RV water door key from older 88 RV

My water fill door lock seized again this spring. I got a vice grip on the lock and twisted it until the door opened. Measured it and bought a new one which came with two keys. I happened to try a new key on the old lock and it worked!

On the registration problem, I also have an experience. When I purchased a new utility trailer from Home Depot about ten years ago I didn’t buy a new license plate, used used the one from our old pop up tent trailer. Last year I loaned the pop up to son in law so I needed a new plate for the utility trailer. I went to the local licensing office and was told a sales slip from the store was needed. Home Depot didn’t have a record of the purchase. Then the lady at the licensing office said she could deal with this problem by having my wife sell me the trailer. That transfer cost $20 and another $30 for the license plate with registration papers.

Coincidentally my water fill door lock also seized up. Penetrating oil didn’t work. In desperation I used a pair of vice grips to turn the whole thing far enough to open the door and fill the water tank. Wonder of wonders, no damage to lock or door. I pulled the clip to dismount the lock, soaked it overnight in CLR, then applied lots of penetrating oil and left it all day in an air tight plastic container. I had to use some brute force to turn it by the arm/catch with the key in. Now it seems to open easily with the key, so I mounted it on the door again.

I would like to buy half a dozen of them for the cargo doors as well. They seem to have a limited lifetime.

I drilled out the lock and found a replacement lock.

Drilled out lock:





new lock from ebay seller, $4.99 with shipping, CL943 Cam Lock, 7/8" long

Silly title vs insurance statements aside, if you don’t want to punch the lock out, odds are there’s a key that will work. And if all else fails, old wore out GM keys seem to open a lot of stuff. I’ve used a couple for old traielr/rv locks over the years.

Can I have $10 door lock vs lost title for $200 Alex?

After some measuring and searching for cam locks. I found what is needed for the water inlet door is a 16mm long cam lock. The hole in the water inlet door the diameter isn't perfectly round and measures 16mm x 18mm.

The length is important, some cam locks come with a couple of different types of metal locking tabs that locks the door panel to a RV, which is either a straight type and one that's bent L shaped.

Typical lengths are usually in mm or inch.

MM - 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, etc.

Inches - 5/8", 7/8", 1", 1.25", etc.

So it's important to measure the length of the threaded part of the lock to determine it's a proper length for the door panels width.

My door panel on the other E-350 motorhome is 1/2" inch thick and the exiting lock that needs replacement is a 7/8" long (which equates to approx. ~22.22mm)

Being off a little on the length the door panel may become too loose or the cam lock will be too short to fit the door panel.

Anyway if you can find dimensions for a cam lock helps to find one that fit's a RV door panel, replacing any existing lock.

Lwiddis wrote:
How did you buy liability insurance without clear title?

I haven't and one can't license a vehicle to travel on public roads & highways without a title. (AFAIK for all US states, perhaps other countries the laws are different) In the US each state write their own DMV laws as their's really no Federal Laws (other than perhaps for commercial vehicles, etc.) that control operations of motor vehicles on public roads.

Federal vehicle laws mostly are concern with the manufacturing and selling of motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment. If a manufacture or store here in the US manufactures or even sells non-DOT equipment for vehicle the Feds literally can put them out of business.

When a car manufacture manufactures a vehicle the parts of the cars such as vehicle lighting, various electronics, other parts of the vehicle need to be DOT approved. In order to obtain DOT approval and certifcation the parts e.g. headlight for a vehicle, and engineering designs need to be sent to the DOT for inspection and certification. Once DOT approved then assembly line production is able to start.
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The Feds don't normally prosecute people with expired license tabs or people going over the speed limit as each state as well as local jurisdictions create their own DMV laws and speeds limits which includes vehicle licensing.

However with a bonded title from the state you want to register the vehicle you can license a vehicle for public highways.

If your vehicle isn't ever taken onto public highways then I don't believe any of our US states require a vehicle registration with title. There are many modified 4x4 vehicles that are like this, that are usually towed to a private (non-public) off-road areas and legally be driven, however if caught on what is deemed as public roads such as National Forest service roads, etc. and caught by a ranger or other law enforcement agency the driver can be ticketed and the vehicle even impounded. This is a mistake some off-roaders make with 4x4's and ATV's which require licenses to drive on public areas such as National Forest areas. The ATV is another class all together as they aren't allowed on some public on and off-road areas. Each area is different so if using an ATV around any public areas you may want to first find the regulations for that particular area.
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As far as needing a clear title to obtain insurance would be up the the insurance company. Basically the purpose of a title is a requirement for vehicle state licensing. Which an insurance company may or may not require.

There are also different types of Titles such as ones that have a lienholder such as from a bank loan and then there are Salvage titles, Rebuilt Salvage titles, Flood damage title, Surety Bond title and other dependent on what state the vehicle is licensed.

The title does denote some sort of ownership as each state keeps records of past and present title of a vehicle, however I'm uncertain if the title is a legal a bill of sale or be used to replace a bill of sale. Most DMV's recommend besides a title to also have a bill of sale with at least the following information.

Date of sale.
Make, model, and year of vehicle.
Complete vehicle description (color, body style)
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
Odometer reading.
Buyer's full name and address.
Seller's full name and address.
Signatures of buyer(s) and seller(s)

VIN on the vehicle should match the VIN of the title. Unless it's e.g. a Salvage rebuilt title, etc. Salvage rebuilt even if inspected don't necessarily mean a vehicle can be licensed to be driven on a public highway. Other inspections may be required by the state to obtain a clear title.

IMO, a one hundred percent clear title won't have any lien on the vehicles title. So if you purchase a new or used car via a bank loan then the bank is still legally in control of the car and title.

I'm not certain if you would need to junk out a vehicle without a title. Most if not all states have surety bonds where you can purchase a bond for 1.5 times what a vehicles is worth. Some states first inspect the vehicle and place a value on the vehicle.

My state will issue a surety bond if the vehicle's original title isn't from another state or if you have the title from another state. (if you already have the title from another state I don't see any reason for a bond title as you can normally have a titled transferred from one state to another)

Usually if a vehicle is worth 6k or less then the surety bond will be around a hundred dollars perhaps $125.00. Once you purchase the bond (which covers the state from any liabilities) The state issues a bond title where on the title it will say the title was issued through a surety bond.

This bond will stay with the title for a min. of three years. If no one makes a valid claim for the vehicle (which needs to be applied for through the DMV), you can apply to have the bond removed from the title.

One problem iftrying to get a bond title from Alaska is the vehicle needs to be in Alaska for it to be inspected in order to get a surety bond title from Alaska. Since the vehicle has no title It would need to be hauled via flat bed or flat towed (as a toad) up to Alaska which is over 2,400 miles traveling by road.

Or you could pay a fare and ferry it up to Alaska. That's how many people travel to Alaska without needed to go through Customs.

However time and and trouble to travel up to and back from Alaksa may not be worth the expense, since it an older B-Class that's in need of repairs.

There are other avenues to gain a title. I'm not certain how this works. A person whose father use to be a sheriff told me If no title is issued via the State he knows ways to get a title by first reporting the vehicle to the authorities as abandoned.

Andonso wrote:
No not from what I've been told by the sellers who I've know for a while. I was told it was sold by the wife whose husband has past away . From what I've been told she is in her 80s and no longer travels. It appears it has been sitting unused for quite a long time.


I don't believe it's stolen as a person had it checked out by a cop and was told there were no reports of being stolen, liens on it, etc. Appears to have been sitting in one spot for a very long time, somewhere up in Alaska as it has Alaska plates.

I hope that you are able to find a title. Around here if you lose the title you have to junk it out. If I were you I would chase down the title before you do any work to it only to find out that there is no way to register it. Hoping for the best!