Door lock issue - Brian or Josh, please chime in

Forester Fred · 04-11-2016, 01:50 PM

Just got back from a cross country trip with my Forester. The good news is that there were no major issues at all. Overall I'm very pleased with how the unit performed. A couple less than major issues did come up. One being the door in the compartment that closes in the water pump and filter. When FR installed the door they held the hinge on to the plastic frame and plastic door with double sided tape. Really? After bouncing across northern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and those of you who have driven I40 know what I'm talking about, the tape holding the hinge let go. I'll fix it myself with pop rivets.

Here's the access door in question in case any of you have the same type. (sorry, it's a bit fuzzy, but you can see the hinge on the bottom - this is a before it fell off photo)

The other issue which does concern me is the lock and alignment of my coach door. Again, after bouncing my way from Florida to Death Valley I noticed one day in the campground that my coach door would not shut. The striker plate was loose so I tightened that up on the door frame, but it still wouldn't shut. Turns out that somehow the door moved out of alignment just enough so that the two lugs on the lock mechanism hit the aluminum door frame. I pushed on the door laterally to try to see if it would shift, no luck. I ended up just slamming the door hard and it shut, but the lock lugs hit and bent the aluminum door frame slightly (see photos below). Started down the road and at the next stop the door worked fine. It happened to me again probably 4 or 5 times coming back cross country from the southwest to Florida. It seems to happen more when the RV is parked nose high in a parking lot or up on blocks.

My question to all of you - and Brian or Josh - is, are there any adjustments that can be made on the coach door? It looks like a continuous hinge and all the screws holding the hinge to door appear tight. There was a warning sticker on the lock mechanism to not make any adjustments so I didn't want to start turning screws or anything else. I'm still under warranty but my dealer is 101 miles away. If there's a simple fix that I can do myself I'd rather do that than spend $50 on gas and an entire day back and forth.

Any suggestions, comments or solutions?

Here's the photos -

Coach door closing (sorry it's a bit fuzzy) showing the lugs and striker plate.

Here's the coach body/striker plate. You can see the two small dents/indentations from the lock lugs in the door frame. Granted, they're not big dents but it does interfere with the door closing which is a nice feature to have.

Here's the lugs I'm talking about on the lock mechanism.

And here's the hinge.

Brian217 · 04-11-2016, 04:32 PM

I remember I had a motorhome that I went to close when we got to a campground and those 2 lugs were hitting on the frame. I had to run to Walmart and get the star shaped Allen wrench(not sure what it's actually called) and tightened them in. That took care of it. I don't remember the door looking like it shifted a lot but it must have been enough to cause a problem. Never had any other rv's do that.

AquaMan · 04-11-2016, 05:53 PM

I had the exact opposite problem, where the lugs would hit the striker plate. It was worse when it was cold out. It was almost like the door would shrink more than the frame. It was bad enough on time that I had to have someone shut the door from the outside at a gas station. I installed a washer under each of the lugs and solved the issue.

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Forester Fred · 04-12-2016, 04:04 PM

Thanks, I'll get a Torqz bit and see if I can move them in a bit. It's only a 16th of an inch if that, but it's enough to hit the frame.

Sagecoachdriver · 04-12-2016, 04:31 PM

Fred, I had the same issue with my door lock on our first trip. The dealer adjusted it so it opened, closed and locked easily. On the next trip we encountered the same issue and had to slam the door shut and push hard to open it. I was going to take it back to the dealer, but when I got home and unloaded the MH, the door opened and closed easily. I figure it's because the frame was tweaked a bit and the door is out of whack. Sure enough, we have encountered easy to hard opening and closing depending on how level I get the MH.
When were you in Death Valley? We were there for the spring bloom in early March.

Forester Fred · 04-12-2016, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sagecoachdriver

Fred, I had the same issue with my door lock on our first trip. The dealer adjusted it so it opened, closed and locked easily. On the next trip we encountered the same issue and had to slam the door shut and push hard to open it. I was going to take it back to the dealer, but when I got home and unloaded the MH, the door opened and closed easily. I figure it's because the frame was tweaked a bit and the door is out of whack. Sure enough, we have encountered easy to hard opening and closing depending on how level I get the MH.
When were you in Death Valley? We were there for the spring bloom in early March.

We stayed at Furnace Creek March 3rd through the 6th. Our son drove out from SoCal with his VW bug and we used that for running around the park. I'm not a desert rat, I prefer the great north woods for getting outside. But, it was definitely worth the trip cross country to see the bloom.

Sagecoachdriver · 04-12-2016, 06:32 PM

Fred we just missed each other as we arrived March 7-10 and stayed at Fiddler's CG and Furnace Creek CG. Can't tell, were you at Sunset or Furnace Creek?
Here's my proof we were there! Been there many times and I let the DW take photos now.

Forester Fred · 04-12-2016, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sagecoachdriver

Fred we just missed each other as we arrived March 7-10 and stayed at Fiddler's CG and Furnace Creek CG. Can't tell, were you at Sunset or Furnace Creek?
Here's my proof we were there! Been there many times and I let the DW take photos now.

We camped at Furnace Creek. It was convenient with the store across the street. You just missed the windstorm. The night of March 5/6 the wind started whipping through the valley so fast that I thought the motorhome was going to flip over. When we got up in the morning just about every tent in the tent camping area had been flattened from the wind.

AbdRahim · 04-12-2016, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaMan

I had the exact opposite problem, where the lugs would hit the striker plate. It was worse when it was cold out. It was almost like the door would shrink more than the frame. It was bad enough on time that I had to have someone shut the door from the outside at a gas station. I installed a washer under each of the lugs and solved the issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

I get this also, when it is cold, or when the unit is not quite level or when ?I need to raise the rear to get leveled. I have had to adjust the door hinge a few times to get it to close smoothly.

Sagecoachdriver · 04-12-2016, 07:09 PM

Looks like you made it up to Dante's View. We always would go there and have lunch overlooking the valley then drive down to Bad water. But the new MH is to long for the Dante's View road.
Anyway, did you get assistance on the lock?

Forester Fred · 04-12-2016, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sagecoachdriver

Looks like you made it up to Dante's View. We always would go there and have lunch overlooking the valley then drive down to Bad water. But the new MH is to long for the Dante's View road.
Anyway, did you get assistance on the lock?

We did make it to Dante's....by VW bug....the RV wouldn't have fit the last 1/4 mile or so, very twisting, turning and steep.

From the other posts it looks like I need a Torx bit to adjust the lugs in slightly. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and see how it works.

mtnlvr · 04-13-2016, 12:13 PM

I've struggled with my Solera's door on and off since new. It's gotten stuck several times and locked me out. I've tightened up the plates and no problems now for a while.

Forester Fred · 04-13-2016, 05:43 PM

Update on the door lock issue. I tried to tighten the two lugs with a torx bit today. No luck, they were screwed in as far as they would go. Plan B - I could see where the lugs were hitting the aluminum door frame. Seeing that section of the frame is pretty much unsupported with nothing behind it, I filed down the aluminum frame to just a hair more than the lugs were hitting. I double checked all the screws on the hinges and they're all tight so there was no room for adjustment there. Unless I pointed out to someone that I filed the frame I don't think anyone would even notice.

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