Screen door latch: don't make this mistake, like I did
Whenever we leave our trailer, we usually just close the screen door and then slam the outer door. (Spoiler alert: that's the big mistake, right there.) We've been doing it this way for 14 years and two trailers.
A couple of weeks ago, we slammed the door, the way we always do. The little handle on the screen door latch snapped off. I had to remove the latch in order to get the screen door open.
I went to Camping World and got a new one. It is tricky to figure out whether you need a right hand latch or a left hand one. Tip: when you stand inside your RV and the door hinge is on your left, then you need a right hand screen door latch. (The Camping World salesperson was very knowledgeable -- I wasn't.)
But the real light-bulb went on when I was installing the new latch. I had a chance to spend a lot of time with the design and the materials and the placement of the components, trying to figure out what went wrong.
Bottom line: DON'T JUST SLAM THE OUTER DOOR against the already-closed screen door, which is what we had been doing all along. Bad idea. It eventually causes material fatigue, and the handle will break.
Instead, when it is time to close the outer door, FIRST latch the screen door to the outer door by depressing the little handle. An angled hook on the outer door then engages the little handle on the screen door latch; the hook holds the screen door handle in a slightly-depressed position, so that the "tongue" of the screen door latch retracts. Once the screen door handle is engaged by the hook, then it is ok to close the main door.
Here are some photos that should clarify the problem. This is what the hook looks like in profile – notice the sloping “nose” of the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.
This is the handle of the screen door latch, in a “depressed” position, ready to engage the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.
This is the handle engaged by the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.
And this, in my opinion, is the culprit – this is the backside of the screen door latch handle, with a little angled cutout. The cutout is supposed to slide down the nose of the hook and pop into the engaged position:
Click For Full-Size Image.
I had never paid any attention to the interaction of the angled hook and the sloping cutout on the backside of the latch handle. Theoretically, these two components are designed to engage the handle automatically, as the handle slides down under the pressure of the hook. In the real world, though, the materials are not tough enough to handle that impact. Eventually, the handle will break.
After doing it the wrong way for so many years, this is going to be a hard habit to break. I have posted a little reminder on the inside of the door lock: LATCH SCREEN FIRST.
A couple of weeks ago, we slammed the door, the way we always do. The little handle on the screen door latch snapped off. I had to remove the latch in order to get the screen door open.
I went to Camping World and got a new one. It is tricky to figure out whether you need a right hand latch or a left hand one. Tip: when you stand inside your RV and the door hinge is on your left, then you need a right hand screen door latch. (The Camping World salesperson was very knowledgeable -- I wasn't.)
But the real light-bulb went on when I was installing the new latch. I had a chance to spend a lot of time with the design and the materials and the placement of the components, trying to figure out what went wrong.
Bottom line: DON'T JUST SLAM THE OUTER DOOR against the already-closed screen door, which is what we had been doing all along. Bad idea. It eventually causes material fatigue, and the handle will break.
Instead, when it is time to close the outer door, FIRST latch the screen door to the outer door by depressing the little handle. An angled hook on the outer door then engages the little handle on the screen door latch; the hook holds the screen door handle in a slightly-depressed position, so that the "tongue" of the screen door latch retracts. Once the screen door handle is engaged by the hook, then it is ok to close the main door.
Here are some photos that should clarify the problem. This is what the hook looks like in profile – notice the sloping “nose” of the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.This is the handle of the screen door latch, in a “depressed” position, ready to engage the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.This is the handle engaged by the hook:
Click For Full-Size Image.And this, in my opinion, is the culprit – this is the backside of the screen door latch handle, with a little angled cutout. The cutout is supposed to slide down the nose of the hook and pop into the engaged position:
Click For Full-Size Image.I had never paid any attention to the interaction of the angled hook and the sloping cutout on the backside of the latch handle. Theoretically, these two components are designed to engage the handle automatically, as the handle slides down under the pressure of the hook. In the real world, though, the materials are not tough enough to handle that impact. Eventually, the handle will break.
After doing it the wrong way for so many years, this is going to be a hard habit to break. I have posted a little reminder on the inside of the door lock: LATCH SCREEN FIRST.
