Side bed latches don't work

[DBCooper]

My sister has a Wanderer with the two side tents and one front. When stowed, the sides are held in by two cheesy latches that have allowed one of the sides to fall open while underway. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and if so what you did about it. I need to come up with something before this turns dangerous. I'm not overly impressed with this unit as of yet. The tongue jack has tanked itself and we are also trying to find the cause of a total DC electrical outage. Any input is appreciated. Thanks
Dan

[DBCooper]

My sister has a Wanderer with the two side tents and one front. When stowed, the sides are held in by two cheesy latches that have allowed one of the sides to fall open while underway. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and if so what you did about it. I need to come up with something before this turns dangerous. I'm not overly impressed with this unit as of yet. The tongue jack has tanked itself and we are also trying to find the cause of a total DC electrical outage. Any input is appreciated. Thanks
Dan

[Bruce, wife, & pet rabbit Jett]

I can't help with the latches problem, but I might be able to help with the electrical problem.

About the tongue jack – Are you sure it's not due to your dead electrical system? You can always try jumping some power to the jack directly from your truck/car battery and see if it works. If it does work and if you have power in the trailer, look for a blown fuse.

About the dead electrical system: Start at the start, the battery. Does it register about 12.5 volts or more? If not, try to charge it. You can usually take it to an auto parts store and they'll test it for free. You can even jumper your truck/car battery to the trailer for a short time.

Once you're sure the battery is in good shape, start testing the electrical appliances. Do they work? If not, start checking fuses.

Once you have the lights and things working, you need to see why the battery went dead. Did it not get charged? Plug in your trailer. The battery voltage should jump up to about 13.5 volts while charging. If you don't see the voltage go up, you'll need to look at your converter. Maybe a circuit breaker or fuse is tripped.

Good Luck!

[Wikiwi]

See if the latches have holes that line up when closed. If so you might be able to put a lock through there to secure the bunk ends.

[Superslif]

On my 05' Aerolite Cub hybrid they have built-in lockable latches. Even without it being locked I feel safe that once the lever is clicked in it would be almost impossible to open. Does your sister's click in or is it one of the older hybrids that had some kind of screw knob that held the tent bed in place? I wonder if its not lockable whether you could drill 2 small holes to slide a lock thru. I could see that if one of those side tent beds opened on the road you would be SOL. That would be funny to see but lets not go there.....

[DBCooper]

Thanks for the replys folks! I like the idea of seeing if I can drill a hole in the latches and pin them in place! It's an '05, but still has the lame "screw knob" set up. Everything else is covered under warranty...turns out it has a bad converter (known problem yet (surprize surprize) they still crank them out with the same model converter). The jack problem is just the fact that it wasn't built heavy enough to be a tounge jack on my jet ski trailer, let alone a TT. The RV industry cracks me up. The absolute crap they hang on thier stuff these days is unbelievable. I'd be embarassed to put my name on some (most) of this junk. The warranty is fine for her now, but what about a couple of years down the road when this thing falls apart in front of her eyes? My wife and I will be in the market for a new unit to replace our 10 year old (and fairly well built) Sandpiper next year. If it says Thor on it I won't even walk inside. That's how bad my sisters is. I wonder if these people even think of that kind of "marketing" they put out when they send a unit of this quality down the road. It's not even mine and I won't look at that brand when I do buy. Nice job Thor.

[lightkeeper]

One of my front bed locks stripped so until I can get a replacement, I am using "S" hooks to go through the ones with two holes for extra security. I think Starcraft has changed the bed lock design since mine came out (2003).