Locked Out?

[englewoodfl]

Starshine got delivered this morning. Closing up for the day but decided to check once more. I can't quite turn the key enough. What did I do wrong? How to get by this? It's sideways.

[djb75]

Have you tried pushing in on the door and turning the key? It could be the latch is on a bind due to new weatherstripping or how level the trailer is. Or your latch may have fallen apart much sooner than normal.

[englewoodfl]

Actually the door is very loose. See pics with and without pressure. Funny - during the orientation I asked about getting locked out and was told that's no longer a problem.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Your door isn’t closed all the way. Are you trying to lock it while it’s not closed and that’s why it’s not locking?

You need to close the door and then press it a little more and it will clock one more time. Your other option is to slam it shut but the doors are so sensitive that I wouldn’t recommend it.

[englewoodfl]

It took most of the day but we finally got to FaceTime with a dealership employee. After trying some pushing on the door and wiggling it was decided to use WD40 to try to get the key to turn. Sprayed some into the door lock but no instantaneous results. Did some more pushing and retried the lock - felt like it might go. More WD40 and the lock turned freely and the door opened. It's a very unusual lock as the end positions aren't 270 and 0 degrees but about 230 and 340. I noticed that the lock on the interior is different from some of the older trailers.



Pics of it are included. They also had me use WD40 on the deadbolt and the other parts which could be lubricated. I do have to figure out why this site rotates pictures from my iPhone 13 Pro.

[djb75]

The site tends to roll your images over if they're too big. If you shrink them down enough, they'll post correctly.

[Roadtech]

I have a new International 23FBT and my key is also very hard to turn. I took delivery this past January and it has seemed to loosen up some as time goes on. I was advised not to slam the door, but close it gently and then push on it near the handle, to firmly latch it. Do the same when inside the trailer, holding on to the door handle, not out at the end of it, but as close as possible to where the handle attaches to the door.

[englewoodfl]

The handle is non-ferrous - there are many alloys it could be some of which aren't particularly strong. You could be up to 3" from the pivot which would give someone lots of leverage if they pulled horizontally. I'm wondering if there isn't something like vise grips on the interior and you broke the handle you might need to open a window w/o a screen and have a hopefully helpful person outside. Or crawl out a window?

[Thiss]

I used graphite on my new locks and the door latch. Made it all work a bit better, but door adjustment is on the shakedown list for dealer to explore. It shuts nicely from outside, it needs more force than I like for inside especially when trying to get kids not to slam it.

Search “Airstream door two click” on YouTube.

We have just been using the deadbolt, but will certainly want the other running smoothly for when we start towing him around more.

I know WD40 gets the job done in a pinch, but try to avoid it in your locks in the future. It attracts dirt and will cause them to gum up. Locksmiths hate it.

A quick iPhone hack for pictures is to open the pic in Photos, edit, auto “magic wand,” done. This usually will change the code enough on the pic for forums to get it oriented properly.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by englewoodfl

Starshine got delivered this morning. Closing up for the day but decided to check once more. I can't quite turn the key enough. What did I do wrong? How to get by this? It's sideways.

Glad you got it working, you’d expect a new lock to work without issues. Like others have said, we just use the deadbolt and never lock the handle.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by BigSxyWhtGuy

Your door isn’t closed all the way. Are you trying to lock it while it’s not closed and that’s why it’s not locking?

You need to close the door and then press it a little more and it will clock one more time. Your other option is to slam it shut but the doors are so sensitive that I wouldn’t recommend it.

They’re not sensitive. They’re robust. I slam them all the time. Never a problem. In fact, they work best when closed Firmly.

Graphite is “old school” and not good for locks because it is hydroscopic….it attracts moisture and gums up after time. Modern lubricants are much better and WD40 is fine for locks. The WD40 folks also make a new product known as “Dry Lube” which is fantastic on locks, awning mechanisms, etc and never attracts dust or grime.

https://mrlocksmith.com/best-lubrica...-mr-locksmith/

https://www.acmelocksmith.com/articl...ck-lubricants/

[HappyNomads]

Agreed, use graphite, not WD-40. If locking from the outside, I find it works better on some locks if I turn the key as far as it wants to go towards the lock position, then rotate it back to a full unlock, the rotate back to a full lock.
When locking from inside I avoid slamming it closed because I feel the handle won't take the stress forever. I close it, lock the deadbolt, then jiggle the lock into a partly locked position, then jiggle it back towards the unlock, then try the full lock position again. Sometimes it takes two tries.

As for getting locked out, I've been lucky so far.

[kbmwrs]

"They’re not sensitive. They’re robust. I slam them all the time. Never a problem. In fact, they work best when closed Firmly."

WRONG! That comment is used to SELL Airstreams. Slamming is bad. It's physics. Something is stopping all that energy in a SLAM. And its your lock/door. Which in time will create possibly more than one door closing problem.
To close an Airstream door properly you simply close it slow and then push at the lock position until you hear one click, then push a little more for a second click. The door is closed properly. You can easily now turn a key on both locks.

As for the original poster about the key stopping and not going any further.
I did have the same problem....albeit in a more used AS. I took the lock apart and found that there was many a sand and grit inside the locking mechanism that actually prevented the key tumbler from rotating. By squirting WD40 in the lock hole you are trying to do the same thing. If it happens again try taking the lock apart and clean it good.

Oh and do NOT SLAM your door.

[Britgirl]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

I have a new International 23FBT and my key is also very hard to turn. I took delivery this past January and it has seemed to loosen up some as time goes on. I was advised not to slam the door, but close it gently and then push on it near the handle, to firmly latch it. Do the same when inside the trailer, holding on to the door handle, not out at the end of it, but as close as possible to where the handle attaches to the door.

We also have a 2023 International FBT, and are concerned about the difficulty with closing, unlocking etc and getting locked out. We once got locked out of our Safari and had to get in through a window. Locksmith couldn't help us! I have seen people making several modifications to the lock to try to prevent this and also some have fitted a handle on the inside to close the door. There needs to be a much better solution.

[ForteePlus]

We were told during the orientation to use two fingers to close the door from the outside. That should be sufficient pressure to latch it properly. And that was starting from an open position with maybe 6” gap, not nestled near the frame and adding pressure. Our camp-out at the dealership revealed a few minor things, one of which was the dead bolt being difficult. A tech adjusted it and it’s been buttery smooth since. And because ours is a rear bedroom/forward door, the door is hinged aft which makes the lock/unlock orientation backwards from the rear door models. Go figure.

The non-deadbolt lock is certainly odd. We rotate it CCW from 9 o’clock to 6 o’clock to lock it. And to unlock it goes CW from 9 o’clock to maaaaaaybe 10 o’clock.

The tech said do not use WD-40 or similar liquid lubes on the lock.

Because I’m an idiot I had to make labels for the inside since they go opposite.