Basement door latch replacement

[new2RVn]

I just purchased 3 new basement door latches( the ones with the teflon tongue). If anyone has replaced these I would sure appreciate some insight. Looks to me like the whole frame has to be disassembled to remove and reinstall. Definitely not maint. friendly. Thanks in advance.


"Being retired means you can put off till tomorrow what you could have done today"

[cbeierl]

I'm not sure what it's like on your 2000 Adventurer, bu on my 2005 Vectra there is a plastic cover on the inside of the basement doors behind the door handle in the middle of the door. (Looking at the pictures in the 2000 Adventurer brochure it looks like you have something similar.)

To replace the latch you remove the plastic cover, exposing the inner workings of the handle mechanism. You should see a metal rod going to each latch at the side of the door. I don't remember precisely, but I believe that I unhooked the rods from the center mechanism first. (On mine there is solid styrofoam inside the door, so the metal rod is constrained and can't fall down/out, but if you don't have that you may need to make sure that you hold onto it until you can attach it to the new latch.) Drill out the pop rivets holding the broken latch to the edge of the door, unhooking it from the metal rod. Hook the new latch on and secure it with a couple of aluminum pop rivets, reconnect things in the center, put the plastic cover back on, and you should be all set.

[AFChap]

Chris described it very well ...not a big deal once you get at it. After you've done one, the next time it might be a ten minute job at most. Of course, you do need some proper size pop rivets and cheap pop rivet gun.

[new2RVn]

I must have not described my issue properly. The lock and latch assy. (center) is not the problem. The latch on either end of the door is what malfunctioned. I have 3 that just won't cooperate. Like you said, the door is solid foam and appears to have a nest where the tongue latch is located. Thanks for the info., I'll have to do that first.

[cbeierl]

I understand that you need to replace the latch assembly at the edge of the door. It is connected via a rod to the handle mechanism in the center of the door. You need to get access to that so that you can unhook the rod in the center, allowing you to remove the latch at the door edge (after drilling out the pop rivets).

[AFChap]

I think you were clear ...Winnie calls the piece the "slide bolt" ...spring-loaded and pops out each side of the door and is operated by the "paddle latch assembly" mounted toward the center of the door. You may be able to replace the slide bolt w/o removing the paddle latch depending on your setup ...only reason to remove the paddlelatch is to get to the rods that connect to the slide bolt IF you need to take them loose.

[dirko]

Hi Ho: We have the same (similar) coach. The problem is that the latch mechanism installs from the inside (not the outside). The only way to get to it is to take the skin off the door. This bothered me a little, but I just went ahead and drilled out the rivits that hold the skins on and all was well. It does mean a couple more rivits, but it isn't as bad as you might think.

Dirk

[new2RVn]

Thanks Dirk and everyone else that replied. I sorta kinda thought it was going to be more difficult than a couple of rivets out and back in. Too bad it's 3 different doors. Guess I'll be an expert by the time I finish.

Being retired means you can put off till tomorrow what you could have done today.

[MaverickBBD]

If I remember when I did mine the trick was being able to get to the rod (that pulls the plastic catch in) and disconnecting it from the broken latch. Drill out the pop rivets on the side of the door and reconnecting the rod to the new latch and rerivet.

[cbeierl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirko Hi Ho: We have the same (similar) coach. The problem is that the latch mechanism installs from the inside (not the outside). The only way to get to it is to take the skin off the door. This bothered me a little, but I just went ahead and drilled out the rivits that hold the skins on and all was well. It does mean a couple more rivits, but it isn't as bad as you might think. Dirk

Are you saying that there isn't a plastic cover over the inside of the latch mechanism? It certainly looks like there is one in the photos in the 2000 Adventurer brochure.

[dirko]

Hi Ho Chris: I don't know about other coache, but on our 2000 Itasca Suncruiser 35U there isn't. I don't know why.
Dirk

[cbeierl]

Page 72 of the 2000 Adventurer 35U Parts Catalog shows a breakdown of all of the parts that make up the compartment doors. It sure looks like item key #3 in that diagram (Cover, Latch, Black) is a plastic cover over the inside of the mechanism, matching what I see in the brochure and very similar to what's on my coach.