Screen Door Mods

Doc Mark · 11-25-2009, 08:36 AM

I am not a fan of Newmar's screen door latch assembly. I have (more than once) caught my finger between the door latch on the inside & the grab bar

( so OK, I am a slow learner).

Also, when the coach is leveled on a down-slope, it is sometimes hard to reach the lock handle as the front is so high (yes, I am vertically challenged).

The Monaco's that I have seen have a pull/push latch that is really convenient, but I have no idea how to engineer one for my coach.

So, has anyone done any mods like this? What about removing the latch assembly altogether & using magnetic strips to keep the door closed?

Lets hear from the 'alternative engineering' crowd.

Mark

DonnaB · 11-25-2009, 10:43 AM

We have a friend with a 2005 Dutch Star that has the same door. Although they have not removed the latch handle, they don't use it (leaving it in the open position) when having the screen door open as they have placed at least one magnetic catch on the latch side and a spring on the hinge side. This lets them open with a light push and it closes via the spring. They do not have pets, so that might be an issue if you have some that would try to get out.

On the topic of screen mods, we recently went to a glass/window shop that we used to deal with when we had a house and had them make a screen to fit in the upper opening and remove the existing screen. We screwed in little "ears" on the perimeter that can be access from inside and you turn to hold the screen in place against the door. This lets us remove the upper screen when driving, giving both driver & passenger clear view out the door window. We store it in the back between slide & wall when driving and it's easy to put in & remove.

RVDude · 11-25-2009, 11:04 AM

How does this screen door latch change look? Note the very missing sleeve catcher latch and the svelte replacement latch.

Details and part numbers at this irv2 post:
Who's At Camp Newmar?

Saber77 · 11-25-2009, 01:10 PM

All I can say is that it is a very poorly engineered screen door -- in that with the little sliding glass window closed, you can't unlatch the screen door from inside the coach -- you have to first open the little sliding glass door to reach the release lever -- dumb!

RVDude · 11-25-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saber77

All I can say is that it is a very poorly engineered screen door -- in that with the little sliding glass window closed, you can't unlatch the screen door from inside the coach -- you have to first open the little sliding glass door to reach the release lever -- dumb!

I'll (have) to take that as a compliment.

What you see in the pic is NOT the original design. What you see is my personal mod (involving no fabrication or difficult installation) from the original sleeve-grabbing (though open-able from both inside and outside w/o sliding the window) design. In practice, the "hassle" of opening the slider to get out has not been a problem for me or any visitors (never even have to say a thing). The benefit of no sleeve-grabbing original handle and removing one rattle point exceeds any perceived hassle. It's a cost vs.benefit or style vs. function trade-off. For me, function always trumps style.

It's my camper and I'll keep it...