Hold Down Latch

While on our latest trip to St. Louis, we had a broken main shell latch. Rear shell, door side. It appears that the weld broke on the inside of this pin. As we were on the road I couldn't call TM and have them ship me a replacement. Went to an RV dealer (non-TM) with the latch and explained the function to the parts guy - he found a pawl pin used on big awnings that fit the opening and installed it for me - quick and easy fix.

I'm thinking about going to a local big box hardware store and finding some bolts/nuts/whatever to carry as spares in the event this happens again.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Bob

You can order those from Trailmanor....$26 plus shipping. One of those puppies broke on me also, but I was able to repair it for a spare, plus I bought an opposite one and carried both with me just in case. There are 2 different ones that work in all 4 places.

Chap

[B_and_D]

Originally Posted by Bob&Karen

I'm thinking about going to a local big box hardware store and finding some bolts/nuts/whatever to carry as spares in the event this happens again.

Bob

I have an assortment of bolts/nuts/wire/rope/fuses/screws/electrical connections etc. that we bring with us on every trip (plus the tools to install them). It never hurts to be prepared. I keep two old casette tape carrying cases filled with those kinds of things under the bottom drawer closest to the rear bed. Seems like every year we add more things to the kit.

And then there's the WD-40, Duct Tape rule. WD-40 for those things that won't come apart and should, and duct tape for those things that should be stuck together and aren't.

We also broke a latch on a trip to Michigan this summer. Simply wired it down and continued our trip. On return, ordered a spare left and right latch from TM which we now carry in the tool kit. As pointed out above, these two will fix all four latches. Add a roll of wire to the WD40 and duct tape rule.

I think I remember a past post, where they used a strap across the back of the front shell to hold things in place if a latch broke. The strap would have gone over the shell, behind the lift arms, and hooked underneath.....I think, I think.

Chap

Hmmm... I didn't know there were right and left latches - on casual observation, they all look the same to me - I'll have to look closer.

Bob

[Harry Womack]

These latches are called camper latches. Available in white or plated. I have bought several at the RV supply. Metro RV in Irving Texas @ 972-554-4678 has them available. They are less than $15.00 ea.