The drawers on my TT have nice side mount metal glides with ball bearings in them. They run in and out smoothly.Trouble is, when I drive down the road most of them open up and slide in and out as I drive.Not all are like that, there are a couple that stay shut. The ones that work seem to have resistance in closing the last half inch or so. You have to pull firmly to get them started. It appears that this is part of the design of the glides. Does anyone know if the glides do in fact have a built in resistance area when closed to prevent them from flying open? Perhaps mine are just worn out. Can these be purchased somewhere if so?Kind of annoying having to close everything every time I stop somewhere, not to mention the potential for damage.I could just get creative with some magnets but I'd rather fix it properly.ThanksBob

I installed these RV Designer H316 Black Push Latch

You could try old fashioned baby safety catches

Take a very close look at both a slide that fails to stay closed and one that works as intended. Find the difference and if it is a design difference replace with the type that works. If the difference is more along the lines of an adjustment make the adjustment on all the drawers that fail. Simple enough if all the slides are of the same brand.

BobsYourUncle wrote:Does anyone know if the glides do in fact have a built in resistance area when closed to prevent them from flying open? This resistance area is called "latch" :)Take the drawer completely out and you will see it. Flimsy plastic part, wears out or breaks in no time. Install baby latch or put a tight rubber band on the knobs of 2 adjacent drawers.

http://www.southco.com/en-us/c3These are the ones I use. The are available in 3, 5 and 10 lb. release. Used in marine and aircraft industry.

Drawers won't stay shut - Argh!! | Good Sam Community

33 Replies

rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jul 11, 2016
Boy sure makes me glad I decided to keep my older RV and not upgrade.

My drawers NEVER come open, not a one of them. I think if I had paid big bucks for a new RV and the darn drawers were made so cheap they wouldn't stay closed and I had to bungee them....I think I'd go postal! :B
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Jul 11, 2016
Looks like my fix of taking the rubber things off, turning them around and bending the drawer slide tabs in a bit is working.
Lots of driving through the the Rockies and all over parts of BC and the drawers are staying shut. Had one only pop open once. Lots of to and fro and braking - accelerating.

Visiting many places in BC and having a ball!
Life is good!
Yeti_plus
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
One of the drawers on the Bigfoot was overloaded and one of the tracks twisted, so needed replacement. Found a new one identical to what Bigfoot uses at Lee Valley Tools. Having the exact replacement made the job easier.
Not sure of their Alberta retail stores, but they also sell online.
Brian
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Jul 01, 2016
RCMAN46 wrote:
To the OP you could try balancing the trailer tires if they have not been balanced.

Made a world of differance with my 5th wheel.

Balance the trailer tires.....
OK, I'll bite! Do tell!
RCMAN46
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016
To the OP you could try balancing the trailer tires if they have not been balanced.

Made a world of differance with my 5th wheel.
westend
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016
Tom,
Nice find! Those you have should be plenty strong for a drawer or cabinet. Adding iron in the field direction of the magnet actually increases the force so the screw head should benefit attraction.
Tom_M1
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016
Bought some of these on eBay:

3/4 Inch Rare Earth Neodymium Cup Magnet

They work great. No glue needed. Counter bore and attach with a flat-head screw.
harold1946
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
18-8 stainless steel is not as magnetic as pure steel but you do not want pure steel. It is a fight to open the drawer unless the magnet has been sinked (too) deep and furthermore steel rusts. 18-8 does not. Trial and try to establish proper pull retention via hole depth. Two magnets one on each side of drawer or cabinet is the hot setup. If you sink two magnets and find the pull to be too weak, big-deal, sink a third magnet in the center. I do not like gizmo latches because they eventually fill up with road gunk.

Thanks for the clarification. Did not want anyone that is not familiar with stainless steel to be mistaken that any stainless would work.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016
304 is junky grade stainless, 18-8 is far and away the most common grade, while 316 is marine grade, uncommon, absolutely non-magnetic and costs like crazy. Any scrap dealer worth his salt can take a strong magnet (neodmium) and in an instant tell 304 from 18-8 and coveted 316. Prove it to yourself in a hardware store.

Slapping a 10x3 magnet against pure steel means a heck of a fight is coming to separate them. An N52 magnet and 18-8 stainless is a match made in heaven. But Chinese stainless is unpredictable. Proof the match before drilling and gluing. I chose #8 stainless fender washers. If push comes to fireworks use steel with several coats of lacquer. The main thing is to check the match. Use thicknesses of paper to separate magnet from steel to determine how deep to drill. I love the "both ends" 2 magnet bonding of drawers and cabinet doors. Big doors on Quicksilver are all "sliders". Bed and bathroom and entry.
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Jun 30, 2016
Mexico, interesting you mention using stainless steel.

I have always been of the belief that stainless is not magnetic and I've tried it over the years. Scrap metal places keep a magnet on hand to test for pure stainless, not magnetic.
But I have to surmise that the stainless you mention is in fact an alloy, with some ferrous metal in it, thus being magnetic.
I had a " stainless " tailgate guard on an old truck I had years ago and I remember being chapped because it was magnetic, so in my mind I thought they sold me a bill of goods rather than a stainless tailgate cover. I guess it was an alloy too.

I'm going to see how the drawers fare out on an upcoming trip for 2 weeks. After I have fiddled with the rubber thingys and bent the tabs at the back of the glides, it should be interesting to see if they hold or not.

Don't really have time before I leave to order the magnet stuff and install it but I do like this idea the best.
No hokey catches and latches to fiddle fool with. When I open a drawer I want to do just that, grab it and open it.