Outside Kitdhen Door opened WHILE DRIVING...damaged other vehicles!!!

[cariboo camper]

Originally Posted by A2pfunk

I swear I am not trying to sound like a jerk, here but...
I feel like when towing, you should have properly adjusted mirrors. This means that you should be able to see all the way down the side of your trailer. Typically, the factory mirrors on a TV don't give the proper angle to see all the way down the side of a trailer which means you need to get additional tow mirrors. If you are in traffic when you are passing or being passed, you should be watching the trailer to ensure that you are clearing other traffic. If you had something hanging off of the side of your trailer that hit (at least) two other vehicles, who knows what else you hit? I would count your blessings that you didn't cause a crash, injury, or worse. In the mean time, I think you need to adjust your setup so that you can see what is going on with your trailer.

Sorry for the unpopular opinion.

Not at all unpopular, not in my opinion anyway. A driver has to be able to see down the whole side of the trailer. If a law enforcement officer stands at the rear of your trailer he must have a clear view of you mirrors on your tow vehicle.

I see it all the time, pull up behind a trailer and line up your vision along the trailer and no way is the tow vehicle mirror visible.

Also goes without saying, a proper mirror system is of little good if not regularly scanned by the driver.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

X2

Let your insurance carrier work it out. They are the pros.

You are also paying them for this service.

At the worst you'll have to write a check for the deductible.

[A2pfunk]

Originally Posted by BillyBass

It sucks but be lucky that it couldve been worse.It could have rip the door off and did more damage

Could've been worse. Could've struck a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcycle, injuring or killing somebody.

[jamesroadking]

We were driving our new 38 foot Monaco diesel motorhome through Sandy Oregon in 2007 and my wife commented to me on "how friendly everybody is" walking on the sidewalks, "they're all waving at us". Within a few minutes, I happened to notice our lower four-foot-wide basement storage door was sticking straight out on the curbside. Luckily it didn't hit a street sign or a parked car. It was also locked. That coach had such a rough ride it just knocked t6hem open.

[maxxtc]

In my training they told me to always lock the dead bolt as the camper flexes on the road leading to the doors to possibly come open.

[Lifestylers]

Ah yes, spot on. Have a 40 DP, cargo door came open at 65, bent 2 doors, claimed on insurance, 2 months later, renewal quote comes in, now went from tad over 3K year to bumping 6K. Called BS on that, it was National General via Good Sam. Called Geico, fully disclosed above, didn't really have to, it showed up on my DL as not at fault. Result, now have new policy, same coverage, matter of fact upgrade on personal items in coach from 1K to 5K, same glass coverage except deductiable now 50 dollars instead of 500. Now paying less than my original amount with National General. Monthly payment of 286, before 350, with the new renewal amount if I hadn't shopped would had been pushing right at 550 month! Always shop!

[Nastynotchback1]

I'm sorry but Forest River has a hard time paying for anything. They definitely won't pay for this. File with your insurance company and let it go.

[Ivan Cohen]

Hi all,

I'm on the side of letting the insurance people look after it and agree with a previous writer who suggests changing insurer if they ding you for this on your renewal!

On my trailer, the handrail folds back across each door, and has to lifted, turned then dropped into place. I suppose, from the comments here, it's possible to undo itself, (perhaps a bad bump in the road) and then a door to fly open (they are locked, too), so, I'll start to pay additional attention to it. My mirrors do let me see down the entire side of my trailer, and after being a big-rig driver, I'm used to using my mirrors extensively. Thanks to all those that chimed in! As a new member here, I appreciate ALL the comments!

[nic7320]

Originally Posted by DC_Roog

Hi,

I am assuming the faulty latches will be covered under warranty. My question is do you think they will cover the damage to the door caused by the obvious issue caused by bad latches or poor craftsmanship (improper alignment or placement of the latches).

Check to see if the latches have sufficient "bite" behind the retaining bracket and sufficient distance to keep themselves latched. If they were poorly installed, or poorly toleranced in the initial design, they may not have enough "overbite" on the retaining panel to hold themselves closed with all the flexing and vibration of the coach.

This can be either a design defect or a defect of manufacture. A properly designed latch should NOT spring open.

[pcsdpo]

2020 NoBo 19.5
On the maiden voyage home from the dealer (120 miles on Interstate), we arrived home and the entrance door was ajar. I chalked it up to "new owner" not closing the door fully.
Next voyage. Verified that the door was locked and deadbolt locked. Same result.
Then I did some measuring and checking. When the TT was built, they didn't install the strike plate properly and more importantly, they didn't rout out a mortise that the deadbolt and door latch extend into when properly locked. Thus the latch and deadbolt didn't extend fully into the strike plate and lock in place.
I contacted the salesman and got a call from the service department saying they'd get in touch with me, but . . .
I also don't see the value in driving 120 miles to leave the TT for a day or two for the dealer to fix it and then drive back to the dealer several days later to pick it up.
I'm thinking of doing the repair myself (I was a carpenter "back in the day") and it'd probably take me an hour to get my router out and . . . .
Obviously, the No Boundaries Quality Control leaves something to be desired.

[DAHVGER]

Well I didn't see the main 20' awning was still out. A Ninja tree jumped out and ripped it off. Talk about embarrassing!

[wabakami]

Originally Posted by 5picker

X whatever on letting your insurance company handle it. Sorry for your issues.

Were you not able to see the open door in your mirrors?

X3

[8.1pwr]

I have had compartment doors on my Sunseeker pop open going down the road. I always make sure they are locked and push on them to make sure they are latched. My wife walks behind me and double checks every compartment. They still pop open, the doors will be open and the latches locked.
I found that when the doors were built the laches are mounted to low and didn't catch the back. I have been slowly been working on the compartment doors that pop open by removing the latches and making the hole a little bigger so the I can move the latch up for a more positive catch.
One of the side benefits is that fixing the latches slowed down the water leaking into the compartments, but that's another whole story.

[popeye59]

Originally Posted by ependydad

It's not unpopular, but it's not 100% accurate. I can see straight down the side of my camper. But, for me, on a 40' rig- that's almost 50' away from the driver's seat and in a mirror no less.

I know it's hard to believe that such a big door can be hard to see when it's open, but you literally only have the side edge (1-2", maybe) that you can see.

It's harder to see than you can possibly imagine.

Not to mention the door can swing open and then slam shut, latching itself in a couple seconds, maybe while you were doing something else, like focusing on traffic or the other mirror.

[poorbabi]

It may of been locked but not all the way shut. We had the storage areas do that. Looks like locked but not. Thank goodness no shocks on the doors.

[popeye59]

The flexing of the trailer will allow the doors to pop open. Especially when the deadbolt isn't latched. We fold the folding grab handle across the door to prevent it from opening while underway.

[whiterose]

You should always use the dead bolt, spring loaded latch is insufficient. If you used the dead bolt then it was out of adjustment.
Side handle should have sufficient index to hold the door when folded in the correct position

Sorry popeye, only saw your comments after sending mine.

[RET.LEO]

Watching your passenger side mirror any? Got to keep eyes moving, ahead, right side mirror, driver side mirror, dash, straight ahead, etc, etc, etc

[cariboo camper]

Originally Posted by RET.LEO

Watching your passenger side mirror any? Got to keep eyes moving, ahead, right side mirror, driver side mirror, dash, straight ahead, etc, etc, etc

Otherwise known as situational awareness.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by cariboo camper

Otherwise known as situational awareness.

Always a good idea, whether towing or not.