9 replies to this topic

[baglady5590]

All cargo doors on our 2004 Fleetwood Revolution 40' have come open while traveling.

The doors are locked and tugged on before departure but one or sometimes two fly open.

Much cargo has been lost.

Any suggestions?

[DickandLois]

The Fact that All The cargo doors come open is a new one for me. I have had the sticker / catches loosen up and need to be retightened. Also had a spring in the latch or one of the plastic latches break, but even with one of the latches not functioning, the cargo doors have stayed closed. The clips that keep the doors centered in the opening have broken, this allows the door to move off center and a latch slip out of the catch and the door did not open.

I can see where one or two of the doors could be affected while on a trip.

This problem thread should be interesting to follow.

[baglady5590]

Thanks for your response, do you think if we replaced the plastic latches with metal they would stay closed?

[DickandLois]

The thing is unless the latches are broken that alone would not cure the problem. The plastic ones will ware faster and this fact would lessen the sealing ability because of the additional play. that being the case would not explain the doors poping open.The metal latches are the same physical size and it would be a job and cost that in the end may verywell not solve the problem.
The only thing I can invision, is there has to be something out of spec. All of them acting the same way is just hard the get a grip on. I could under stand a number of them having a problen IF a side had been damaged at some point,,but even then that would reguire the entire length of one side. That would of been one big crunch.
I think we need to look at this from a different point of view.

Ok all the cargo doors pop open when on the road.
The latch pins should extend out and be about even with the edge of the cargo. that is as far as you can extend then and still open the doors with out catching on something else.
The catches should line up with center of the pins. An example--- IF the pin extends out 3/4in from it mounting and the latch is 1/2in. wide then there would be 1/8in. at the inside and 1/8in. on the outer end of the pin beyond the latch bracket. Granted this would be the perfect placement,but that never is going to happen in the real world. The more of the bracket the pin can extend under the better up to the point,where when you pull on the handel(s) to open the cargo door; they need to clear to alow it to open.
Each pin has a spring that forces it outward and when you pull the handel you compress the spring thus clearing the latch bracket. There are two latches per door and one could have a bad spring,but the other side will force its pin outward and the other pin will be forced out with it. If your door have only one pin and the spring is broken. Then vibration will work the pin out from under the latching bracket and pop goes the door. The problem is that if the door is locked, then the handel if in the down / in the travel position and locked it should stay closed.
I have no history of the coach and if a prior was like a gorilla, then all I can say all bets are off.
I do need to keep my latches tight and the pins lubed,along with the lock cylinders to keep things working.

Hope the thoughts help.

[hermanmullins]

When the plastic latches brake it is quite a chore to get the door open. Changing to the mteal latches is a good idea. Check the wear pattern on your latches. Your strikers may be too low and only the tip of the latch is catching. Vibrations going down the road can cause them to open. Ajust the strikers and see if that helps.

[baglady5590]

This has been a problem since the coach was new. In 2005 the dealer installed little black (looks like rubber) shims under the catches to move them out. The doors are very hard to close, we use our knees to push the doors shut . None of the plastic plungers are broken and do not seem to be worn.

We just never know when a door will open and of course it opens up completely because of the (air shock cylinders?). I have often wondered if the air temperature change has anything to do with it.They have come open more often in early am and late in the day just before sundown. Bumpy dirt roads have not made them open. We are very hesitant about drilling holes on the outside to install gate latches or hasps and were hoping someone could come up with an aternative fix for us.

[WillTory]

Could be one of two different problems - first, the tongue of the latch might not be engaging the hook far enough, allowing for the natural shifting of the door during transit to disengage the latch.
Secondly, a combination of the pressure of the door seals, and a slightly worn tongue of the latch might allow the latch to "not" fully latch upon closing. Then again, it might be a combination of the two.

If this were mine, I would empty a compartment, and with a "trusted" assistant, allow the assistant to close the door with me inside the compartment - then attempt to force the door open. This would tell you more of the story.

[hermanmullins]

Good thought WillTroy.

Be sure you give your assistant a good flash light, so they can look at the latch to see if it is fully engaged.

If you can, open up the cover to your latches check to see if they are moving all the way up and down. If not WD-40 to clean them and then a good silicone lubricant.

[baglady5590]

Very good suggestions that we never thought of doing. We're on it. Thanks so much.

[rcgoss]

Hi Baglady,

We have a 2000 American Eagle that sometimes does the same thing on the swing-up bay doors, especially the battery bay door. I recently discovered that the latch rod between the rear latch and the latch handle on that door was in a bind against a rubber gasket. Once I moved (bent) the rod to where it should have been, the opening problem has stopped. One other thing, once a door like that is down I need to hold the door latch handle in the open position and lean against the door with my leg to compress the gasket before I let go of the handle. Then I reach down and pull on each end of the door to assure that both latches are engaged. Often one or the other is not properly engaged. When both latches are engaged, I've not had a door come open.

One other thing. When I first got the unit the left front bay door didn't seem to close properly. Upon investigation I found that the previous owner had installed the shelf in that compartment. The shelf did not allow sufficient clearance for the door handle housing, thus the door had to be forced closed. There is now sufficient clearance and the door closes normally, latches correctly and stays closed.

Also I'm curious about the "cargo" that has been lost. Is there anything in the bays that is against against the doors when they are closed? Hope not, because if the doors are being impacted by items in the bays, it's possible that the latch rods are being moved, causing the latches to come open. Where possible I keep all my "cargo" in plastic storage boxes and I've never had one of them fall out after a door opened.

Hope this helps.