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rg neumann · 01-29-2014, 06:50 AM

It is presently -3*F and I opened to door to turn on the heater, we are leaving for Florida tomorrow, and now cannot close the door. It appears that the two pins are not aligned with the frame. Concerned that if I adjust the pins and the temp increases or the door alignment changes we might not be able to get out of the coach. That would be worse than the current situation. Any thoughts as to what my options are?

al2ride · 01-29-2014, 11:49 AM

Not sure what other choice you have but to adjust it to get it to close. Are you sure it's an alignment issue and not something preventing it from closing such as ice. Could you post photos.

homeless · 01-29-2014, 12:03 PM

jfleeman · 01-31-2014, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rg neumann

It is presently -3*F and I opened to door to turn on the heater, we are leaving for Florida tomorrow, and now cannot close the door. It appears that the two pins are not aligned with the frame. Concerned that if I adjust the pins and the temp increases or the door alignment changes we might not be able to get out of the coach. That would be worse than the current situation. Any thoughts as to what my options are?

Did you come up with a solution?

rg neumann · 02-01-2014, 07:16 PM

Short term solution was to apply soap to the two "striker bolts" and the bracket on the door frame. Door opened easily for 3 days. Yesterday after refueling, just south of Atlanta, we couldn't get out of the van, just as I had imagined earlier!! Located a local truck and rv repair shop. Owner, after some reluctance, agreed to climb into the unit thru the emergency window and work on it. He removed the trim surrounding the lock and removed the 3 screws. Then determined that the lock had broken and wouldn't release when the handle was actuated. With the help of a 3# sledge and a long screw driver he forced the door to open. Still don't know if the lock was the broken or he broken it as he was attempting to analyze the cause of the problem. We now are traveling to Key West using the dead bolt to secure the door. Will contact Monaco Warrantee Dept. and have a new unit shipped to us.
I should have read the notice applied to the lock assembly indicating to contact a service dept. to adjust any problem with the "striker bolts".

But in retrospect it could have been worse., we could have been on the outside trying to get in.

jfleeman · 02-02-2014, 09:23 AM

Key West, what a great trip! We are heading there 1st of March. How long are you going to be down there?

Critter · 02-04-2014, 11:18 PM

I became locked in -- my handle wouldn't unlatch and open the door from the inside and my friends couldn't open the door using the handle from the outside on my Vesta. Luckily, I had a small Philips screwdriver and removed the door handle and manually manipulated the mechanism to open.I then re-assembled the handle and everything has worked well since. I can't figure out why the mechanism failed, but am now scared to lock all the windows when I leave the Vesta -- I'm afraid that the handle mechanism will fail again and I will have to crawl through a window to perform a "fix" again.

rg neumann · 02-06-2014, 05:26 AM

The door saga continues with Trimark door lock. Went to the internet and Trimark has the identical model on their web site. A very similar model is available on Amazon. However, many of the customer responses note that the original model has been discontinued because of lock failure similar to my situation. Also, the replacement unit has been changed somewhat, requiring some modification. Haven't gotten feedback from Monarc, either from customer support or parts. If I don't hear from them. will call Trimark direct.

jfleeman · 03-03-2014, 12:38 PM

RG, how goes the door latch saga?

rg neumann · 03-06-2014, 08:30 AM

In attempting to determine the proper replacement, I went thru Monaco tech service. No luck in determining the actual Trimark lock since Monaco bought the entire door from Lippert. I was unable to contact Lippert and then contacted Trimark. Told them of the design of the lock and the problem I had. The individual was obviously aware of the problem and gave me the new lock i.d. 060-1650. For replacing the lock in our unit she recommended the "kit" 33512-01k for a price of $182. Since we have an extended warranty policy, we will have the original dealer handle the ordering and replacement of the lock once we are back in Ohio.
On another issue, the exterior coach light wasn't working nor was the lighted grab handle. Tried to remove the lens cover on the exterior light and notices some condensation inside the lens cover. Cover was so well adhered to the coach I was afraid to remove it without breaking it. I drilled 3 1/8" holes on the underside of the lens. Within a day in bright sunshine here in South Florida, the condensate evaporated and now the light works.
With regard to the lighted grab handle, I removed the handle and determined that the fixture was miswired. Fixture clearly states that the while wire be connected to negative terminal. Replacement fixture was $10 and now works well.