Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 51,958
At the first stop on our most recent trip (Bakersfiled, CA), Chris was locked out of the coach. Fortunately, I was still inside and able to open the door. The outside latch handle merely flopped around, although the deadbolt worked fine.
I attempted to access the latch mechanism from the inside, but the removable cover on the inside of the door didn't expose all the parts I needed to get to. I spent some time trying to get mobile RV repair shops to respond, but most didn't answer their phones, while others no longer provided mobile service. We decided to press on with our trip, and each time we stopped, we either made sure one of us was in the coach or used something to prevent the door closing. At our destination, we left a window unlocked to access the coach and unlock the door from the inside.
This morning I got to figure out what was going on and fix it. I first had to remove the outer end of the door, the door handle, the 'fake' window frame, the deadbolt, and several other bits and pieces. This allowed me to partially remove the interior door panel, exposing the parts I needed to get to.
There are a couple of adjustments for the latch mechanism. My first suspect was the turnbuckle-style adjustment, but it was rock solid thanks to a couple of locking nuts and couldn't have moved. The culprit was an aircraft style adjustment nut on a 'long' rod, which seems to have worked its way back over the years. This had allowed the part of the latch actuated by the outside handle to move out of position and to no longer be able to unlock the latch.
A simple job to move the part back into position and a few turns on the aircraft nut, and everything works fine. Then replace all the bits and screws I'D removed.
I attempted to access the latch mechanism from the inside, but the removable cover on the inside of the door didn't expose all the parts I needed to get to. I spent some time trying to get mobile RV repair shops to respond, but most didn't answer their phones, while others no longer provided mobile service. We decided to press on with our trip, and each time we stopped, we either made sure one of us was in the coach or used something to prevent the door closing. At our destination, we left a window unlocked to access the coach and unlock the door from the inside.
This morning I got to figure out what was going on and fix it. I first had to remove the outer end of the door, the door handle, the 'fake' window frame, the deadbolt, and several other bits and pieces. This allowed me to partially remove the interior door panel, exposing the parts I needed to get to.
There are a couple of adjustments for the latch mechanism. My first suspect was the turnbuckle-style adjustment, but it was rock solid thanks to a couple of locking nuts and couldn't have moved. The culprit was an aircraft style adjustment nut on a 'long' rod, which seems to have worked its way back over the years. This had allowed the part of the latch actuated by the outside handle to move out of position and to no longer be able to unlock the latch.
A simple job to move the part back into position and a few turns on the aircraft nut, and everything works fine. Then replace all the bits and screws I'D removed.