2 Things You Need To Know About RV Door Locks

The RV entry door lock shown below has probably been installed in hundreds of thousands of travel trailers, fifth wheels, and truck campers over the years. In this entry, I want to share two tips that could very well save you from aggravation during your travels.

1. How do you know if your door will unlock with a passkey?

For decades, the main latch/knob of RV entry door locks has been keyed with master keys, also known as passkeys.

Look for a small letter (C, D, E, etc) next to the keyhole. If you see a letter, this indicates which lettered passkey will unlock it. The reason for passkeys is the convenience for RV manufacturers, transport drivers, and RV dealers.

It is much easier for someone in the industry to carry around a few master keys than a key to every RV in their inventory. What this means to you is anyone with the corresponding lettered passkey can open the latched handle of your RV entry door (or knobbed handles on older RVs).

To counter this, most RVers (myself included) only use the deadbolt on the RV entry door. Deadbolts are uniquely keyed and, under normal circumstances, you control the only set of keys.

2. How do you fix the deadbolt if it wears out?

Those of you that follow this blog know that I travel a lot and go to a lot of different places, some which are a little off the beaten path, which equates to many miles on my RV. In fact, it is safe to say, my 2010 model travel trailer probably has 3 to 4 times the mileage of most RVs of similar age.

Therefore, when my deadbolt started acting up, I figured it was worn out and ordered a new lock assembly. Upon removing the lock from the trailer door, I discover the screws holding the rear plate of the lock had vibrated part-way out.

This allowed the rear plate of the lock to come loose, which in turn allowed the linkage that connects the deadbolt tumbler to the deadbolt to drop out of the cast holes that allow it to work.

Fixing the lock was just a matter of dropping the linkage back in the hole and screwing the rear plate back on tight, as the plate is the only thing that keeps the linkage from falling out of the hole.

Putting a little Loctite on the screws assures this won’t happen again. Fortunately for me, the linkage fell off when the deadbolt was retracted.

Hopefully by sharing this information, I have informed some about the dangers of passkeys and the pending failure of your deadbolt as the miles add up. Take corrective action before you find yourself locked out of your RV.

Being locked out of your RV in the middle of nowhere is an adventure in RVing no one wants to experience.

See also: Keyless RV Door Locks: Are They Worth It?

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