cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Locked Out...Sorta

Samsonsworld
Explorer
Explorer
So I picked up my new trailer yesterday and it never fails that little things pop up as you spend time in it. This trailer has two doors, the back being the main entrance. The front door opens fine from the inside. I thought everything was in working order. I went to lock up last night and could not get my key in the top lock. It looks pretty boogered up. I cannot open the door from the outside and I can't figure out how to unlock the top from the inside. The deadbolt works fine. I will replace, but in the meantime....is there a way to unlock it without a key?
20 REPLIES 20

bukhrn
Explorer III
Explorer III
Samsonsworld wrote:
LouLawrence wrote:
Hope you are headed back to the dealer! It would be complete BS if they did not take care of that any any other little details.


I could take it back for about $80 in fuel and 4-5 hours of my time. Or, I can fix it myself for about $20 in parts (OK, $30[COLOR=] including a six pack) and 2-3 hours of my time.
As long as you've got a six pack (or 2) you can't really count your Time, as some of that time is not dedicated to repairs. 😉 🙂
2007 Forester 2941DS
2014 Ford Focus
Zamboni, Long Haired Mini Dachshund

fj12ryder
Explorer II
Explorer II
One of the, relatively, small things I love about our new-to-us trailer is the fact that both entry doors, lock and deadbolt, garage door/ramp, 3 basement storage doors, generator door, and fuel access door all use the same key, and best of all: it isn't a 751. 🙂
Howard and Peggy

"Don't Panic"

Samsonsworld
Explorer
Explorer
Grit dog wrote:
Samsonsworld wrote:
LouLawrence wrote:
Hope you are headed back to the dealer! It would be complete BS if they did not take care of that any any other little details.


I could take it back for about $80 in fuel and 4-5 hours of my time. Or, I can fix it myself for about $20 in parts (OK, $30 including a six pack) and 2-3 hours of my time.


Truth!

Now, the real question, why on earth would the 2 doors be keyed differently? (I understand latches and deadbolts are generally/always different...also dumb)

That would be like keying each door on your house different or each car door if they still had manual key locks.


Yet my first 3 trailers all used the exact same key for storage????:S

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
dedmiston wrote:


It's the dumbest thing ever, but I've got bigger things to complain about.


Agreed, just makes no sense to me, but there's gotta be some "RV" convention or thought or rule as this seems fairly commonplace.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

GottaRunGottaCa
Explorer
Explorer
dedmiston wrote:
Our fifth-wheel is like that. There's one key for the main entrance door, a different one for the entrance to the garage, and then a third one for the garage ramp. All three keys look identical, so I took three bottles of my wife's nail polish and made a bloop on each of the locks and then painted the keys to match so I wouldn't have to fumble around.

It's the dumbest thing ever, but I've got bigger things to complain about.

Our 5er toyhauler has two keys, one key opens both doors and the other only opens the garage door, I'm OK with that 😄
2016 F350
2019 Heartland Torque TQ-371

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
Our fifth-wheel is like that. There's one key for the main entrance door, a different one for the entrance to the garage, and then a third one for the garage ramp. All three keys look identical, so I took three bottles of my wife's nail polish and made a bloop on each of the locks and then painted the keys to match so I wouldn't have to fumble around.

It's the dumbest thing ever, but I've got bigger things to complain about.

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch • 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") • <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Samsonsworld wrote:
LouLawrence wrote:
Hope you are headed back to the dealer! It would be complete BS if they did not take care of that any any other little details.


I could take it back for about $80 in fuel and 4-5 hours of my time. Or, I can fix it myself for about $20 in parts (OK, $30 including a six pack) and 2-3 hours of my time.


Truth!

Now, the real question, why on earth would the 2 doors be keyed differently? (I understand latches and deadbolts are generally/always different...also dumb)

That would be like keying each door on your house different or each car door if they still had manual key locks.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

LouLawrence
Explorer
Explorer
I guess that's one reason dealer's can send out so many units with such crappy workmanship!

Samsonsworld
Explorer
Explorer
LouLawrence wrote:
Hope you are headed back to the dealer! It would be complete BS if they did not take care of that any any other little details.


I could take it back for about $80 in fuel and 4-5 hours of my time. Or, I can fix it myself for about $20 in parts (OK, $30 including a six pack) and 2-3 hours of my time.

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Sheesh. I thought Airstreams were suppose to be quality.
Lotta dinero for a giant convection oven with wheels!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
Samsonsworld wrote:
#3, my shower needs some caulking...easy fix.

I have owned my Airstream for 5 years. For 4 years I thought water was running out from under the shower door into the floor. I put a towel down before showering to catch the water and didn't worry about it. About a year ago, I did exactly that, and got the floor completely dry. About 15 minutes later DW told me there was a LOT of water in the bathroom floor. Uh oh. I happened to be going to the Airstream factory at Jackson Center, OH this past September for the Alumapalooza rally. While there, I told them in the factory office about it. They checked it out and found that a seam between the shower wall and shower floor had not been caulked, or not caulked properly. Water had been leaking under the shower pan for 5 years. They fixed it. For a price. (They also found 2 roof leaks, but that was my dealer's doing, not the factory's. The roof leaks had also been happening for the full 5 years. Before taking possession of the trailer I had the dealer install a solar panel. Within a week of taking possession, the Dometic AC failed and the dealer replaced it under warranty. He failed to seal either the screws for the solar panel feet OR the screws securing the AC against water intrusion.)
Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB

LouLawrence
Explorer
Explorer
Hope you are headed back to the dealer! It would be complete BS if they did not take care of that any any other little details.

Samsonsworld
Explorer
Explorer
After several tries, WD40 finally did the trick. Thanks for the responses. Now to problem #2. My TV sits crooked on the swing mount and its driving me crazy! :h #3, my shower needs some caulking...easy fix. #4, the front screen door isn't latching...also easy...I think. Its winterized and I'll use the next few months to get it ready for spring.

The good news is, after the maiden voyage, these are the only real annoyances. Nothing major. Everything else is working well.

Dtank
Explorer
Explorer
Fisherman wrote:
Best lock cleaner you can get is called "Houdini". We used that stuff where padlocks were subjected to dusty and freezing conditions and never had an issue.


Learn something new every day!...:C

Google: "Houdini Lock Lube" - - supposedly the locksmith's friend for over 40 years! (reasonably priced)