Community Forums

txcpl · 03-20-2022, 07:40 AM

We have had some trouble with our entry door latch for a while now. The problem has been difficulty in opening the door from the outside. Sometimes it takes a strong pull to open it while wondering if it will open at all. I found the door post to be moving around, so I tightened it up after taking measurements and the door latch operated smoothly for a while. Unfortunately it would loosen up. It seemed that I needed to retighten the door post every few days or at least weekly. A while back, I had the coach in the shop for some other needed fixes, and had them adjust the latch as well. They ended up putting some lock tite on it and it seemed to work okay.

Day before yesterday, I noticed that it was starting to bind up again, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. Preparing for the night, we closed and locked the entry door. The next morning, I got up to go outside to drink coffee while the sun rose, and could not open the door. I tried everything I could think of to get the door unlatched, even re-levelling the coach. Nothing worked. I finally slithered out one of the escape windows, used the door key, and still no luck. Finally, while pushing in on the door and simultaneously pulling on the door handle, it opened. That was relief. But the problem remains. What do I need to do or replace to be sure this does not happen again.

Thanks in advance for your help with this problem.

Nildecaf · 03-22-2022, 05:59 PM

We had a similar problem with our Tiffin DP. See the discussion thread here:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f106/hel...or-563743.html

Turned out that the problem was related to the striker plate being stuck.
Ljwt330 provided the following information and solution for us:
"If you have a PTL manufactured door, take a look at the striker bolt that the door lock latches to. It is mounted on a moveable plate and is supposed to have a bit of vertical movement to prevent the bolt from binding the door latch due to slight body/frame distortion. You might check to see if you can move the striker bolt up and down, by hand, when the door is open."

Good luck.

**NLOVNIT** · 03-22-2022, 09:09 PM

There are probably a dozen or more posts going back a decade about the PTL lock out/lock in syndrome with close to that many fixes. Here's just a few:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/ent...em-100429.html

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/17-...ut-531223.html

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f106/doo...em-447458.html

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f106/locked-out-515399.html

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/loc...me-520761.html

I had this problem with my Phaeton. Luckily 2 things worked:
From the outside: pushing on the door while pulling on the latch handle
From the inside: pulling on the handle at the same time as lifting up on it

Always left the driver's window unlocked ICE. Never did get it fixed before I sold it.

Jarale417 · 10-16-2022, 01:43 PM

I had the same problem with the handle shifting. It would cause the door to stick. Just enough to cause the same problem you are having. Last week, loosened the handle a bit, lined it up where it should be. Tested the location. yep, that works. So drilled a couple of pop rivets in the handle to secure the movements. Works like a charm. Cover the rivets with black marker, don't really notice them. If you end up replacing, the new handle will cover the small drill holes in the door.