Back Door Locking mechanism
Msteeler,
I had another trip planned so I didn't have time to take the trailer to have it repaired. I removed one side of the locking mechanism. There are only four screws and it comes right off which is a good thing to remember because anyone can get into your trailer by taking off the four screws on each side. The factory holds the hinge pin in by pressing an indentation into the hinge thereby pinching the hinge pin into place. I thought it was worth a try to drill that indentation out and then knock the pin out with a drift. Because of the galling, it was a little tight so I drilled the center of the 1/2" hinge pin with a 3/8" drill bit. The bottom pin popped right out but the upper one was a lot more work. I replaced the aluminum hinge pin with a stainlless steel bolt. I bought the SS Bolt long enough so the hinge dosen't ride on the threads of the bolt but as you can see in the picture, I still need to tighten the Nyloc Bolt and trim the excess threads off. The other picture shows the bottom hinge pins after drilling the pressed indentation out. The right one shows some galling but neither of these was like the upper hinge pins. They were really bad and were impossible to move. The upper hinge pins were destroyed during the drilling out process.
And now for your entertainment, I will tell you what happened with the hinge on the other side of the door. Because the first repair went so quickly, I decided I would fix the other door the same afternoon since I needed to load both quads and meet with friends the next day. The bottom went just like the first one and was quickly removed but on the upper, as I drilled the hinge pin out I broke off the drill bit in the hinge pin. My wife is looking over my shoulder as I write this and after her editing, all I can say is "Gosh I had a great evening!!"
Anyway, if you are still under warranty and don't have an impending deadline I suggest that you take it back to the dealer to have it worked on. Just don't let them install the same soft aluminum hinge pins again. By the way, when you install the SS nuts on the SS bolts be sure to use never-seize or some product that won't let the two surfaces gall because they will if you install them dry.
As far as the security of the door, I am thinking of installing a simple retainer on the inside of the trailer.
Hope this helps
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