung' door - when we closed it there was a nice air gap between the top & bottom of the door & frame.

We thought we had forgotten to lock the deadbolt, so we locked it and got back on the road. Half an hour later, a car pulled up along side us and a lady yelled that our trailer door was open. The simple act of towing the trailer created enough vibration to slowly work the bolt out of the door.

We pulled off the freeway - conveniently right near a Home Depot - and got a piece of wood to jam through the handle next to the door to keep the door closed. (It spans across the edge of the door frame and holds the door shut.) Somewhere here on the Forums are a couple of threads with very clever hand made versions that look like they work much better than our quick fix.

Needless to say, we ended up saving our money to buy the aftermarket lock replacement kit from Inland RV. A new door would be much more expensive, and just about impossible to find. We used the block of wood for a couple of months in the meantime, locking the deadbolt before each trip. By the time we would arrive at our destination, it would be unlocked again.

Oh, we were able to bend our door back enough that it closes pretty well, but it'll never be the same.

Despite all that, there's no place I'd rather be than camping in my Argosy. I hope you have lots of fun trips in yours this year!!!

Sharon

[DKB_SATX]

Sharon,

If I had to guess, I'd guess your deadbolt didn't completely extend into the door on your trailer (in other words, the mod was not done well.) When the deadbolt throws all the way, vibration wouldn't tend to make it move, but if it's only partially out it would want to either extend further or retract.

If properly-installed deadbolts behaved that way, crooks could get in our houses just by wiggling the door for a while.

[noreen&sal]

Have never had a problem with the deadbolt, but still use a wood block (belt and suspenders). I jammed a small wood shim under the pin and taped it with electrical tape so it can't move. Sal.

[Flynavy]

Bootsinister, although I never got locked out I could see where someday I would. I picked up a metal hook/eye at the hardware, tossed the eye part and fastened the hook to the door above the pin so it can't fall down unless I pop the hook off the pin. When we retire for the nite, we can lock the door from the inside, the rest of the time the hook keeps the pin up. Also the PO installed a chrome hasp to pad lock the door from the outside so I don't even fool with the tumbler lock in the door handle. If you take it apart you will see what a piece of junk that is. Also don't have to worry about the door flying open on the road.

Hope that helps.

[DKB_SATX]

Do you leave a padlock locked through the loop with the hasp open while using the trailer, so someone can't come along and lock you in? It's one of those unlikely things I think about...

[Flynavy]

Yes, I keep the lock closed also so it doesn't get "lost". I have one of those rubber encased locks which leaves no marks on the skin.

[TG Twinkie]

I installed a dead bolt in the body of the trailer. The bolt goes into the door. We have travelled over 6,000 miles with no problems.
The old KT lock assembly is worn enough that even with a new lock cylinder it was difficult to lock and unlock the door. We are very careful not to slam the door, which may cause it to lock itself.

[Bettye]

Today was not a good camping day. We have been camping with my daughter and her family since June 2. I was all ready to go to the pool until I couldn't get out of the camper! That's right, the handle on the door broke with me inside. I've heard of being locked OUT, but never locked IN!! I had to call a locksmith and he worked for over an hour to remove the lock and handle. I was then able to exit the camper, but we now have a hole where the door handle once was. So now I am in need of a handle for our '84 Excella. Any ideas where I might find one?

[SoCal Drive]

We were locked out in Carmel, at 10 at night when the dead bolt locked "automatically". Our keys were on the table. We found a locksmith in Carmel, he got us back in the trailer in about 10 minutes for only $125.00. I taped the damn thing so it wouldn't lock on its own.

[noreen&sal]

Originally Posted by Bettye

Today was not a good camping day. We have been camping with my daughter and her family since June 2. I was all ready to go to the pool until I couldn't get out of the camper! That's right, the handle on the door broke with me inside. I've heard of being locked OUT, but never locked IN!! I had to call a locksmith and he worked for over an hour to remove the lock and handle. I was then able to exit the camper, but we now have a hole where the door handle once was. So now I am in need of a handle for our '84 Excella. Any ideas where I might find one?

We had the same"lock in" situation. I was abl,e to open the door from inside by prying with a brake adjustment tool, but unfortunately snapped the slide bolt. Sal.

[creekhouse]

If you're ever locked out simply take the hinge covers off and unscrew the door from the hinges. Takes about 2 min and works even with the door locked. Doesn't say much about the security, but hey- gets you in (at least did on ours).