New latch design

[Johnnynikon]

In my never ending quest to solve my bunk door seals leaking when closed I found tonight they have a new style door latch system that incorporates a cover over the top of the door.
For those of us that are plagued with the inferior design up to early 2022 I thought I would share this information.
I am attaching a pic of the new design and will be calling FR soon for more details.
I have a 2019 23ikss FWIW.

[Rhumblefish]

interesting - it looks as though the 'clamp' is now the entire length of the top edge, and includes a sort of rain gutter, as opposed to 'ears' attached to either corner for earlier design

def would like to see this closer/better to see if there's something to be gleaned/added to our older style camper.

Thanks for the heads up, very interesting to see additions as the models mature.

[Theo]

Regarding your leaking issue, have you tried adjusting the tension of your closing mechanism? If not, I can dig around for the link to online instructions.

I tested my bunks by closing them with a dollar bill in the seal. I found one side of the front bunk allowed a little too much movement of the bill.

[Johnnynikon]

Originally Posted by Theo

Regarding your leaking issue, have you tried adjusting the tension of your closing mechanism? If not, I can dig around for the link to online instructions.

I tested my bunks by closing them with a dollar bill in the seal. I found one side of the front bunk allowed a little too much movement of the bill.

Unfortunately I did and it did not work. I don’t think my door is warped at least by my eye but you never know.

[rsdata]

Originally Posted by Johnnynikon

Unfortunately I did and it did not work. I don’t think my door is warped at least by my eye but you never know.

If your bunk latches are adjusted correctly they should not leak... use the dollar bill method,,, the bill should be just gripped slightly without flattening out the rubber seals. Plus I clean the seals with a 303 vinyl/rubber cleaner preservative once a year to preserve the seal.

I always leave all my zippers inside closed and the occasional cup of water that might leak in a downpour does no harm when I open the bunk... and only the front bunk has ever leaked.

I used to use 2 inch blue painters tape taped over the gap from top edge to bunk door to seal out rain over the winter but I have not needed to do that in the past 3-4 years.

[Johnnynikon]

I understand that in a perfect world with cleaning and the proper tension on the roto vise latch it shouldn’t leak but I swung by a local dealer and saw this in person on all the new units in stock and it looks like a much better system.
I snapped a better side pic of it.

[Underthedog]

I pro-actively attached a piece of beige J channel from HD to sit just above the top of the beds when closed. I ran a bead of caulk both before and after I attached it. We have not had the issue. The new seal looks impressive in the photos although the J channel had to be cheaper .......

[Johnnynikon]

Originally Posted by Underthedog

I pro-actively attached a piece of beige J channel from HD to sit just above the top of the beds when closed. I ran a bead of caulk both before and after I attached it. We have not had the issue. The new seal looks impressive in the photos although the J channel had to be cheaper .......

How far does that J channel over hang the top of the door and also what did you attach it with ?

[ebemis]

.... that new system appears to be ROCK ON!!!!

Just as RSdata shared, adjustments SHOULD solve most problems but I know I still have water leaks from time to time no matter how careful I am and I HAVE all adjustments the best they can be......

On our rig I THINK (this is just me, I haven't water hosed/witnessed to see or not) that MAYBE... the "cuts" the factory put in the 90 degree bends on our bunk weather seal at the top corners are the problem spot, I think that is where water leaches past when its raining cats and dogs.

THIS NEW SYSTEM strikes me as the perfect way to solve that issue!

[ebemis]

I did what UnderTheDog shared as well... I bought vinyl "J channel" from Lowes/Home Depot cut a notch in one side to allow a bend and I put it over the gap area between the rain gutter and the outside of the bed metal flange.... The triangle cuts in the top left/right corners allows me to keep the top edge of the channel solid and bents over to come down the side until they reach the clamp brackets.... I can take pictures later this week if someone wants to see BUT....

For me I leave this in place on our rear bunk because we don't open it often, I can only leave it on the front one when parked because the driving wing would ceremoniously remove it for me if I tried to leave it on

[Johnnynikon]

Originally Posted by ebemis

I did what UnderTheDog shared as well... I bought vinyl "J channel" from Lowes/Home Depot cut a notch in one side to allow a bend and I put it over the gap area between the rain gutter and the outside of the bed metal flange.... The triangle cuts in the top left/right corners allows me to keep the top edge of the channel solid and bents over to come down the side until they reach the clamp brackets.... I can take pictures later this week if someone wants to see BUT....

For me I leave this in place on our rear bunk because we don't open it often, I can only leave it on the front one when parked because the driving wing would ceremoniously remove it for me if I tried to leave it on

Yes pics would be great !

[ebemis]

Here goes!

First, it is "J channel" in the vinyl siding/eves/vent section at a HD/Lowes...


It looks like this from the end;


I cut small triangles front and back to allow a fold like so;


Then I stuck short edge in the rain gutter so long edge would be over outside.. this involved a slight "stretch" to open the channel enough to span the gap between the two;


You bend for the corners like so;


I made mine end at the top of each of the closure clamp mounts like this;


And when entire piece is in place it looks like so;


As I shared, I have left the back one on since installed but don't leave the front one on while I am driving. The back one has a few thousand miles of highway driving without being lost AND it survived the winds from IAN in Central Florida this past week.

Best of Luck!

[Johnnynikon]

Thanks for the detailed pics!
This is probably what I will end up doing at least for winter storage anyway.
Do you find that it keeps most or all of the water out ?

[ebemis]

So far it has completely ended our small accumulations of rainwater we used to get in the vinyl canvas fold when the beds were stored

[Johnnynikon]

Good to hear.
Thank you.