Coachmen entry latch

[30sweeds]

I have this 2002 Coachmen Leprechaun class C.The bolt on the latch broke.It has a Trimark latch but it was obviously not the original.The Trimark didn't wook that good when I bought the MH as the bolt was too long and needed modifying so it would shut without holding the paddle open.Anyway,does anyone know what the original might have been or what might be a decent replacement?

[Gjac]

30sweeds wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
Trimark uses cheap pot metal for the striker bolt.

I had one carved out of steel by someone who knows how. it's about 50 bucks to do it. I did the same for my basement. I had that one make he half a dozen so I have spares.. I've used a few of those spares so far.

Yeah,I agree on the cheap pot metal thing.I thought about having one made out of steel myself but I couldn't see how you could actually get the new bolt installed without breaking the mechanism apart.Since you have done it,I would appreciate some info on this procedure.Maybe I could talk you into selling me one of those spare steel bolts.....

I could not see how to install a new bolt either without breaking the mechanism so I put the broken bolt back inside the mechanism then spliced it with the steel backing plate.

[30sweeds]

Ended up buying a Trimark 060-1650 on e Bay for 140 bucks.There was a few of them listed but only 2 that said they were the new improved version with the steel bolt...plunger.I don't know...nothing else cheaper will come close to fitting the door opening so hope this one works for a long time.Gotta be somewhat better than the Gorilla tape i'm using now.

[Gjac]

As others have said the Trimark latch is problematic because of the Zinc alloy used for the striker latches. I have replaced these twice in the past so when the latch broke for the 3rd time in 15 years I was not going to buy another one for another $100. What I ended up doing was to install a steel backer plate about .040 thick that spliced the broken pieces of the latch. I used small counter sunk screws to join the pieces together. .040 of steel is much stronger than the zinc alloy. It was a no cost fix and so far is still working well after a year. The other issue I had is the white plastic return piece(moves the latch in and out when you pull on the paddle) broke which I replaced from one of the previous latches. Someone said there is a newer version for twice the cost but don't know if it is better. I think after a number of years the door sags and the latch binds slightly in the opening so frequent adjustments are needed as well as lubricating the latch to prevent the striker or plastic return piece from breaking.

[Dusty_R]

We had two Trimarms, same door, break on our '15 Itasca. The last time we replaced it with a different make, which seems to be holding up.

Dusty

[30sweeds]

wa8yxm wrote:
Trimark uses cheap pot metal for the striker bolt.

I had one carved out of steel by someone who knows how. it's about 50 bucks to do it. I did the same for my basement. I had that one make he half a dozen so I have spares.. I've used a few of those spares so far.

Yeah,I agree on the cheap pot metal thing.I thought about having one made out of steel myself but I couldn't see how you could actually get the new bolt installed without breaking the mechanism apart.Since you have done it,I would appreciate some info on this procedure.Maybe I could talk you into selling me one of those spare steel bolts.....

[wa8yxm]

Trimark uses cheap pot metal for the striker bolt.

I had one carved out of steel by someone who knows how. it's about 50 bucks to do it. I did the same for my basement. I had that one make he half a dozen so I have spares.. I've used a few of those spares so far.

[DrewE]

The original was probably also a Trimark, though maybe not precisely the same model.