Door too thick

[Sumblkguy7]

Hi all,

I'm wrapping up the main door of my 2010 Thomas and I ran into a bit of a snag with the RV door handle. The door is made of steel sheets with 1.5" square tube.

The issue seems that I didn't account for the RV market being very specific about the 1.5" max thickness and I'm a hair short (roughly 0.20"/5mm) of the interior mechanism latch arm from pulling the latch bolt.

The deadbolt works fine but I can only feel a point 1 and 2 (from the picture) barely touch and it's not enough to pull the latch bolt at all. Priced out some machine work for the modifying the parts but both quotes sit over $100 for a $20 latch. I want to keep the RV handle aesthetic and remaking the door in 1.25" square tube seems like overkill but I can't seem to see the simple solution here. Anything obvious I'm missing or some thicker RV door handle type?

Thanks!

 

[TheHubbardBus]

I'm inclined to believe there isn't anything obvious you're missing. If 1.5" is the max door thickness that lock/latch assembly will accomodate, it is what it is. You obviously wish to keep that lock based on your statements, but if it was me, I'd be looking at more robust options (aka not RV-specific) that accomodate your door thickness. Modifying either the door or the latch to make something that - since it's made for an RV - is likely sub-standard in terms of security and/or build quality, would not be the path I'd choose.

 

[Bjorkinman]

The max is 1.5, unfortunately. I built my door the same with the RV handle but would have preferred to go with a 2" thick door for insulating purposes. For what its worth, like hubbard mentioned, the RV latches are complete junk. I haven't used mine more than 6 months and it already broke and needed repairing. Ill be looking for a better made door handle in the near future. My buddy is a locksmith and said the door locks on RV's are just about the easiest to pick. Im thinking about installing an Abloy on the outside for when we park and leave to go exploring in the TOAD.

 

[fo4imtippin]

I had the same issue with mine. The first latch i bought fit no problem, but it burned out and the reach wasn't as far in as i had hoped.

I replaced it with a better quality one, but then the inside paddle didnt reach far enough in to retract the latchbolt. I liked the lock so i tried to make it work and eventually did, but not how i had hoped.

First i tried to weld an extension onto the tab that the inner latch opens. I couldnt figure out what the metal was, probably crappy pot metal, but couldnt get any weld type or filler metal to stick.

Eventually, i drilled the lip to put a pin through it and jbwelded my extension on. The door latch isnt any less strong, but someday i suppose someone may pull too hard on the inner latch handle and break off my extension and need a screwdriver to get out.

 

[Sumblkguy7]

Thanks for the input all. I think I'm getting too hung up on the visual here and respect what you're saying about the RV door quality. I do really like @fo4imtippin's idea on the lip but also foresee that future break happening in the middle of a trip. I'll take the advice of my skoolie seniors here and peek at non-RV door options that speak to me.

 

[LargeMarge-TC]

I fabricated our door of materials identical to your door.
Why?
We camp in bear hog cougar territory.
.
Going with the theme of 'better paranoid than digested', instead of a traditional stand-still house knob and latch, I installed two stand-still house DEADBOLTS.
.
I also split the door, a main lower section with an independent 'Dutch' upper.
This gives security with the option of ventilation and peeping.
.
.
Someplace in this mess, you should find portraits and explanations:

ExpeditionVehicle build

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