2013 Trimark door handle
Last weekend I went get a few items out of my RV but when I pulled the door handle I felt something snap then nothing happened, as in the door did not open. To make a long story short I called Trimark (a division of Dexter) and asked for guidance on how to get into my RV without damaging the door. After trying several things we decided that the handle had an internal failure and the only solution was to take a drill to the handle and commence destroying it to the point that I could get at the plunger directly to pull it back and release the door. The door has to be released to get at some of the screws that hold the handle in. This was surprisingly easy to do since the handle is made of aluminum and drilled easily inspite of its mass and heft. I ordered a new door handle which came in yesterday and I installed it so I am back in business. The new handle is quite different inside and appears to be much more durable but did require some minor modifications to install (I had to grind off some unused tabs on the deadbolt mechanism). I am just thankful that this happened at home where I had lots of tools available and I was not in a hurry.
Anyway, my coach was built in early 2013 and if you remove the inside plate of the door handle, which is easy to do, you could see a three legged white plastic piece near the bottom which transfer the motion from the handles to the plunger. One leg had broken off of that plastic piece, disconnecting the handles from the plunger. If I had know a week ago what I know now I would have replaced that handle assembly with a new one before it broke. You may wish to do the same. The $100 and 15 minutes to install a new handle at home was trivial compared to the aggrevation that would have been incurred had I been on a trip.
Some indications that you may have the style of handle that gave me trouble are that the lock for the outside pull paddle is built into the paddle and moves with it. When you pull the outside paddle out you can see the tip of a self drilling screw just sticking out near the center left to right and near the bottom on the part still in the door. This screw provides the pivot point for the plastic piece that broke. I have no idea how long this design was in production.
My thanks go out to Denny at Dexter that stayed on the phone with me well into his personal time to guide me while I hacked on this thing. He did offer to help me with getting a new handle but I already had one on order.
Anyway, my coach was built in early 2013 and if you remove the inside plate of the door handle, which is easy to do, you could see a three legged white plastic piece near the bottom which transfer the motion from the handles to the plunger. One leg had broken off of that plastic piece, disconnecting the handles from the plunger. If I had know a week ago what I know now I would have replaced that handle assembly with a new one before it broke. You may wish to do the same. The $100 and 15 minutes to install a new handle at home was trivial compared to the aggrevation that would have been incurred had I been on a trip.
Some indications that you may have the style of handle that gave me trouble are that the lock for the outside pull paddle is built into the paddle and moves with it. When you pull the outside paddle out you can see the tip of a self drilling screw just sticking out near the center left to right and near the bottom on the part still in the door. This screw provides the pivot point for the plastic piece that broke. I have no idea how long this design was in production.
My thanks go out to Denny at Dexter that stayed on the phone with me well into his personal time to guide me while I hacked on this thing. He did offer to help me with getting a new handle but I already had one on order.
