Thief damaged my FC cargo door lock attempting to gain entry now key wont open lock

[luckysgt663]

Thanks for any advice,
I recently discovered the cargo hatch door lock of my 2016 19 Ft. FC was attempted to be opened by a thief putting something inside the lock to turn it. Now my lock will not turn at all with its key. Mobile locksmith could not open lock after one hour of trying. His suggestion was to drill out the lock? I have never done that and I am afraid to damage the door. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas. Thanks Martin

[rmkrum]

Use a fresh titanium coated 1/4 inch diameter drill bit. Start in the side of the lock cylinder where the pins are (toothed side of the key). Drill slowly and pause often.

Eventually the cylinder will fall apart or pull out of the lock. Work it open gently with a screwdriver or s pics of pliers. That gets the compartment open so you can install a complete new lock.

Or have the locksmith drill it—he’s done it before...

[garry]

X2 on above wonder why the mobile tech didn't do that before he left!

[Mollysdad]

Can it be accessed from inside? Like under the bed? Release the catch?
Here's few pictures of the "Modern" baggage door lock, available at Out of Doors Mart.
You can see the latch is held by one small bolt.

http://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?m...oducts_id=1595

[rmkrum]

If that’s what’s on the door, and you can get to it, removing the nut will open the door easily. Then you can remove the lock from the door and replace it with a new one.

[GMFL]

The 2016 19’ FC should have the same corner bed as my 23D. You can access storage compartment form under the bed area. You can’t remove the bed deck by tacking out 6 screws. Then you can access the lock form inside and remove it to be replaced with a new one. Should be a very straight forward project.

[luckysgt663]

Locksmith did not want to drill for fear of damaging door ?

[luckysgt663]

Got the lock off by going under mattress support board. Thanks all for the advice and help !!!!

[TouringDan]

Airforums to the rescue again!

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by luckysgt663

Got the lock off by going under mattress support board. Thanks all for the advice and help !!!!

Hooray!
I love it when a plan come together!

[crispyboy]

These Airstream skins are so fragile and expensive to fix I wonder if sometimes it is better to just leave things unlocked. I'm not sure what the thieves would do with the wooden blocks and spare rivets in the side compartments of our trailer. I never bother locking the side compartments.....

[turk123]

I believe you can get another lock from Airstream that will match all the other doors so you don't have to carry a special key just for that door. They only have so many different keys. Is there a number on your key?

[luckysgt663]

crispyboy,
In hindsight I am leaving my cargo door unlocked at all times. The rv/marine hose, plastic leveler, rv toilet paper, and black tank sanitizers any thief is welcome to. The cost and trouble of repairing and replacing the lock latch mechanism are much greater than the Wal-Mart BS I once locked inside there. Thanks again to everyone for the good advice and help[ !!!!!

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by turk123

I believe you can get another lock from Airstream that will match all the other doors so you don't have to carry a special key just for that door. They only have so many different keys. Is there a number on your key?

Turk,
Please note that MOST ALL, RV storage compartment locks including Airstream are keyed 751. Note that this keyed pattern is used quite frequently on all kinds of things including irrigation control boxes, thermostat covers and many other things.
Just didn’t want anyone to think their Airstream storage compartment was keyed any different than any other Airstream storage compartment.
The entry door is the only thing keyed differently than others.

[Posse96]

Those suggesting the access under the best, would be my first option.


On a side note, I changed out all my exterior cargo locks after buying my 2016 19' Flying Cloud, as you here frequently, there are only 3 basic keys for such RV locks, the most common is the CH751. If someone has this key, as many thieves do, and you can buy blanks on Amazon and other sites, they can access your cargo bays. Here's one article that touches on this


https://www.loveyourrv.com/rv-storag...really-secure/


One option is to replace the locks with Barrel locks. Yet, I can tell you a basic barrel lock can be thwarted using the cap of the traditional BIC pens, the same way thieves thwart barrel locks on bike bars.


There's a Canadian firm that makes locks with their double edge cut, something not done in the USA. I'll have to check my research to get the name, but looked very promising. You could get all the locks keyed the same.