CARAVAN DOOR LOCKS

HarryG · Member

CARAVAN DOOR LOCKS

Leshill · Veteran Member

It is dead locked from the inside. Hope you have a poptop with it up.If you have it up you can enter your fly screen with a long tent pole and with a bit of jiggling undo the dead lock lever
Good luck

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

BUGGER ! !

I have had a similar problem once and feel ya angst. cry

What type of door lock is it, what make of van is it in ... that might assist in helping on a solution.

Is it one of these?

Door lock 01.jpg

cheers - John

Possum3 · Guru

Dometic doors are a constant worry - Mine has been replaced four times under warranty - been locked out - not able to lock from inside- Generally very poor quality. RL has a picture of similar lock to my old Jayco type - I never had problems with mine But some people slam doors rather than closing with handle pressed - That can break mechanism in that type. Irregardless I think you will need to replace lock at minimum.

HarryG · Member

Hi John

Yes it is the same as the picture. It has a snib on the inside which you push down to lock. Then you can't unlock it. Not sure of the brand of the lock.

Thanks Harry

HarryG · Member

Thanks for the input. We do try not to slam the door, but sometimes the wind catches it, so anything is possible.

HarryG · Member

Thanks for the tip. We don't have a pop top and had to climb out the window = no mean feat I can tell you.

darjak · Senior Member

Only three screws on inside to undo have been
caught out a couple of times so always make sure
I have a Phillips head screwdriver in van that way
you don't have to do the window bit.

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Hi Harry we had the opposite problem with our 2016 Retreat when we closed the door it locked itself, the door keys were still inside the van and all the windows were closed. Luckily the hatch to the storage area under the single beds wasn't locked and my wife was both small and flexible enough to climb in and gain access through a cupboard door that is beneath the single bed. It has only ever happened once in 2 years but now I always make sure that I keep a spare set of van keys in the car just in case - at worst we can always unlock the storage hatch and do the entry thing through the single bed area again. We got the dealer to check it out during a service but they couldn't replicate the problem so other than giving the lock a squirt of WD40 nothing else was done. Lucky I wasn't by myself when it happened as the chances of me getting in that way would be zero .....Making sure that the storage hatches are locked when we go out is also something that we always check now as anyone else could have easily gotten in that way as well especially kids.

Cheers
BB

PeterD · Guru

HarryG wrote:
Have had trouble with the lock on our 2012 Retreat caravan door - I have locked the door from the inside and have been unable to unlock it. The door lock works OK from the outside.

If you have the same lock as in Rocky's picture then I think you could have a problem with the adjustment of the door striker plate. Download this PDF. in diagram A on page 2 you will see a projecting piece on the RH side of the body labeled "SAFETY DETENT BUTTON." This button controls the locking action of the lock. Unless it is pushed far enough then you can neither operate the key locking or the snib inside. If the striker plate is not adjusted properly then you may have the situation where that buttons operation is marginal.

Open the door. Hold the button fully in with your finger. Then check the operation of the locking snib. If it works properly with the door open then you need to adjust the striker so it pulls the button a bit further.

I had this problem a little while ago. I had to pull the door closed a little harder to be able to operate the snib. That safety button is there to prevent you from locking the door whilst the door is open, this is to prevent you from locking yourself out. I suggest you don't think of disabling this function.

Please advise if my suspicions are correct.

-- Edited by PeterD on Sunday 21st of October 2018 05:55:41 PM

HarryG · Member

Thanks Peter, I did dismantle the lock etc, and checked to see if the 3 points on the lock were in the right place.

What I did work out that the door itself was twisted. So, I straightened it and adjusted the striker plate. It seems to work OK now. Before the handle inside the caravan used to drop down, which was a good indicator that the lock was not working properly - now it remains in the right position. Thanks for your input, the diagrams were great.

HarryG

HarryG · Member

Hi BB

We actually have two sets of keys already, one we leave in the car at all times. Anyway we may have solved the problem by straightening the door, which was twisted, and adjusting the locking mechanisms. Seems to be OK now.

Cheers HarryG

HarryG · Member

Thanks to all who help us out with this problem, which I seem to have fixed. The door itself being slightly twisted seems to have been the problem. Straightening it and adjusting the locking mechanism appears to have done the trick. Time will tell I guess, but all is working fine now.

It is really great to be able read about problems with caravans etc and to have so much help and experience shared around.

Cheers to all HarryG