Forum Discussion

JimM68's avatar
JimM68
Explorer
Dec 13, 2013

door latches?

there are several cabinets in our motorhome that the latches just don't get the job done. Twice over the past three years, we've had corel dishes shattering on the tile floor, and every trip the cabinet we keep the pots and pans pops open and makes a lot of noise....

I found these really cool cabinet catches, brass ones, with adjustable tension, very cool stuff.

But they came with no templates and no installation instructions!

If the male and female parts are off even a sixteenth of an inch, they won't work!

Any tips, tricks, or clues?
  • I put my dishes in the 2 cabinets that have their handles close together and loop one of those big round twistems between the handles for travel.
    bumpy
  • Might help. We have the soft plastic lining on the shelves. It grips the dinnerware etc very firmly. The dishes which are stacked only about 6 high have little soft plastic doilies between them.
    She has a little frame, for want of a better word, she bought at CW, I think for storing dishes. They are set in it. Most of the other stuff just sits there on the soft plastic shelf lining. I'm sure we've had something spill out but don't remember when.
    When we had our Fifth Wheel, with a roll our or glide out pantry, we had more than one incident but with canned goods etc. We used small bungies and ties etc. The latch on the door was firm but no deterrent.
    I think the reason we have fewer problems now is the design of shelves and doors. You can't stack a lot of anything behind them and accumulate a lot of weight. We can get quite a bit of weight in some of them because they are real deep but not real tall. Only exception, is the Section of I59 in Alabama which which loosened screws, bolts, the washer and staples holding on parts, of cabinets. I was amazed the batteries didn't come out. We increased tire pressure because we were hauling a lot of stuff to our Daughter's. shouldn't have. Don't have to run tire pressure anywhere near maximum, on tire.
  • Spring loaded curtain rods cost about $1.50 and do a great job. I use them in the frige too, just in case.
  • The best I have found and I installed them on all the drawers and cabinets in my coach are manufactured by: Southco

    Just type Southco latches on Goggle and you can find them there. They are called door grabber latch Part #C3-805

    You can get them in 5 lb pull or 10 lb pull. Mine are 5 lb pull and they work really good and they are durable.
  • Depending on the handle types and spacing of the cabinet doors, You might look at the child proofing isle at walmart. They make some plastic locks that slip over the handles and are adjustable that I have used in the past for just your situation.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    If I understand your latch set up what I would do is screw one portion to the door and use double back tape on the cabinet side off the latch. Trim the tape and outline the holes on the tape to be used as a template to drill later. Prior to applying the tape to the backside of the latch rub a small amount of cream or oil on your finger and rub on latch when you close the door tightly the tape will stick to the cabinet and come off the latch allowing you to drill your 2 attach holes through the tape within 1/32 on an inch.
  • Gjac wrote:
    If I understand your latch set up what I would do is screw one portion to the door and use double back tape on the cabinet side off the latch. Trim the tape and outline the holes on the tape to be used as a template to drill later. Prior to applying the tape to the backside of the latch rub a small amount of cream or oil on your finger and rub on latch when you close the door tightly the tape will stick to the cabinet and come off the latch allowing you to drill your 2 attach holes through the tape within 1/32 on an inch.


    Thanks! Just the tp I was looking for. I'll give that a shot.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    You are welcome Jim. Jet us know how those new latches work out for you.