'99 Bounder Front Door Lock

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chuckbear

chuckbear

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Joined
Aug 20, 2015
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Manning, SC
Has anyone replaced the front door lock on a Bounder of my vintage? If so, I need details, mine needs to be replaced shortly. I know it's made by TriMark but they won't help me in determining a replacement unless I take it apart to get the original part number. I'm concerned with doing that in case something breaks or falls apart and I can't get it back together and working until I find a replacement. Any help is appreciated. Chuck





 

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Not that it matters, but the latch doesn't always keep the door closed tightly and it is getting more difficult to lock and unlock with the key. Chuck
 
Sorry, but I thought it just might matter.  My door lock is exactly the same as yours and over the years I've found that the symptoms you listed were correctable with an adjustment of the whole latch and handle.  "Not that it matters", but when the latch binds a little on the peg in the door frame, it can cause a bind in both the handle and the key lock.
 
Unfortunately I don't have the expertise to do any adjustments to the latch. I don't even know how to begin pulling it apart, hence my concern in starting anything that I might screw up. Without any idea of the inner workings and how it all goes together, I'm worried about putting myself in a position where I take it apart and it will not go back together in working order. Most parts to this coach have not responded well to attempts at repairs. On the other hand, replacing those parts have worked out fine and I can feel confident that everything will work fine for some time to come. So I would prefer to bite the bullet and get the correct replacement parts and not have to deal with again in the near future. That's why  ask for feedback from others that have replaced the latch. Chuck
 
Not that it matters, but the adjustments that I made did not entail taking the thing apart.  I simply loosened the three phillips head screws, and the entire assembly can be moved in just about any direction necessary to improve the latching capability and unlatching operation.  The striker post can also be adjusted if the door latch and striker bolt get misaligned.

The key slot and internal action might be helped with a shot of graphite.
 
The striker bolt is fixed in the door jam so can't be moved. There is nothing that will be fixed by moving the latch assembly around in the cut out. I really want to replace it and would like some info from anyone that has. Thanks. Chuck
 
chuckbear said:
The striker bolt is fixed in the door jam so can't be moved. There is nothing that will be fixed by moving the latch assembly around in the cut out. I really want to replace it and would like some info from anyone that has. Thanks. Chuck
Click to expand...
NO, the striker bolt is not fixed in the door jam.  You can loosen the bolt and move it slightly in any direction and then re-tighten.  It's been designed to be the main  point of latch adjustment.  In fact, I have replaced mine with one that does not have the hex shaped end on it that used to catch on every piece of loose fitting clothing that passed. 

You can loosen the striker by turning the hex shaped nut, but if your mind is made up, I'll quit confusing you with facts.
 
You can view all the available Tri-Mark locks on their website:
http://www.trimarkcorp.com/en/zPlatFormList.aspx?intcategoryid=89&topcategoryid=175&scategoryid=176

This one appears to be what you have:
http://www.trimarkcorp.com/en/zPlatform.aspx?platformid=22&categoryid=89

I'm inclined to agree with Just Lou that the problem is more likely one of alignment than wear & tear on the latch itself, but if you are more comfortable with replacing it, that's your call.
 
I was experiencing the same symptoms with the door on our '96 Bounder.
Loosened up the latch and moved it just a tad and the thing worked perfectly thereafter.

Corky
 
 
Just Lou said:
NO, the striker bolt is not fixed in the door jam.  You can loosen the bolt and move it slightly in any direction and then re-tighten.  It's been designed to be the main  point of latch adjustment.  In fact, I have replaced mine with one that does not have the hex shaped end on it that used to catch on every piece of loose fitting clothing that passed. 

You can loosen the striker by turning the hex shaped nut, but if your mind is made up, I'll quit confusing you with facts.
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Lou, To help me understand this, based on the attached photo, how would the striker bolt be moved up or down or right to left. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I don't see how this can be done. What you see is the bolt sticking out of a hole in the door jamb frame and the space at the top of the bolt is maybe a 1/16th of an inch. Adjusting it longer or shorter will not help and the current position is fine. Chuck
 

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Corky, Part of the problem is that the latch moves around in the cut out in the door on its own and no amount of tightening will keep it in one place. Although the movement is very small. Chuck
 
chuckbear said:
Lou, To help me understand this, based on the attached photo, how would the striker bolt be moved up or down or right to left. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I don't see how this can be done. What you see is the bolt sticking out of a hole in the door jamb frame and the space at the top of the bolt is maybe a 1/16th of an inch. Adjusting it longer or shorter will not help and the current position is fine. Chuck
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I see your dilemma.  As you can see, by the marks and scaring around the bolt, there is a large washer that is missing from your photo.  The captive nut (inside the jam) that holds the bolt, is made to slide around behind the jam when loosened.  The washer, if in place, would hold the shoulder of that bolt up out of the hole.  The threaded shank of that bolt is smaller in diameter than the extended portion of the bolt.  The adjustment range is the difference between the hole size and the shank size.  This gives an adjustment range of  ~1/4" in all directions.  I hope that's not too confusing.

That washer is an important part of the adjustment capability.

Further EDIT:
If the door unlatches and relatches smoothly (and the only problem is in the locking/unlocking) then an adjustment is probably not needed.  However, you previously said that the latch sometimes didn't hold.  I would suspect that this was caused by the bolt being positioned to far inward so the latch was not firmly grasping the bolt.  This may interfere with the ability to lock and unlock it.
 
Unfortunately there isn't a 1/4 inch of adjustment, maybe half that. The door will sometimes close tight, sometimes not. When it does, it can and will pop loose enough to rattle around but not enough to open. This is annoying when driving down the road. The key is getting difficult to lock the door from the outside and getting worse. When this happened with the storage compartment doors the only option was to replace them. They just stopped locking and unlocking. Now that those are all new, might as well replace the door lock also. Chuck
 
Chuck, you gain the adjustment range when you add the washer.  The washer will only go up the threaded part of the bolt until it reaches the shoulder (the actual full diameter of the bolt).  As I said earlier, the threaded part is a smaller diameter than the bolt shaft and smaller than the hole.  This gives plenty of adjustment range.

My personal opinion is that replacing the latch assembly, without fixing that latch BOLT (putting that washer back on) will not solve your door closing and latching problem.  You may, indeed, also have a key problem, but the chances are good that getting the door to properly close will solve that too.  The key lock mechanism inside that door latch is substantially more sturdy than those compartment locks you mentioned.  I would be shocked if they are worn at all.  Over and out.
 
Remove (or just loosen) the barrel bolt enough to check the size of the actual threaded part.  Any hardware store will have a fender washer to fit.  The washer just has to be larger in outside diameter than the hole, with a center hole smaller in diameter than the barrel part of the bolt.

Don't get one so big that it is wider than the jam.
 
Lou, Will the captive nut stay in place when the striker bolt is removed? I've heard horror stories about the captive nut falling down in the door jam. I may want remove mine some day and grind off the bolt head.

Thanks
Richard
 
rls7201 said:
Lou, Will the captive nut stay in place when the striker bolt is removed? I've heard horror stories about the captive nut falling down in the door jam. I may want remove mine some day and grind off the bolt head.

Thanks
Richard
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Rich, mine did not.  I can't guarantee that some won't.  Several years ago there was a fellow who made bolts without the hex head, and would send you one for FREE for the asking.  I got one from him and was able to install it in about five minutes.
 
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