Door won't close without slamming it

hook47 wrote:
Had the same issue of a difficult to close door. Had sprayed silicone, didn't last long nor really fix the issue. Tried dry lube, the spray kind with PTE in it. Made it vastly worse. Then tried Blaster 12oz Garage Door Lube and problem solved. Now one finger will close it with hardly any effort at all. I just sprayed the heck out of the latch mechanism with this stuff, didn't have to do any cleaning first. If you read the label it dries without being tacky. Great stuff.

Got this and it worked like a charm! Thank you!

It's the door to the travel trailer. I have unscrewed and moved the plate from trailer side to the max and it still requires a heavy push to click in. I can't see anything on the door side that I could move.

Next step would be to dremel the holes wider on the plate so that I can screw it a little bit further?

Tough to make a call when you have no idea what door he's talking about. Exterior? Interior? Truck? Camper? 5th wheel? Screen door? What?

Kwikset came out with a strikers plate years ago with a button of nylon where the latch hit the plate. Not the best set up but a good idea. What I have found over years of building, remodeling and using these latches is that money helps. High quality equipment generally works better than spec stuff. But lets just assume you have a mid range setup. Smoothing the unfinished edges of the parts that side against one another and applying a film of lubricant can make all the difference in how things work. TriMark door latches are notorious for having crappy finish on the potmetal casting. Some 1500 or 1800 wet or dry paper will polish the parts and make them slide. When I buy a wood plane iron, I polish it until it is mirror like. You need half the effort and get a better cut if you do.

I was having trouble this spring. No matter how hard you slam the door it would not close until you pulled the handle a little. I went through and tightened all the screws associated with the door including all hinge screws for the main and screen door, latch system and even the screws holding the frame in the camper. After that it would latch if you slammed it. As I was doing all of that I also noticed that the goofy cheesy threshold cover had popped up over the lower part of the frame. I removed that and the door could be pushed closed with one finger. This left us with a tripping hazard so I went to Menards and got a 10' pc. of oak window trim that was the same height and countersunk some screws in it and it looks better than the factory

eric1514 wrote:
Sometimes you need to do more than lube it. Close the door slowly and look at what's rubbing or interfering with a smooth closing. Take a magic marker and "paint" different parts and see where the marker is rubbing off. Study it closely.

On my MH, the jamb started to bow in towards the latch on the door; the jamb and the hinge sides were no longer parallel. I have no idea why. A straight edge along the jamb confirmed this. The door latch was hitting on a "flat" and not on the sloped face. I spread the opening slightly and now it closes with one finger.

Good Luck,
Eric

My 2002 TT had the same problem. For whatever reason, the clearance between the door jamb and the door edge reduced slightly, causing the latch to hit on the flat part. This required either slamming or pulling the release handle slightly while closing. In my case the jamb was not bowed.

To fix the problem, I removed the two screws at the door edge that held the latch in place. I installed a couple of washers inside the door between the door edge and the latch. This retracted the latch into the door slightly (1/8" or so) and now the latch hit the striker plate on the sloped part and shut easily.

Steve

Sometimes you need to do more than lube it. Close the door slowly and look at what's rubbing or interfering with a smooth closing. Take a magic marker and "paint" different parts and see where the marker is rubbing off. Study it closely.

On my MH, the jamb started to bow in towards the latch on the door; the jamb and the hinge sides were no longer parallel. I have no idea why. A straight edge along the jamb confirmed this. The door latch was hitting on a "flat" and not on the sloped face. I spread the opening slightly and now it closes with one finger.

Good Luck,
Eric

I rub candle wax on the latch plate and the plunger. Still works great and no need to slam.

chevman

Two options. on an RV Id' guess the striker plate or the guide bolts need adjustment.

on a car or pickup.. the entire door (Hinges wear a bit) if the vehicle is old the hinges may need re-pinning,but it is possible a striker/guide adjustment may work there as well.

Had the same issue of a difficult to close door. Had sprayed silicone, didn't last long nor really fix the issue. Tried dry lube, the spray kind with PTE in it. Made it vastly worse. Then tried Blaster 12oz Garage Door Lube and problem solved. Now one finger will close it with hardly any effort at all. I just sprayed the heck out of the latch mechanism with this stuff, didn't have to do any cleaning first. If you read the label it dries without being tacky. Great stuff.