Door lock debacle!

[Aca651]

Took a quick impromptu camping trip to our local county park Saturday afternoon. Great weather, met up with great friends. Starting to get comfortable with our new 8528BHWS. Campground is very close to home, so we stayed Sunday night and left for home at 6am Monday morning. Plan was to pick up the camper after work Monday. A little bothered when I got to work that I failed to retract the awning when I left and it was getting windy with rain on the way. I got to the campground about 5 and the wind was picking up. Unlocked the door latch, went to unlock the dead bolt and the lock jammed! Could not turn it, had to fight with it to get the key out, and it would not accept the key all the way in after that. Tried lubricant, a little heat, nothing would work. Fortunately I was close to home so I ran home got some tools, and had to drill out the lock cylinder. A little disconcerting putting a drill to your 2014 5th wheel, but it got me in!!!!!

A quick note we purchased this unit from Escape RV in Branchville NJ. WWW.ESCAPERV.COM They could not have been more helpful or concerned. Nothing they could do for me, and it was one of those things. They ordered a new door latch after my first call. They called me 2 more times to offer suggestions and see how it was going, and again as soon as they opened on Tuesday morning.

This all worked out just fine, because I was so close to home. I'm confident I would not have been so okay with this had I been 100 miles from home with my family in the rain! So if this is the only problem I have with this unit, I'm glad we got it out of the way so soon.

I can't say enough nice things about our dealer, and would suggest to anyone needing to purchase or service their unit to give them a try if you can. A smaller dealership that knows who you are and they care!

Now let's get on with the season!

Andy

[Ford Idaho]

Door lock problems are not new, I had to replace the tumbler in mine last year because of a recall.

https://www.google.com/#q=rv+door+lock+recall

While I doubt your problem is related it is not the only one.

Glad you got it taken care of and have a good camping year.

[Aca651]

I did see that recall. After trading in our jayco on this flagstaff I got a recall notice for the jayco It didn't mention forest river products in the notice. I assumed I was good. See what happens when you assume!

[chicagoslick]

That sucks having door lock problems. Replace it with an electronic one and never look back. One of the best mods I have ever done. They are a bit expensive but well worth the trouble you get rid of. I bought a Baur, but there are others out there that I'm sure work as well...best of luck...

Bauer Products - Bauer Products

[KyDan]

When ours was about 2 years old I noticed the deadbolt on one of the
doors getting harder and harder to turn. It seemed like the bolt was
dragging and not the key.
It actually stuck once and wouldn't open. We have 2 doors so we got in
and finished the weekend. At home I removed the latch and lock mechanism and saw where the bolt was rubbing against an aluminum
backer plate. It had galled up and was rough and getting rougher each
time it was moved. I put a little dab of synthetic grease on the places it
was rubbing and 4 years later it's still working smooth.

It really helps to be a DIYer if you own an RV. Glad you saved your weekend!
Happy Camping!

[Oakman]

Somehow I missed seeing that recall. My lock is one that is affected by that recall and I requested a new deadbolt cylinder this morning. Fortunately replacing the deadbolt is something anyone can do.

[OldCoot]

The electronic would be nice until the batteries go dead and then you would have to find the key which would/could be a major problem.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

The electronic would be nice until the batteries go dead and then you would have to find the key which would/could be a major problem.

Chances are good the key will be hanging on a hook just inside the door.

[Campster]

Originally Posted by chicagoslick

That sucks having door lock problems. Replace it with an electronic one and never look back. One of the best mods I have ever done. They are a bit expensive but well worth the trouble you get rid of. I bought a Baur, but there are others out there that I'm sure work as well...best of luck...

Bauer Products - Bauer Products

I would be careful in this belief....I had an electronic lock on my home safe, it failed real quick. Had to have a professional safe cracker come bust into my safe. I have since gone back to the good ole combination mechanical type lock and have had no problems for many years. I will never use an electronic lock again, for anything. By the way, the guy that broke into my safe said he has changed a bunch of electronic locks over the years and doesn't even have one on his own safe...

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Chances are good the key will be hanging on a hook just inside the door.

That would be my luck and then would have to drill out a $200+ lock.
I found out our door handle/lock was sticky when it was new. Took the entire handle assembly out, disassembled the entire thing and filed/sanded all the 'flash' off the moving parts, lubed with lithium grease, reassembled and after 2 years, it still works very smoothly.

[Herk7769]

Same problem; different fix:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ock-22990.html

[chicagoslick]

All I can say is the the electronic assembly works great and I do not foresee any issues. Based on the mechanical portion the electronic assembly it is much better built than the factory supplied keyed unit. The key for opening it in an emergency, should the electronic portion fail, is kept with the tow vehicle keys. I use an electronic entrance setup on my house and it has worked fine for many years with no issue. I plan to have the same luck with my RV electonic unit... Best of luck either way...

[Gregg Willow]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

The electronic would be nice until the batteries go dead and then you would have to find the key which would/could be a major problem.

The Bauer product warns you when batteries are getting low.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Gregg Willow

The Bauer product warns you when batteries are getting low.

And if it is in storage and the batteries go dead and the key is not to be found by it not being used could be a problem. Just something to think about before spending that kind of money. It's nice, but I'll continue with my old antiquated way of using a key, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Altho' it is a conversation pc.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Door lock problems are not new, I had to replace the tumbler in mine last year because of a recall.

https://www.google.com/#q=rv+door+lock+recall

While I doubt your problem is related it is not the only one.

Glad you got it taken care of and have a good camping year.

Hmmmm...I wonder if our unit is affected? I have noticed that the upper lock occasionaly is difficult to lock or unlock.

Thoughts anyone?

[dcheatwood]

My 05 jayco lock broke on our second trip out, dry camping in the woods. Got a tiny niece to crawl up through hole under bed, which I had to jack up with truck jack, from pass thru storage. She couldn't turn the lock either from inside. I squeezed thru and had to remove the entire lock from inside. A small piece of metal had broken off and fell into the space needed for the lock to turn. Bummer. Glad yours turned out OK.

Sent from my XT907 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[Vern]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

That would be my luck and then would have to drill out a $200+ lock.
I found out our door handle/lock was sticky when it was new. Took the entire handle assembly out, disassembled the entire thing and filed/sanded all the 'flash' off the moving parts, lubed with lithium grease, reassembled and after 2 years, it still works very smoothly.

...you had to be an Eagle Scout, right? Seriously, even Herk is not as "prepared" as you!

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Vern

...you had to be an Eagle Scout, right? Seriously, even Herk is not as "prepared" as you!

No, just experienced this type stuff before and know it's not going to heal itself. My boys say it's "Dunnizing", but for some reason or other, they seem to do the same thing by fixing things before it becomes a major problem.

BTW, Herk is by far way ahead of me!

[R Whitlow]

I will have to check mine out

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[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Vern

...you had to be an Eagle Scout, right? Seriously, even Herk is not as "prepared" as you!

I think OC Travels with a 3 rig tow...
OC's Truck-->>OC's 5er-->>Portable Machine Shop

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