Entrance door keeper

[lewishw]

The door keeper that is riveted to the side of my trailer (that holds the entrance door open) has gotten weak. The latch is fine, but the spring in it does not fully extend the latch anymore. Can I replace the spring in this latch without drilling the rivets, pulling it off and rebuilding or replacing it?

Stream on,

Hunter

[n2916s]

Nope. But it is an easy job. You can get the guts to the keeper from out of doors mart or Inland RV.

Mike

[dlb435]

Did you try to clean and lube it? Could just be a little crud in there.

[A W Warn]

Outside Main Door Hold back 380291 [380291] - $5.95 : Out-of-Doors Mart!, More Airstream Parts on-line than anyone!

[lewishw]

Thanks y'all!! I'll order that kit, caused metal housing is in good shape. I am super timid about drilling the rivets and tearing something up...how do I ascertain what size bit to use? I don't want to mar the skin by accident!

Stream on!

[azflycaster]

I keep an extra one in the trailer, just in case. I broke one when it got iced up and door hit it. It costs the same to ship two.

[dlb435]

Rivets come in different diameters, lengths and material. You will need to use the aluminum rivets. Use the same size drill bit as the diameter of the rivets used. To keep from drilling too deep just put some tape on the drill bit about 1/2 inch from the tip. Don't drill any deeper than the tape.
Before you start: get some rivets, drill bits, tape measure or ruler, a rivet gun and a small peice of aluminum. Practice riveting small peices of aluminum together until you feal comfortable with the process.
It's find of fun.

[AlbertF]

Inland RV or an industrial supply store will sell you the right drill bits. You need "number drills" which you probably won't find at a hardware store. The correct size is slightly larger than the rivet size so that you remove the old rivet cleanly without elongating the hole.

I looked this up online. The correct drill size for a 1/8" rivet is a #30, which has a diameter of 0.128", or 0.003" (three thousandths of a inch) larger than 1/8" (0.125"). The correct size for a 3/16" (0.1875") rivet is a #10 or #11.

[DaveFL]

Once you have it off, easy. I had to remove mine to make the spring harder to accept the door, it would lock open when slight breeze push the door against the latch.