Retrofitting locking latches

Anything to do with mechanical, construction etc

Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Wed Apr 29, 2015 1:39 pm

I have the old school cam lock door latches like these.
https://bigwoodycampers.com/teardrop-camper-parts-and-accessories/teardrop-camper-door-handles

I've ordered these and they are in the mail, so they should arrive by the weekend.
Image

The current door handle is mounted 1 1/2 inches from the door edge, so about 1 3/4 inches from the wall. I don't have dimensions, but I assume that the latch won't reach the wall. What are my options aside from drilling a new hole?
Thanks
Tom
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Dale M. » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:34 am

Wait till new latches arrive, don't over think this..... And YES you may have to drill new hole or extend striker plate out from frame which you will hate as it will reach out and grab you ever chance it gets....

Dale
Lives his life vicariously through his own self.

Any statement made by me are strictly my own opinion.
You are free to ignore anything I say if you do not agree.

Image
User avatar
Dale M.
2000 Club
2000 Club
 
Posts: 2693
Images: 18
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:50 pm
Location: Just a tiny bit west of Yosemite National Park

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:11 am

Dale M. wrote:Wait till new latches arrive, don't over think this..... And YES you may have to drill new hole or extend striker plate out from frame which you will hate as it will reach out and grab you ever chance it gets....

Dale

Too late, over thinking is well underway. It turns out that socal teardrops sells an interior latch that should be a perfect retrofit option for just a couple of dollars more. So I'm probably going to return what I ordered and get the other ones.
Here are the dimensional drawings for the standard ones and the socal ones.
VTS-215-3.jpg
Standard interior latch
VTS-215-3.jpg (39.6 KiB) Viewed 739 times


and the socal TD one
Image
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Dale M. » Fri May 01, 2015 8:15 am

I like the way (not) the socal one lays out dimensions and you have to play the math/ruler game to figure out how far hole is for handle is from edge...

Dale
Lives his life vicariously through his own self.

Any statement made by me are strictly my own opinion.
You are free to ignore anything I say if you do not agree.

Image
User avatar
Dale M.
2000 Club
2000 Club
 
Posts: 2693
Images: 18
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:50 pm
Location: Just a tiny bit west of Yosemite National Park
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Fri May 01, 2015 8:37 am

Dale M. wrote:I like the way (not) the socal one lays out dimensions and you have to play the math/ruler game to figure out how far hole is for handle is from edge...

Dale

It looks like both are made by alhansen. They are sold as cab locks. The drawings are from the Hansen site. But yeah, it looks like the socal ones will work with my hole location. The catch is that the socal ones need a "night lock pin" to lock.
Tom
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Wed May 13, 2015 5:27 pm

After thinking really hard about it, I decided to return the small ones and order the SoCal set. The install should be much easier and cleaner, though the price ends up about the same.

I'll post some pics once I get them.
Tom
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Sat May 23, 2015 10:37 am

I got the socal latches yesterday. The bolted right up to the existing location, and work great. I just had to reverse the exterior handles for them to twist down, rather than up as I had them. First impressions are that the doors are sealing much better with these latches vs the cam style. The DS door always had a little daylight coming around the gaskets, but with these latches the daylight seems to be gone. it does take an extra push to get the latch to fully engage, but that's probably what's making the difference. I'm going to add some pulls on the inside to make it a little easier to pull shut from the inside.

These latches don't have a lock button like the others, but they have an extra pin that when shoved into a hole in the lock, will lock them from the inside. I already have slide bolts installed so I may just continue to use those.
Tom
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby backstrap bandit » Tue Jun 02, 2015 3:21 pm

Do they lock from outside with key
User avatar
backstrap bandit
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 188
Images: 15
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:49 am
Location: Louisiana
Top

Re: Retrofitting locking latches

Postby Socal Tom » Tue Jun 02, 2015 9:12 pm

backstrap bandit wrote:Do they lock from outside with key

The standard door handles lock from the outside with a key.
Tom
Socal Tom
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1347
Images: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:21 am
Location: San Diego Ca
Top


Return to Teardrop Construction Tips & Techniques

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests