Just a note regarding locking basement doors

[Us3Here]

We're not sure what caused this rear door to open. All we know is that we exited the interstate (to the right), slowed down, and entered the toll booth. The RIGHT rear door was apparently open at that point and slammed against the toll booth's cement pole. It caught the door almost dead center, so it wasn't wide open when it hit.

Interesting indeed..

Originally Posted by palehorse89

I was just wondering what caused the door to open in the first place? I did not have my slide tray latched one time and on a curve it started to slide and hit the basement door and blew it open and the tray came out the side, lost a couple of things but no damage to the door. Other than that I have never just had one come open but I check (give a pull) all my doors before hitting the road.

[BUS4US]

You and me both! I will lock them with the key each and every time now.

[DSL417]

Got my attention. Moved today. After power, sewer and water stowed, went around and locked each lock with key.

Thanks for the heads up.

[CoreyinWP]

Just another reason why the power locks should really lock the doors. I believe this is a real lacking in the coach and a misrepresentation in their literature.

[DSL417]

Corey,

I'm not sure of the whys, but when you use the fob to lock the doors, and then try to open them, they come loose a little, but you can't open them. I think that must be the dead bolt latching that you hear.

But I don't have a problem keying the latch if it makes it safer and more secure. As one poster pointed out, andy thief can use an RF transiting device to trigger the dead bolts.

But then nothing is ever really safe

[CoreyinWP]

Many of the other coaches in the price range,ie Monaco, Newmar, American, have electronic latches the lock down as if we lock with a key...much more secure, short of the notorious RF thief! I would rather guard against the more common thief with a little pen knife that can open our doors in Two seconds.

[lp5151]

We had our coach for six months when we got locked out of our coach. Had not hid an extra key at that point, and could not get the keyless entry to work. We were ready to call a lock smith when a neighbor with a Tiffin overheard our problem. He asked if we had tried our default code for the keyless entry. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he entered "the default" code which unlocked the door, apparently everyone knows that code.....Nobody told us about a default code, we had not gotten to that part of our paperwork, we were just using the key fob to lock and unlock the coach. We quickly entered a combination of our own which worked fine.....BUT...we didn't know that the new code didn't override the factory default code. That had to be deleted by the dealer....so for almost 6 months we were under a false sense of security that the coach was locked, fortunately we had no break-ins.

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by demoon

Fortunately, on my Surf Side, the compartments all open to the side, except the two at the far rear. And yes, I have had one of those come open.

Help me understand what locking them does. Doesn't that just prevent the outside handle from moving? If they are not fully closed won't they still open? I usually have them locked anyway, but just wondering.

I agree, I'm not so sure that locking the handle would prevent the door from popping open if the latch was not fully engaged. On the other hand guess it can't hurt.

On my last coach (Fleetwood), pre-departure I would go around to each door and give it a "knee" at the latch end and almost every time be rewarded with a distinct click as the latch fully engaged. I noticed on the Entegra latches the same technique will also very consistently "seat" any partially seated latches - and, in my case at least, most of them do not seat properly just by slamming the door. When given the knee treatment you can see the latch handle just ever so slightly fall into place and hear a slight click as the latch bolt fully extends. I lock them after that too for additional security.

[tnrzryd]

I tend to be very distrustful of electronic locking/latching systems on my coach. That's why I physically check every bay door to confirm it is fully latched and then lock them with the key. I'll use the keyless entry to lock the door but will always double check by giving the door handle a quick tug. And I always carry the coach keys on me when we go out just in case the keyless entry doesn't work when we return.

[FlyingDiver]

Originally Posted by tnrzryd

Yep, a person with the right tool can pop the electronically locked locks open. To be honest, the only time I use the key fob is to unlock them after turning the master coach alarm off. ....and then I use the key to complete the process.

Your electric locks must be very different than the ones Newmar uses. On mine, there's a solenoid that moves the actual lock cylinder, just like the key does. There's absolutely no difference between using the key and using the fob.

[CoreyinWP]

That is correct, they are different. Newmar locks truly "lock" the door just as a key would. The entegra electronic lock is a separate, less robust locking system that really can not be trusted for security.

[Ann n Gene]

Yep agree totally. The Entegra electronic lock is just a backup in case the regular latch pops open, it provides a second line of defense against a door popping open, in theory st least.