'23 337RLS - Door has to be "SLAMMED" to catch and stay closed

[Techwiz]

I know you have to securely close the front door but on mine, I have to really slam or yank when inside to the point that I sometimes have to do it twice. my wife can't close the door. I intend to replace the original handle and lock soon with a digital one (suggestions welcome, I'm looking at the RVLock brand atm) but when I was looking at it earlier, I noticed that the top screw of the latch plate in the frame was loose and it will not tighten up. So I think whats happening is that the door is pushing the plate back just enough so that the part that comes out of the door can't catch.

Does anyone have any fixes or solutions or anything? I don't know if they maybe stripped it out during installation or what - frustrating because I asked about it when I bought it and the dealer said that they were all very hard to latch - I know we don't want play in the door but I also don't want to break something...

[old brown]

I got rid of the Moryde step which just binds the door and went with a Torklift step. Then I drilled out the hinges on the door removing the hinge catch mechanism.
The door is so smooth and easy to close it’s amazing! All the was going to happen as new was crack the door frame or bust a hinge.
Yes, I put a door catch on the trailer.
2022 303rls

[Techwiz]

Thanks Old Brown, I’ll check out the other steps and also see if I can tackle the modification you did. I did find it interesting that on mine it has the friction hinges but it also has a catch for the door to be full open. I do kinda like the friction hinges but the slamming to close has to stop. I’m supposed to go back to the dealer soon for a list of other things I’ve found and this is also on the list so we will see what they say but I’m pretty sure they won’t have anything.

[Techwiz]

So I was waiting on my fresh water tank to fill tonight (inlet water is low pressure because of how far I’ve got the hose running from the house - putting in a permanent solution as soon as I get a chance to trench the line over). Anyway, I really looked close at the latch on the door. I discovered that it was installed upside down so that it was backwards. I undid the two screws (the top one was stripped out onto the frame - any suggestions to fix that?) turned it around and tightened back the bottom and put the top in. It’s MUCH better now. I’m really disappointed in the GD PDI and the dealership PDI. I even commented on it to my sales guy that it seemed much more difficult than the other trailers we looked at, smh.

Guess that’s the short term fix for the time being.

[Cate&Rob]

The aluminum wall frame surrounding the door likely has a wood core to help retain screws. As such, a longer latch plate screw might grab deeper into the wood.

Rob

[JBill9694]

Techwiz, the old toothpick and glue to fill in the hole should work, if there is a wood backing.

[Sandridge4]

I had issues with the door being difficult on a previous TT. What I found was an issue in the handle/latch grease. I was replacing the factory handle to a Bauer Bluetooth model (https://bauerproducts.com/product-ca...cts/rvhandles/) and found that the grease used to lubricate the original had turned to a sticky paste which was binding up the mechanism. Since I have lubricated all the latches one a month (we are full time) with this https://3inone.com/product/3-in-one-...rack-dry-lube/

[Techwiz]

Rob & John, Thanks - There isn't a wood backer where the screws are - it's just in the metal frame and the screws are very short. I don't know if this is the way it should be or not but it's what it currently has.

Scott, Thanks - I'm going to check that out, both the grease and the lock. I want to replace the handle/lock anyway so its a good reason to. Have you been happy with the Bauer unit? I'm mostly fulltime as well and I want to change out all the storage areas as well as the door and key them all alike.

[Don Coy]

I had a similar problem with the screws that hold the striker plate in place. I replaced the sheet metal screws that were installed with some RivNuts, machine screws, and some blue loctite. I picked up the RivNuts as a kit of various sizes on Amazon for about $10. Amazon will also be happy to sell you a tool to install them, but you don't really need one. I use a machine screw the size of the RivNut along with some matching washers. If you search YouTube for "Install RivNut without tool", you'll find several videos to show you how to use them.

They've worked out great in my case. I can now easily remove and reinstall the striker plate if it needs alignment and the problem with stripped screws is history. You do need to be sure that the washer head on the RivNut doesn't cause the strike plate to move too far away from the door jamb - it could interfere with the door closing which would defeat the whole purpose. In my case, this wasn't an issue and it's working out great.

[Sandridge4]

Rob & John, Thanks - There isn't a wood backer where the screws are - it's just in the metal frame and the screws are very short. I don't know if this is the way it should be or not but it's what it currently has.

Scott, Thanks - I'm going to check that out, both the grease and the lock. I want to replace the handle/lock anyway so it’s a good reason to. Have you been happy with the Bauer unit? I'm mostly fulltime as well and I want to change out all the storage areas as well as the door and key them all alike.

I am happy with the lock, I have had it for about 3-4 years and moved it to 3 different units. Our current Solitude has Bauer latches and you can order the lock to come keyed the same as the baggage doors but I have not had any problems with the one we have so I can’t justify the cost of doing it for that reason alone.

[familytruckster4]

I dont recall any of my trailers not having an issue with the door needing adjustment. Anything from filing the latch to replacing the screws with the next bigger size.
The hardest one to get straightened out was the one that the dealer "fixed"

[Kathy&Jim_Imagine]

I have the very same issue as Techwiz describer with our 2600RB. Sheet metal screws are very short and the top one is stripped. Door is hard to close. I did try to use a little larger diameter screw that was also a little longer and found that I was hitting what I believe was the TT framework. I liked Don Coy fix as I was already wondering if a rivnut might work. Sounds like it did.
Now, just one more thing to add to the list. By the way, I do have RVlocks installed.

[Jomani]

I used a high quality dry silicone lube for a while. Seemed to work for a couple of weeks then back to slamming. I finally decided to remove the entire mechanism and cut a couple of coils off the spring. I still get a secure latch with a much smoother close. Since I always lock the deadbolt when traveling,I am not concerned about the door opening.

[Madonnell]

I had adjusted the latch plate multiple times and even ground it down slightly to try to get a better catch without having to slam the door (near impossible from inside). I finally sprayed some lube in the friction hinges, effectively disabling them. Problem solved! Closes easily except that occasional spot when the levelers don't quite get the frame straight and it binds a bit.

Incidentally, I added the 3rd screw shown in pic to keep it from moving and sliding back when the door closed, which definitely caused problems latching sometimes.

(I also had to do a 3rd screw in the screen door latch as shown in 2nd pic. The latch was a bit loose and screw holes stripped when we got our 303).

[tstillman]

I came across this post and found it very interesting.

Last Nov 2022 I purchased my 2022 GD Transcend Xplor 247 BH. brought it home and parked it under my side cover out of the weather.
As the camping season approached, I got serious about prepping for our first outing. It was then I discovered that our entry door was becoming more and more difficult to close. Initially, it would secure with a good slam. However, it got to the point that it wouldn't latch. I tried lubing the latch as it felt sticky, with minor improvement. I also removed the strike plate and rotated it and it did help, but had to put it back because the deadbolt couldn't be used. I was able to secure the door by closing it as far shut as it would go and then with a quick push I could get the door to secure. I thought it was working and just needed t compress the seals to set them in a closed position. Then I tried to close the door from the inside. I had to do the same method of closing the door as far as it would go then pull hard on the handle until it latched.
Slamming the door will not secure it.

My concern is that the pulling will do damage to the door frame or latching hardware. I should add that the trailer was level and the stabilizer jacks were deployed. On our first trip out, we discovered that during the leveling process, the door worked more easily when the trailer was slightly out of level. It feels like the leveling process stresses the frame/chassis and affects the flushness of the door in the frame thereby making it hard to secure the latch.

I'm open to suggestions as to a possible cause and solution. The camping season is just beginning here in the Pacific North"Wet" and I don't want to miss the prime season waiting for an untimely service repair.