Round Screen Door Latch Opener

[egraham]

We have just come back from camping in our brand new 19' and write to ask whether anyone else who camps with dogs or cats has experienced the same problem we had. The screen door has a new and brilliant (I think) design, a round, clear plastic device which presses down on the latch to open it from both the inside and the outside. It allows the door to be opened without the plastic being slid open to access the latch.

And that is the problem! It allowed our cats to open the screen door (possibly accidentally, but a dog would soon learn to do it deliberately) by putting the weight of a paw on the round piece of plastic.

We taped it into up-down immobility with blue painters tape, and are now looking for a permanent solution that is a) effective and b) attractive, or at least not ugly and obtrusive. Have you had the same problem and solved it? We need to ensure the plastic in which the round knob is embedded slides back and forth, while ensuring the round knob cannot move up and down.

Our current thought is to glue a small piece of plexiglass (or similar) underneath the knob. But if you have solved this problem differently, we'd love to know what you did.

And for those of you travel with pets and have not yet discovered this potential problem, this is a Dreadful Warning.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

[Vermilye]

Well, a permanent solution would be to remove the plastic "pin" on the back of the disk that engages the door latch, but, of course, there is no going back!

[steve dunham]

We have had the same style latch as you on our trailers for over 8 years
We have a chocolate lab and in all our travels not once has our dog triggered the screen door latch with his paw or nose
I am more concerned about him getting excited and going straight through the screen without opening the screen door

[egraham]

Yes, that's why we're hoping someone else has addressed the issue creatively.

[cpaharley2008]

I was under the impression it would fit under the handle as a lock, but mine is no longer in the driveway to refresh my memory

[egraham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I was under the impression it would fit under the handle as a lock, but mine is no longer in the driveway to refresh my memory

When we picked up our Escape 19 on August 10, Verena, who did our orientation, told us that it is a relatively recent innovation, of her design, (Patent Pending). She invented it, she said, after her children kept leaving the slide open every time they exited the trailer, letting in mosquitos and other bugs. Her solution is so elegant, and unobtrusive: a round, clear hollow circle of plastic embedded into the clear plastic door slide, with a spring inside it that, when one presses down, allows one to push on the screen door lever and open it. It can be used from both inside and outside. One of our cats put paw pressure on it and opened the door --- to our dismay, of course!

[cpaharley2008]

now press down and slide it under the handle to hold it up in the locked position....

[egraham]

Will try that --- thank you!

[h2owmn]

I looked at mine last night. Might not work permanently, but if you slide the plexiglass open enought that it cant engage the black knob, there’s about an inch or inch and a half gap. You could put a piece of plexiglass vertically in the track to bridge that gap. You might also want to put a piece horizontallly in the track at the other end to keep the large plexiglass from moving...kinda like putting a bar in a patio slider to block it from being opened.

[Fox hunt]

never had an issue with mine