HELP! Class A Running in Driveway and Door Lock Stuck!

[ochidoc]

WIth the cold weather approaching , we decided it was a good evening to finally winterize our 2005 Hurricane.  Started it up, turned on the heater, and shut the door without locking it.  Went back a few minutes later, and door is absolutley positively STUCK  Bolt is in , but keys are completey ineffective.  ( spare set, .. original is running the motorthome! )  First Locksmith came, and was CLUELESS, second one is here now.  ANY advice will be most appreciated  70 gallons of gas, and a broken window is a huge price to pay for a stuck lock?!?! 

 

[bucks2]

I'd try the remote unlock button. Or choose a window before I used 70 gallons of gas. Or depending on the type of windows you have, force one enough to break the lock tab. Or find a window that didn't get locked. Or open the hood and pull the coil wire to kill the engine and take some time to think. Or call the glass man and have him take out one half the windshield if I had a split windshield. Or use some big channel locks on the knob and destroy it to get into the latch mechanism, since it's maybe broke anyway. Or go thru the laundry chute and get inside that way. Or buy a big for sale sign..... cheap..... as is where is.....

Ken

 

[winniman]

i would drill out the tumbler on the door lock before i broke any windows . cheaper to replace a door lock than windows. did you get in yet . its been three hours.

 

[Frizlefrak]

Well, it's been several hours...how did you get in ?  (or did you?)

What Muskoga said....drill out the lock and you're in.  I can't believe a locksmith couldn't figure this one out. 

 

[John From Detroit]

Tri-,mark locks, common on many motor homes, mine included, teh striker bolt (Dead bolt too for that matter) is cheap base metal (White metal) and as it turns out the highest stress point is the weakest point on the bolt.. I think you can see where this goes 

This happened once to my entry door. I came in via a window, took it apart and picked the lock. (Carded actually)

It has  happened to abut half my basement doors.. If it breaks when I open the door.. Great, Pick up parts and  fix it properly.. If it happens when door is latched,

Well, I can open it faster with a speciall tool (A very common tool, curved forceps) than I can with the key.

but the entry door is better protected.

 

[Seilerbird]

Well disconnecting the battery won't help.

 

[dave612]

A "locksmith" can't unlock the door?

 

[Ned]

Are you sure it isn't frozen?

 

[Robert K1]

Why not simply disconnect the battery?
As long as the alternator is charging it would keep running. Pulling the coil wire if you can get to it with the best insulated pliers you have would work

 

[Seilerbird]

Why not simply disconnect the battery?
As long as the alternator is charging it would keep running. Pulling the coil wire if you can get to it with the best insulated pliers you have would work

{wipes egg off face}

 

[ochidoc]

UPDATE.  Epic fail on this one......      Renaming this thing the money pit. 

Our friend , a 20 year veteran of our police dept and TWO locksmiths could not break into the vehicle.  Finally , after about five hours of this fiasco, the locksmith broke out the window on the door and climbed in , hoping to disassemble it from the inside.  ( He was an extraordinarilly tiny man! )  Even from the inside , he was unable to even remove the lock.  He shut off the engine, turned out the lights and climbed out the bigger window, which we have left unlocked.  I am SO frustrated. 

Its probably not even safe to drive to the RV repair shop in this state.  .   

Maybe in daylight we can try to disassemble the lock ourselves?  Suggestions on this?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm still not clear on the nature of the problem. Is the lock the issue, i.e. somehow it got locked and will not unlock, or is it that the door is unlocked but still cannot be opened?  Two entirely different situations to deal with.  You have received several ideas on how to deal with a recalcitrant lock, but if the problem is the door itself...

 

[ochidoc]

Gary,

Apparantly the lock itself is broken to the point where it is latched, and cannot be released.  We had the key last night and it was ineffective.  The locksmith(S) were unable to unlatch the lock/bolt  from the engaged position either from the outside of the motorhome OR the inside.  So the lock is broken, and locked. 

Ken:  I LOVE the  "FOR SALE"  sign idea.  Im ready. 

 

[becks-WO]

Knowing these MH locks fail often, we keep a window unlatched at all times, as I'm sure you will to in the future. Good luck.

 

[SkyKing4AR2]

I didn't see anyone tell you to starve the fuel or air system (which is certainly after the horse is out of the barn) but that's the first effort to any runaway engine situation (which is not technically what you had) but still wouldn't have solved your lock issue. But it might have reduced the panic somewhat.

Having had one lock throw itself when the door closed with the key inside, we do keep one window unlatched. Again, hindsight.

Your experience, though, was certainly a nightmare.

 

[bucks2]

So it appears we're down to the latch itself is no longer communicating properly with the knob/handle since the inside latch doesn't work either. Now we're back to destroying the knob/handle to gain access to the latch assembly. If a good locksmith looked at taking it apart from the inside and determined it wasn't a matter of unscrewing, I'd take that as gospel that I needed demo work.

Were it me I'd be concentrating on not damaging the door while I destroyed the door handle enough to get in to where the latch pulls the striker tongue. Here's a guess, it's going to be plastic and the ears simple broke off. You might be able to drill enough holes to "swiss cheese" the latch plate and get in. I believe it will be easier to dismantle/destroy from the inside, IF you can get inside to do it. Maybe a neighbor kid can go in the small window and unlatch a big one? Drill, big pliers, and some luck.

Ken

 

[Molaker]

Just one small reason I don't like the design of many class As...only one door.  Only one way in and one way out, barring emergency exit.

 

[winniman]

thats why im glad mine has the driver door . very useful. i am no expert on mh door locks but have installed hundreds of house and commercial door sets. they generally install from the inside and generally you can remove a couple of screws  and remove the lockset. once this is out of the way you should be able to pull the plunger with a screwdriver to open the door. once the door is open you remove the plunger that is concealed when the door is closed.if no screws are visible on the inside of the door,  some locksets have little holes that you have to insert a pointed tool like an awl to remove the handset. once the handle is removed you should be able to remove the ring concealing the screws.  it cant be that simple if a locksmith cant remove a doorset. are these things installed by rocket scientists or something. i would like to know the results in case it ever happens to mine. guess you still need the lock replaced as well as a window replacement. dont let the minor setbacks discourage your enjoyment. good luck

 

[ochidoc]

Muskoka guy.. that was very helpful.. thank you.  I have the brother in law arriving tomorrow for New Years Dinner and he is the handyman of the family.  Hope he can get himself in the side window and perform some lock magic.  I may make it a condition of him eating dinner, actually..... For now, the door window is taped up, and I'm just avoiding the whole thing for a day.  Thankful; this did not happen while we were on the road. . The driveway was enough of a nightmare... dont want to even think about being stranded with all our " stufff" locked inside.  There will be a window open from here on out. .    stay tuned....

 

[dan23]

I know this is a day late and a dollar short..... but, could you reach the spark plug wires? would it have been an alternative to pull them?
A two person job? Or just plain a bad idea