Door latch
Why do all trailers/RVs use the same old standard type door latch/lock? I've had 3 trailers/5ver and they all have been a pain in the rear. They never close easily, you gotta slam them to make them la...
Forum Discussion
DutchmenSport wrote:We had this same thing happen on our TT after we first got it. Couldn't get the deadbolt to work with the stab. jacks down and even when they weren't snugged up very tight all. DW used to panic about ax murderers getting in at night. We have a very HD frame on our TT compared to the standard (8" tall + thicker steel) and couldn't believe it still flexed enough to affect the door lock.
If you are tightening your stabilizer jacks to the point you are near lifting the camper, it's possible it's causing the frame to flex, thus throwing the door frame out of alignment, causing the door to open and close hard.
There was no adjustment left in the strike plate and I had to take it out and file the opening downwards. Worked great after that. One annoying thing was we had the dealer check it out and they could not fix it (typical with them)...
If it's worse with the stab. jacks down and you have one of the more flexible type frames out there plus poorly installed strike plates, this can easily happen. The strike plate may need to be moved inwards/outwards and/or up/down. Try putting on a piece of green painter's tape on the strike plate and see if you can make the latch and deadbolt make a mark on it - or make some careful measurements.
If you have to slam it, something is wrong. Sometimes you can just pull the handle inwards lightly to get the deadbolt or latch to slide in better. Or from the outside, push the door inward lightly. I assume the doors are prehung in the frames by the manufacturer (Lippert?) so can't blame the RV manufacturer.
