HELP!!!! We got locked inside our Airstream

[JBBeaubeaux]

We are camping in the middle of a California desert at a wonderful campsite called Agua Caliente in our 2001 30' Excella.

Woke up this morning and the door wouldn't open, which locked up inside.

If you look at the attached photo, you will see the handle is at 2:00 o'clock, instead of 3:00 o'clock and moving it toward 12:00 o'clock, counter clockwise, does nothing.

I had to utilize the emergency exit (that's a story on it's own) to get out and still couldn't get the door open from outside.

Finally we did get it open, but we have another week here camping and want to fix the door if we can and not destroy our trip.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

[overlander63]

Looks like you're really in hot water...
Remove the inside lock plate, and bend the catch for it on the main part of the lock toward the inside of the trailer slightly. Then move the inner handle back to its normal 3 o'clock position, and re-attach the inner handle assembly.

[streaminwild]

Time to exercise the rear escape window. Make sure you bring the keys. Hopefully this works. Overlander knows what he's writing about

[Larry C]

Jim, of all the Airstreams I've owned, I've never had this problem. I think what Overlander is telling you is your best shot. I've had locks that were hard to lock and unlock, and usually, a shot of WD 40 or a good silicone solves that problem....

Good luck

Larry

[Foiled Again]

A frequent culprit causing hard to open doors is having your stabilizers too firmly cranked up. Airstream jacks are to stop the trailer from being bouncy - not to bear the whole weight of the trailer. You actually flex the frame if you crank the crap out of the jacks and the door lock jams. Desert fluctuations in temperature can't help either. One last thing - if you don't close the door firmly enough the lock can stick. Luckily I was outside when it happened to me and my key didn't want to turn until I gave the door a firm bump and it shut tightly.

Can't hurt to back the jacks off a turn or two and try again. Of course lubricating the lock can help too. And Overlander63 - his advice is almost always right on (don't tell him I said it's because he's "gotten so many tee shirts" from his own ... experiments, yeah, that's it. As many kind parents say to a caboose baby, "honey there is a difference between a mistake and a surprise."

Happier trails, Paula

[OTRA15]

What was the overnight temperature? Any chance the lock mechanism parts had condensation on them and froze together during the night? I have had this happen in certain residential locks, only to find that all was well in a couple of hours after things thawed out. . . . just a thawt . . .

If so, the next time this happens to anyone, a hot wash cloth held on the inside of the lock will usually transfer enough heat into the lock mechanism to free things up, with a minimum of dis-assembly to test the theory.

Not sure why the handle was at the 2 o'clock position if the catch was stuck the problem . . . ?

PS -- a hair dryer can help rid the lock mechanism of condensation if needed, followed by some careful lubrication inside, with Lock Ease (my personal choice, because the only residue it leaves behind is powdered graphite IMO).

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by JBBeaubeaux

[snip]
I had to utilize the emergency exit (that's a story on it's own) to get out and still couldn't get the door open from outside.
[snip]

I agree, this story might be interesting to hear. I always wondered how an adult of any size would get out one, without help from the outside. I am larger than normal . . .

PS -- any relation to Bobo the Belgian cartoon strip?

[tjdonahoe]

Can't use the door , keep using the excape window, fix the door when you get home..

[streaminwild]

Maybe the locked door was on purpose. aaahhh.. To be in love.

[eggman]

had this happen a coupla times when my 2005 ccd 25' wasn't level. did manage to get it open without using emergency exit cause I was outside the trailer at the time! 😅 now when the locks are difficult I just adjust the jack a little.

[Jacob D]

I had the same thing happen in our '67 but the cause was different. Our lock is a Bargman L100-6 with a slide 6" long shaped kind of like a tuning fork. Each leg of the "fork" has a tang on the inner end that a steel cam pushes against. The outside knob causes a cam to push against one tang to slide the bolt back to open the door and the inside knob does the same with another cam acting on the other tang. Springs keep the slide pushed out to engage the pocket in the door frame so the cams are working against the springs each time a knob is turned. The original slide appears to have been made from some kind of pot metal that lasted 45 years but the inside tang broke off one evening and turning the inside knob did no good. The rear window in the bathroom is the escape hatch on this trailer and fortunately the outside knob opened the door with no problem. The problem then became finding the part. A three day search on the internet and many phone calls failed to yield a part or used lock. I had a local machine shop make a new slide using mild steel which cost a little over a hundred bucks, but the door lock is better than new now.

[barticus]

We had a similar situation this summer when overnight several tires lost a significant amount of air pressure, warping the frame and making the door and locks very hard to open and impossible to close. Re-inflating them cured the problem. All four valve stems failed within a couple of days which made for two visits from a mobile tire service. So, check your tire pressures as well!

[dames7]

You are NOT LEVEL .

[darsea]

We have had the same problem with our 2014 25'
We keep a spare key in the truck and another one secreted.
I am under the impression it's not uncommon.
Comical is a story from another owner that he had to open the rear compartment crawl in and push up the bed from the inside.

[dames7]

If you are not level, AS are so tight it will put the door in a bind when closed..

[Jan Tillman]

I got locked inside our "Tin Tipi" this past summer my husband was outside and in a panic as I had just had heart surgery.
I took the inside plate off and removed the handle ,Red then took off the outside knob and used needle nose pliers to open the lock.

[NY24]

Sorry but, your trailer is hosed..........



I'll take it off your hands for $50.......

[polarlyse]

I got locked out over the summer but for a different reason. Our trailer has a deadbolt lock that is thrown from the inside only. On a rough road it vibrated closed on us leaving us locked out. Had to climb in through the rear and up under the bed. Same thing happened to a friend a few weeks later while on an Airstream caravan but they couldn't get in as easy as I did. They had to remove the door.

[lindaebrewer]

We had the opposite problem. The mechanism that locks the door slid down when we closed the door from the outside. Keys were inside. Only open window was into the bathroom. Husband cut the screen & crawled through. (5'11", 150 lbs, triathlete) Now keep an extra set of keys in the TV.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by JBBeaubeaux

[snip]
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Wondering if you have any feedback on what might have caused your problem, including the various suggestions made here and the possibility that the lock internals might have frozen overnight temporarily . . .

Thanks.