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Old 05-15-2002, 02:41 PM   #1
Larry_Loo
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Default Additional lock, on upper half door

:
Today I installed a cam-type, cabinet door lock on the upper half door of our TM. The installation of this additional lock was detailed on John Irwin's TrailManor site (before it was blanked out!). I believe it was thought up by Jack or Vivian Fox.

I've wanted to install such an additional lock on the door of our 3124KS since learning about it. Our door, like those of other TMs, I suspect, has been difficult to keep closed. This became evident during a stay at a state park in oregon when we locked up the trailer and drove to see the park's lighthouse. When we returned, we found the door wide open. Nothing was missing and it appeared that no one was responsible. The door had just swung open on its own because we just hadn't fiddled with it until the latch on the door knob caught.

On returning from that trip I built up the strike plate with a 1/4" thicker one. This made it easier to lock the door, but, the knob's lock still seemed to be an insecure way to lock the entire door - with the upper half just held by a swung-down plastic piece.

After making several expeditions to our local hardware stores, I finally found what I was looking for - a cam lock for a cabinet/small door. Our TM doors are 1-1/4" thick and the job required a cam lock with the longest barrel available, National Cabinet Lock's C8060 series. Making sure that it was square to the door's surface all the time, I drilled a 1/4" hole through the doorway. The center of the hole was located 6" above the bottom of the door and 3/4" in from its edge. While drilling through the door, it became evident that there was a wooden frame underneath the aluminum skins. I then used a 3/4" hole saw (with a 1/4" pilot drill bit) and, starting from the outside, carefully cut a 3/4" hole through the OUTER SKIN of the door and the wood framework. I stopped just before reaching the INNER SKIN - so that I would not cut a completely round, 3/4" hole through the inner aluminum skin. Then I took a 5/8" Forstner bit (a conventional, 1/2" twist bit or even a small chisel would also do) and drilled out the wooden core that was left by the hole saw. Since the cam lock requires a partly round hole with flat sides opposite each other, I used a round file to create this shape. After the barrel fitted snugly through the door, I locked it in place with the nut and installed the rest of the parts according to the directions. I did not like the small area of contact that the offset cam made with the door frame so I made a longer, straight cam for the lock.

With the second, though small, cabinet lock on our TM's upper half door, the entire door seems very secure when both locks are engaged. Sure, a determined thief could break in if he wanted to, but, the dual locking mechanism gives us more peace of mind.

For those of you who want to add this additional lock but can't find a suitable one at your local hardware store, National Cabinet Locks has an online site, at:

http://www.nclnet.com

Click on their stock cabinet locks to see their selection. They may have a listing of distributors on the site also.

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Old 05-15-2002, 02:46 PM   #2
Larry_Loo
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Sorry about the duplication of this posting. The site told me that I couldn't post because I wasn't logged in - but it posted the message anyway the first time. I wasn't aware of this and relogged in and posted it again. ??? ???
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Old 05-20-2002, 07:29 AM   #3
hal
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Larry, a common cause for a door to open mysteriously on the TrailManor is because the right front stabilizer jack is raised a bit too high.  This causes the trailer frame to curve upward on the front and thus pull the bolt out of the slot.  You might try lowering that stabilizer just a bit.  You can test the security of the door by hitting the swinging post with the palm of your hand.  If the door still opens mysteriously, lower the jack some more.

Hal
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Old 05-20-2002, 09:16 AM   #4
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Just to expand on Hal's point a bit more...

The frame becomes stressed unequally side to side when the tires lie on ground which is not level, latitudinally, and then the corner stabilizers are used to level out.  There has been discussion in the past about first achieving a basic cross-trailer leveling by using blocks under the tires.

One should have the wheel suspensions [equally] bear a significant portion of the trailer weight to minimize frame flex and its wierd effects.  
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Old 05-20-2002, 09:47 AM   #5
Happytrails
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Ok, on the door lock thingy. I've got an OLD 1986 Trailmanor. I guess some of the things they are doing these days aren't as good as they used to be, either that, or a previous owner made a VERY good modification to the door as NOONE seems to have one like mine. On mine, there is a small METAL piece that slides over the bottom section of the door from the top section, this keeps it SECURELY in place, the two NEVER come apart, and there is nothing at all plastic that holds the two together. This metal tab is around 1-1.5" long pointing down the door. Heck, my TM's WAY out of alignment right now as I'm getting ready to replace all the wood in the bottom of the front shell with aluminum, and that door is *still* secure as a rock! If anyone's interested, I'll be happy to take a picture of it and post it here.  
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Old 05-20-2002, 02:47 PM   #6
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Go ahead and post the picture I would like to see this!
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Old 05-21-2002, 03:00 AM   #7
KB7OUR
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Default I'd like to see the door latch pics also

Please do post them for the group.

Wade
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Old 05-23-2002, 11:25 AM   #8
Happytrails
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Aak! I guess the pics will have to wait till Chris adds the mods, on a side note, I've not posted any pics here yet, do you hit that little tab for adding one and add a URL? Or can you just attach them or what? Just curious. I could add them to my web site, but I still gotta figure out how to upload it to my web space.   :-/
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Old 05-23-2002, 11:30 AM   #9
Happytrails
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

PS....all there is to it is an "L" shaped tab of metel about 1.5-2" wide, by 1" down the door (tall) that slips on the end of the bottom section's outter edge. It's held in place by two screws that go on the underside of the top section of the door

   
                   
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Old 05-25-2002, 04:32 AM   #10
Happytrails
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Default Re: Additional lock, on upper half door

Update! Just for you guys, I created a web page with the pictures of my old door from my 1986 M25.  :


http://members.aol.com/br768/ind2.htm


Happytrails
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