Baggage Door Latches Ripped Out.

I don't have those latches on mine, but one lesson I learned is when you bring people along that aren't familiar with the RV, you need to do an airline style briefing where you basically tell them don't touch anything! The first time (and last time) the in-laws came along I backed the RV into the space. The father-in-law felt the need to head to the back to guide me in. I just ignored him because I have a camera back there. Anyway once we got parked I went out and hooked up the power cord and took a look around to make sure I had enough clearance to open all the slides, which I did. The in-laws had gone over to sit at the picnic table. I went inside to open the slides and heard a strange noise coming from outside. Luckily I heard it in time to let go of the button before too much damage was done. I went outside and the father-in-law decided he still needed to help and had opened one of the compartment doors and started pulling out chairs. Of course the door opens directly into the path of the slide and had I not stopped it in time it would have ripped the door from it's hinges. Luckily all I got was a small scratch on the door.

I just did that on mine. my finger got pinched in it when i tried to release it, wind blew it. I overpowered it due to the pain. what a pita. now i have to replace it.

I try to never leave the doors in a latched open position, Its a little extra effort to open and close, but it has saved me some damage.

He aske how to repair it! Take a router with a small bit and grind out the damaged area only the depth of the fiberglas.. Take an electric sander and taper the edges. Buy a bondo kit and mix the fiberglas according to the instructions, cut the fiberglas a bit bigger than your ground out area, dip the fiberglas in the epoxy using proper gloves, not latex, and smooth it over the hole, don't over use the epoxy or it will drio and is hard to remove. After it dries chec to see if it filled the hole but it will probably take 2 fiberglas applications. Sand with 300-500-700-1200-1500 grit sandpapers and slowly smooth the surface. Fill with a gelcoat from a marine place and paint.
see http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/water-sports/how-to-maintain-a-boat1.htm

Those plastic latches are useless! I have had them pop open, locked or not, and spill stuff all over the highway. And anyone with a screwdriver can easily bust one open in about 5 seconds, therefore, they will NOT deter a thief! So now I leave them unlocked all the time.

To keep the doors shut I did the following: I drilled a hole in the bottom of the doors (they swing up) under the plastic lathes, and another hole in the angle bracket that supports the bins, about 18" toward the center of the RV. THen I took a rubber "trucker strap" and attached it to the hole in the angle bracket and then stretch it out and put the other end through the hole in the door. The tension of the strap holds the door securely shut, and it doesnt make any difference if the lock works or not as I don't use it.

May not be for everyone, but it works for me.

When working with Fibreglas Cloth tear it instead of cutting ,it is easier to feather edge cloth that has random fibres from tearing than straight cut edges!

I do not have fiberglass on the bottom half of my coach, it is all aluminum on mine, but fiberglass can be reinforced and rebuilt.