Entry door won't open!!

[KevandSyl]

2016 30DS - entry door will not open. Suddenly today - You can hear both bolts turn - go to open door and it opens approx 1/4" and jams. Can not get it open. Have tried repeatedly. Any ideas? Dealer not open till Monday. Not sure how to even get it to them!!!! Help!! Expertise needed please.

[donanddona]

I've had to help a friend who was stuck inside. Handing him tools and two hours later he got it open. I'm thinking someone may need to go through a window. Only two options maybe 1) call a lock smith, 2) Get a room.

[KevandSyl]

Fortunately we are at home. Oh my gosh so thankful!! All the windows are locked!

[Combatcoal]

f o l l o w i n g !!!!

[vp22er]

Had the same thing happen to my new grey wolf 23mk. Luckily I was able to fit a small screw driver in near the latch and worked the latch free. It wound up being the catch plate screws had work loose and caused the jam. retightened and all is good to go. Hope yours is an easy fix.

[doc73]

Wasn't there a recall or something on Georgetowns for a bad door latch causing the door to freeze up.

[KevandSyl]

Email sent to Forest River and we will be contacting dealer first thing Monday morning. Still under warranty - Will let you know what happens. Huge safety concern. Good learning experience for these newbies - know who to calll when! So thankful we were at home!

[Finch]

We had the same thing happen - twice! After the second time, we used Locktite to help keep the two large bolts in the door mechanism from backing out, which was what was causing the jam. The first time, the door mysteriously opened just fine after about two hours of being stuck inside, and the second time we had to crawl in a window and it opened from the inside. Have had no problems since - but this really is a safety issue and one that we hope (but are not totally sure) we have handled. Needless to say, we always leave a window unlocked now.

We are not sure if there is another kind of lock mechanism out there that would work for our door, but if there is, we would replace the entire mechanism before we are really stuck someplace!

[DouglasReid]

you should have one or two Emergency Window Fire Exits. They Cannot be locked!

FIND THEM! KNOW HOW TO OPERATE THEM! In the event of a fire you will have Very Little time, and none to waste learning.

Nothing depends on that vital knowledge but your life, and the lives of your loved ones.

[Kenny kustom]

I had to adjust the pins on my door. Screwed them out, just slightly.
Massaged the striker plate a bit with a bfh.. works much better now.

[padcarroll]

Please file a report on the NTSB website so we can force a recall on these door latches BEFORE someone gets killed. There are several posts on this board by myself and others about this problem with links to the eebsite.

[edm]

The door larch on our FR3 30DS has failed twice and in the same way. First time I was locked in, second time I was locked out.

Talked with forest river and all they said was they still use the same latch. The problem is not forest river it is tri-mark.also contacted tri-mark and all they wanted to do is sell me another peace of junk. There is a peace of plastic in the latch that brakes loose and jams the bolt.

[Combatcoal]

edm, did u come up with another solution?

[mtnlvr]

My side door latch on my 2014 Solera has been an ongoing problem. I have tightened/adjusted the bolts/plates repeatedly. The dead bolt lock on the latch works smoother than the regular latch.The door has jammed and been unable to open many times- frequently at the most inoppertune times and the large dogs and I all have to use a cab door. This seems to happen most when the side door is in the heat and facing the sun. Once the door cools down or is in the shade, the door miraculously opens.

I've considered switching to a combination lock but I'm skeptical on their reliability. I had one installed (Costco purchase) on a door at my home and it was lousy from the start and I recently changed it out.

[edm]

Combatcoal... all I have done right now is remove the broken part and the latch still works. There just isn't anything left in there to jam the latch. I am not sure what I am going to do right now.
Tri-mark is coming out with a new latch in May that has a steel bolt instead of the pot metal one they now have. I don't know if it will be any better or not.

Good luck with yours.

[Combatcoal]

thanks edm.....what a mess.

[Carl17]

Originally Posted by edm

The door larch on our FR3 30DS has failed twice and in the same way. First time I was locked in, second time I was locked out.

Talked with forest river and all they said was they still use the same latch. The problem is not forest river it is tri-mark.also contacted tri-mark and all they wanted to do is sell me another peace of junk. There is a peace of plastic in the latch that brakes loose and jams the bolt.Attachment 132965

Attachment 132966

That peace of white plastic,i just removed it and latch works fine, no more stuck lock.

[Combatcoal]

i was wondering about that, so purposely remove the white piece NOW to reduce/eliminate the door issue in the future, even if there are no signs of trouble now. what is the purpose of the white piece, and we can really take it off without negatively affecting the functioning of the door? if so....that truly is poor engineering/design

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by KevandSyl

2016 30DS - entry door will not open. Suddenly today - You can hear both bolts turn - go to open door and it opens approx 1/4" and jams. Can not get it open. Have tried repeatedly. Any ideas? Dealer not open till Monday. Not sure how to even get it to them!!!! Help!! Expertise needed please.

I've had the same problem with my 2011 Grorgetown. If the door opens 1/4" then there's nothing wrong with the latch. I'd suspect one of two problems:
1. One or both of the large locating rollers that align the door latch with the striker plate is loose and is catching on the door frame.
2. One of the small sheet metal screws that holds the door trim onto the door has come loose and is catching on the frame.

In either case, you'll need assistance getting into the rig. Since it's under warranty,contact the dealer and do your best to get them to get the door open while you wait. Once the door is open, make sure that any bolts that were loose are tightened using loctite. Sheet metal screws should be reinserted after adding some sealer to the hole they go into.

The first time this happened, I was outside the rig and my spouse was inside. She opened the fire escape window and I was able to get in and take it to FR. When I got there, I was able to get the door open from the inside by pulling the door towards the hinge side. There was just enough "give" to allow the door to open. From the outside, I'm not sure what you could do to get it open.

Phil

[edm]

What you are saying can be true in some cases. The door latch that I have when it Jamed would open to the safety catch. The strikers on these latches are two position trikers . There is a safety catch and a final closed position just like on your car.
The problems I have run into are this peace of plastic falling Dow and jamming the handle so it won't pull the latching bolt all the way back. Now if the handle will travel the full travel and the door won't open then there is another problem. Such as a bolt has come out or something else is causing the problem.