Locked out

[techfan]

Sitting in our tow vehicle at our campground in Hood River Oregon. One of the door locks appears to have failed. It works the dead bolt but won't go in or turn the lock. Waiting for a locksmith. Not a way to start vacation. Any ideas

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by techfan

Any ideas

Phone Reace?

[JohnB]

We had a similar issue last fall. The dead bolt would not function. Trailer was 4 months old.

Remove the screws from one side of the hinges and the door will come out.
You can then open up the inside plate of the lock assembly and remove the dead bolt slide, easy to do and very obvious once you open it up. We were not able to operate the dead bolt from the inside or outside. Replace door.

We had to do this in the dark very late at night using lights from tow vehicle.
You can still lock the door from the outside with the other half of the lock system but you will not be able to lock the door from the inside with the dead bolt. Not that much of an issue.

The secret is to have a screw driver that is not inside the trailer!
That is another story which made it more complicated but were able to work around fishing through the side storage hatch and a long pole.

I believe the solution is to replace the entire lock assembly, according to Reace.
We have not picked up the trailer from Escape since we took it in for repair so not sure what the final outcome was. Will find out next week.

[Donna D.]

It's nearly the following day since you posted. Hope you got to sleep in your bed last night.

The door lockset isn't an issue with just the Escape. I know a fella that owns a Casita that had to crawl through a window at the Oregon Gathering and another couple with a huge See Ya 5th wheel that also got locked out because of a failure to the deadbolt portion.

I would imagine it's because trailers are like earthquakes going down the road and all the shaking going on... something is going to fail or move. Fortunately (or unfortunately) it's sometimes just the lockset.

Safe travels!

[JimJ]

Tell us the end of the story, Tim.

[techfan]

Ahh... the rest of the story. I tried to post after things were resolved but the WIFI at the campgrounds was on the fritz. $110 and 2 hours later (we had to pay for travel to the campground) the issue was resolved and we didn't have to remove the door. That was looking like a prospect since no one was small enough to crawl in through the small baggage door! It was the deadbolt lock. Apparently, according to the locksmith, one of the small discs that is supposed to retain the key and prevent it from being removed in the wrong position, gave out and was extended preventing the key from now being inserted. He used some of his small key tools to force the disc back and insert a key. He recommended NOT locking the deadbolt from the outside. Needless to say, we will only use the deadbolt from the inside. Seems strange that a $20,000 plus RV can be stymied by a $20 lock mechanism but the locksmith said he makes good money opening malfunctioning RV locks. And yes, these are common locks on a lot of RV's. So, we did get to spend the night in the Escape and after the locksmith left, we celebrated with a cold one. Today we rode our bikes on the old highway between Hood River and Mosier and it was a beautiful day. Ended with a beer and great pizza at Double Mountain. So happy ending, but a word to the wise, if you own an Escape you need to plan your escape just in case you get lock out or in.

[Jrn56]

I am glad you are enjoying Hood River now. We spent a weekend there last July. It is a fun little town and beautiful area.

[Jim Bennett]

There, you got your trailer jinx out of the way. It is all fun from hear on in.

[azjack]

We also had a door lock problem, can't remember if it was the Escape or prior trailer, same type of lock. We took the trailer to a lock smith shop as we were traveling at the time. He realigned a part or two through the key hole so the key would work and told us to make sure we remove the key when the key is in the proper position. Then he left and just said have a good day, no charge and we have not had a problem since. Like I said, I don't remember which trailer as we have had the Escape for well over two years.
Jack

[captmath]

Don't know if this applies, but when we had our pick-up tour we were told to make sure the key was turned all the way to the stop before removal or it would not work again.

Dick

[Janet W]

We picked up our 19 in early December and I also recall something being said about the door locks. We have had our trailer out only 5 times! Tonight I was going to go into the trailer and lo and behold the deadbolt wouldn't work , Barry had been in the trailer an hour earlier without problem..I think we both had been careful when locking and unlocking but I think it is the nature of the lock mechanism.We took off the door and Barry had to remove the lock assembly to remove the deadbolt as neither would work from inside or out! so at this time only the handle locks.

has anyone who has had this problem done a complete assembly changeover?

[cpaharley2008]

Good idea to apply some lock oil graphite once a year to your lock to keep it operating smoothly. I too have wondered about squeezing thru that exterior hatch, no way jose! worse thing would be removing the hinge screws, I leave my tools in the hatch for that reason.

[Jubal]

Is a more reliable entrance door lock assembly avaliable ?
RV Lock Keyless Remote for Trailers, 5th Wheel and Campers. Great Christmas Xmas Present!! ??

[santacruzer]

According to the photos on their web page, it looks like a direct replacement for the existing mechanism, at least on my trailer. What I didn't see was whether it had the additional deadbolt function. I would suspect that the batteries might be taking up the space the deadbolt occupied.

[techfan]

I started this "Locked Out" post in Hood River. We had a previous trailer with exactly the same lock and were always careful to "position" the key for removal. This was not the issue. Something was wrong with the lock. Interesting that some other trailers from around the same time period had similar issues... bad run of locks? As to the electronic one. It has a deadbolt but that is the manual key on the lock. So, most people were having trouble with the deadbolt, this might still be an issue with this lock as well. After looking on line at how easy it is to defeat these locks, unless you are the owner trying to get in we have decided that we will only use the latch lock when leaving and not take a chance on the deadbolt. We will use the deadbolt when inside.

[Jubal]

From JT Guardian, RV keyless lock
Yes. The RVLock handle does have a deadbolt that is actuated by either the electronics or a key as a back up. We encourage our customers to use the keys only for backup and to use the remotes and keypads as the primary source for locking and unlocking.

[Donna D.]

I dont know what brand of lockset Escape uses, but this was just posted on a Facebook page I follow: Nearly 3 million RV door locks recalled

[techfan]

Sure sounds like what happened to us. I may forward the article to Reace. That IS the lock used on our Escape.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I dont know what brand of lockset Escape uses, but this was just posted on a Facebook page I follow: Nearly 3 million RV door locks recalled

Hi: Donna D... Thanks for this vital info. I just went out to check ours and can't find a model# on it anywhere. Ours looks like the one in your link except the deadbolt lock is at the bottom not the top. This requires further checking into. Thanks again. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Eriep.s. looks like our 5.0 has a 44610 model showing the deadbolt lock on the bottom. I'm sure this will be a logistic nightmare for all mfg's of RV's. Check the Flush Slam Lock on Fastec's website!!! http://www.fastecindustrial.com

[FMLNM]

We just checked our 2008 5.0 and it is a 43610 (even though it does not look exactly like the picture of that model on the website...kind of reversed!!)

Here is a link to how to find your model number and key code number.
Frequently Asked Questions

Note that in our case, the model number was on a piece of paper previously glued inside the lock but it had come loose and was sitting inside the lock when we unscrewed it.

When putting the backplate back on, be sure to align the D shaped hole in the red lever with its pin in the lock. And be sure the black tongue on the inside lock handle is on the correct side of the lock bolt. Then position and tighten the 4 screws in an alternating pattern.