Wet Bay Door Won't Open

[ARD]

You ever have one of those days....huge rock slams into your windshield and then the crack starts spreading. Then you get to the campground ... yay! Nay, the wet bay cargo door refuses to open. So I ask, is there a secret release button that I don't know about. How do I get the blasted bay open?

As always, I thank ya'll for your help.

["007"]

Look under the door lock you will see a wire loop that door lock latch hooks over, with a screwdriver put in wire loop and bend loop so it releases the lock latch.
When putting jacks down never over extend the jacks to where you can flex chassis frame, could pop windshield and bind doors to compartments and entrance door.
Jacks are use to stabilize coach chassis only.

[10 fan]

Is it locked or unlocked? Does the cargo lock switch work for the others? Does the handle move and not release or not move? Try the key if switch does not work. Push in next to the handle while opening.

[ARD]

Originally Posted by "007"

Look under the door lock you will see a wire loop that door lock latch hooks over, with a screwdriver put in wire loop and bend loop so it releases the lock latch.
When putting jacks down never over extend the jacks to where you can flex chassis frame, could pop windshield and bind doors to compartments and entrance door.
Jacks are use to stabilize coach chassis only.

Hmmm, can't find a wire loop. I was still aired up so don't really understand the jack reference. Thanks for trying to help me.

[ARD]

Originally Posted by 10 fan

Is it locked or unlocked? Does the cargo lock switch work for the others? Does the handle move and not release or not move? Try the key if switch does not work. Push in next to the handle while opening.

It's unlocked. I tried the key and it works. When I lift the latch, it's like there is nothing happening. Tried the pushing in too. One word...ouch. Thanks 10 Fan for your suggestions.

Shout out to Neal and Stuart.... thank you. I have a feeling the little wire inside the black casing is not attached. Mobile tech coming out at 9 pm Mountain Time. [emoji1374]

[ddowntown]

The chassis may be tweaked even on the airbags, try dumping the air and try to open, if not try the jacks. One of my passenger side storage doors gets jammed when in a certain position, normally when I dump and level it’s all good.

[hohenwald48]

Originally Posted by "007"

Jacks are use to stabilize coach chassis only.

I use my jacks to level the coach not just "stabilize" it. Sometimes I even have a wheel or two off the ground. No problems in 20 years.

Trailers have stabilizing jacks but most motorhome jacks are more substantial and intended for levelling.

[Stuart W]

The handle is connected to the latch mechanism with a wire cable held in place by a Allen head screw. I suspect the latch locks with the key, meaning when locked the handle will not move, unlocked the handle moves, however the movement is disconnected from the latch because the cable has fallen out of place. I don’t believe the jacks have anything to do with this problem.

[ARD]

UPDATE: As much of a lousy day of traveling I had, I am feeling very grateful. I'm at Cherry Creek SP and called Transwest and there was no way to get in any time soon. They, however, recommended a mobile tech (Andrew of RV Repairmen) who used to work at Transwest and he was indeed my savior. The wire that goes in that allen wrenchy hole that pulls the black knob down had come out. He tried to use a slim jim to go up under the plastic covering the lock mechanism; however, when the wire is disconnected the place where you want to pull down spins. So ultimately he removed the pins from the door and then used a very long socket wrench to remove the kickplate thing (I'm sorry I don't what any of these things are called. I can take photos if anyone wants them for future reference.) and then put the pins back in and reattached the wire tightening it all up. He then made sure the paint of the door was all lined up. And so if you are ever in the Denver area and need a technician, I highly recommend Andrew.

As always, I thank all of you who contributed. This forum really has been a lifeline for me.

[Stuart W]

[emoji846][emoji322]🥂

[ARD]

Originally Posted by Stuart W

The handle is connected to the latch mechanism with a wire cable held in place by a Allen head screw. I suspect the latch locks with the key, meaning when locked the handle will not move, unlocked the handle moves, however the movement is disconnected from the latch because the cable has fallen out of place. I don’t believe the jacks have anything to do with this problem.

Ahhhh, I didn't see your post before I posted. So you nailed it! That was the problem. Thanks for posting the photo! [emoji4]

[CaptainGizmo]

Originally Posted by ARD

It's unlocked. I tried the key and it works. When I lift the latch, it's like there is nothing happening. Tried the pushing in too. One word...ouch. Thanks 10 Fan for your suggestions.

Shout out to Neal and Stuart.... thank you. I have a feeling the little wire inside the black casing is not attached. Mobile tech coming out at 9 pm Mountain Time. [emoji1374]

I GUARANTEE you that’s what happened! I had the same thing and Stuart helped our tech and it was a bugger. We had to access the latch loop bolts from the adjacent compartment.

I cringe at the other bays that aren’t accessible,like the wet bay!

I actually posted a caution on this very topic of going through every lock assembly and making sure that cable lock set screw it’s tight...and I mean SUPER TIGHT!!! We had mine fixed, only to have the cable slip out again because the screw wasn’t tight enough.

Hope your tech has an easy and harmless fix.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by ARD

UPDATE: As much of a lousy day of traveling I had, I am feeling very grateful. I'm at Cherry Creek SP and called Transwest and there was no way to get in any time soon. They, however, recommended a mobile tech (Andrew of RV Repairmen) who used to work at Transwest and he was indeed my savior. The wire that goes in that allen wrenchy hole that pulls the black knob down had come out. He tried to use a slim jim to go up under the plastic covering the lock mechanism; however, when the wire is disconnected the place where you want to pull down spins. So ultimately he removed the pins from the door and then used a very long socket wrench to remove the kickplate thing (I'm sorry I don't what any of these things are called. I can take photos if anyone wants them for future reference.) and then put the pins back in and reattached the wire tightening it all up. He then made sure the paint of the door was all lined up. And so if you are ever in the Denver area and need a technician, I highly recommend Andrew.

As always, I thank all of you who contributed. This forum really has been a lifeline for me.

I would love to see some pictures and see how he got in so I have it in my back pocket in case I'm ever in the same situation.

[NealC]

Glad you found a great tech and got this nightmare solved. This is a reminder to us all to remove the black plastic covers over the latches and ensure the wire is secured.

Stuart and I discussed a few options when trying to help Renee over the phone.

1) Consider a crimp or solder something on the end of the wire/cable so it cannot fall through if the allen nut comes loose.

2) For critical bays (wet bay and shore power) consider adding a manual pull cable that can unlock the door. This can be a simple cable, wire terminal, etc attached to the cylinder the wire cable is connected to. From this a string or flexible stranded wire can go down and have a small ring stowed underneath that when pulled down it releases the latch.

We can all learn again from incidents like this. This is a vulnerable situation that we all need to learn from and know how this latch works and how Newmar has done a poor job of the design to not safety wire the wire to latch pull which can be catastrophic such as happened to Renee.

Enjoy the SP Renee, glad your day ended on a good note.