Can't close my TM.....help!!,

**rdmoreno** · 09-22-2013, 09:28 AM

We are in the middle of a week long trip 400 miles from home and decided to move to a better spot, when we went to close up the rear section driver side ( non-door) side will not latch and seem to be hitting the top flat part of the latch and not falling into the spring loaded latch area. We have tried closing with jacks up and down and had my wife push the back while I push down and nothing seems to work. We got all the door side latches to lock and were able to move the 100 ft that we had to then hoping something might have moved back into place tried again but no luck. I guess if it doesn't close I may have to use ratcheting straps to get it home.
I will call our dealer in Pomona tomorrow for suggestions but am seeking help here.

TrailManorMan · 09-22-2013, 10:19 AM

Is anything in the way ?
I had a light lens fall off and it was enough to cause an issue. It landed on the rear roof came off the front section

09-22-2013, 10:49 AM

Make sure the latch is not stuck in the open position (wiggle the black handle) I have had rust on the pivot pin cause the latch to stick in the open position and not spring back. Do you have pillows etc on the bed?

ZekenSpider · 09-22-2013, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdmoreno

We are in the middle of a week long trip 400 miles from home and decided to move to a better spot, when we went to close up the rear section driver side ( non-door) side will not latch and seem to be hitting the top flat part of the latch and not falling into the spring loaded latch area. We have tried closing with jacks up and down and had my wife push the back while I push down and nothing seems to work. We got all the door side latches to lock and were able to move the 100 ft that we had to then hoping something might have moved back into place tried again but no luck. I guess if it doesn't close I may have to use ratcheting straps to get it home.
I will call our dealer in Pomona tomorrow for suggestions but am seeking help here.

We had this(see photos) happen to our 2010 3326 a month ago. The attachment bolts that hold the mid trailer torsion bar bracket had pulled out of the bottom of the floor. They actually "pulled out". They are lag bolts that screw into the wood frame (yes the modern TM's still have wood frames).

If this is your problem, you can latch things back up for travel by putting a jack under the bracket to raise it up to the bottom frame, latch the roof down, then remove the jack. It will get you home but you will probably need dealer help to repair it.

**rdmoreno** · 09-22-2013, 11:18 AM

Thanks for responding. I have checked for obstructions and latch rust or missing latch spring. The problem seems to be an alignment issue as the little locking bar will not line up with the entrance to the latch itself. There is a flat part of the latch just next to the latch "entrance" and it keeps hitting that area. Like an inch off or so. We have had this trailer for 10 years and have seen the normal won't latch problems but cannot figure this one out. I hope I am explaining the problem OK.

**rdmoreno** · 09-22-2013, 11:25 AM

Thanks zekenspider. Just checked the brackets and they look OK but will check for tightness.
It sure seems like some sort of problem like that I just can't seem to locate the misalignment issue. Please keep the ideas coming. We are in Half Moon Bay and I have 5 days to figure it out.

09-22-2013, 12:02 PM

There are worse places to be stuck than Half Moon Bay!

Are all the gap covers secured out of the way? If they release from the velcro dots they could be binding things up.

My mental checklist for closing: All counters clear, range cover closed, bathroom and vanity down, nothing left in the sinks higher than the faucet.

When the shells are open have you checked that they are level? If a torsion bar has slipped it might show the symptoms you describe.

Good luck and hope you find it.

eplants · 09-22-2013, 12:04 PM

Are you way off or just slightly mis-aligned? This occasionally happens with our camper and it is usually a matter of pushing/pulling on the sides a little to get it to lock in place. The one time it came up too short to lock into the bracket i discovered that the latch at the back/front end of the camper was flipped up and was preventing the camper from closing all the way.

**commodor47** · 09-22-2013, 12:10 PM

I have had a similar issue on occasion. It was a misalignment of the locking bar - because the wall was pushed out. Try using the stirrup and push in towards the main body to line up the latch with the locking bar then push down.

Dick

**rdmoreno** · 09-22-2013, 12:38 PM

Thanks for the replies. We tried all of those suggestions when we tried closing a few days ago.
I think I might have a little wiggle room in the adjustment of the latch and catch bar so I will try that when we do a test run in a few days. The weather is perfect right now so we are going to enjoy it for a few days before worrying about it. Keep the ideas and suggestions coming so we have more to work with when the time comes.