Dead bolt won't latch when hitched.

I've noticed this year that my deadbolt lock won't slide into the hole when the coach is hitched. It locks normally when unhitched and the landing gear is down. If this is due to the frame flexing, is it a common occurrence or should I be looking for a problem?

We don't lock our rig while traveling mainly because the Cat rides in the rig. I imagine the frame may flex a bit and maybe the hole for the deadbolt is close to the edge when unhooked and just barely out of line when hitched. Try checking your door alignment under both conditions to see just how far things move. Do you have any new gaps at the trim on the side walls at the bedroom overhang area or other areas that may show flex?

My Dead bolt lock would not lock all the way when we first got our trailer. We had to drill out the opening where the bolt went into.
However we do not have any problem locking our door when connected or not connected to the TV.
That would indicate to me to look at how much the frame is flexing.

I do lock the main door to our trailer when traveling. We keep our Yorkie in the TV with us so that is not a problem. When we first started to travel fulltime I read a thread about someone that was going through a town and when they stopped at a place to go in and get something that someone opened their trailer got in and road around. Got out when they stopped at a light.

BC

You should be able to lock it whether hitched or not. I would looked into this more.

TXBobcat said:

My Dead bolt lock would not lock all the way when we first got our trailer. We had to drill out the opening where the bolt went into.
However we do not have any problem locking our door when connected or not connected to the TV.
That would indicate to me to look at how much the frame is flexing.

I do lock the main door to our trailer when traveling. We keep our Yorkie in the TV with us so that is not a problem. When we first started to travel fulltime I read a thread about someone that was going through a town and when they stopped at a place to go in and get something that someone opened their trailer got in and road around. Got out when they stopped at a light.

BC

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I had to do the same with our door when we got it. Didn't notice it until after the PDI and we took it home. I had to drill a hole in the aluminum stud to get the bolt to fully extend. Something else to add to the new buyer checklist.

Had a Travel Villa many years ago that the frame flexed enough to not allow the dead bolt to travel when hitched. I would look into it further as the other post suggested.

The dead bolt worked fine until this year but I can't find anything visible to indicate there is anything wrong with the frame. This also happened on a travel trailer that had obvious flexing. Why would it flex more on the truck than with the landing gear?

The landing gear raises the unit on both sides together. The kingpin raises it just in the center so there is more stress on the front. Some of our friends who have Classic Landmarks have had flexing problems that developed over the years. You may also. Why not stop by a dealer just to have them look at it? Better to be safe than sorry. Since the deadbolt used to work I would imagine something has shifted.

Our Shenandoah does the same thing with the deadbolt. I have to push up on the door slightly to get it to lock. I would think the 4200# pin weight has something to do with it.

The frame weakens at the point the vertical member is welded to the bottom frame letting the torque on the pin lift the nose slightly. Exactly what was said earlier versus the landing gear and the pin weight distribution points. May not get worse but a great way to reduce the shock are the air pins and improving the suspension. Same for the TV if you don't already have air bags. Really lessens the impact of the pot holes on the pin which tends to flex at the lower weld point where it goes vertical. Good luck.

I have had several issues to deal with this spring and I will follow up with this problem shortly. I had a fungus growing in the storage floor so I ripped that rotten mess out and will replace it with a new composite material. I replaced all the hydraulic hoses because some were leaking at the end connections. I supported my tanks to keep them from sagging in the future. And I want to check the frame to see if there is a problem somewhere. I think that the last three posts may be correct because the tongue weight on this model is heavy and supporting it from the hitch pin end causes more torque than the landing gear for the frame to resist. I don't see any signs of it inside or out except for the door lock but I'm going to test that idea. Thanks.

I would vote with drilling the hole deeper so the bolt will go in all the way. My previous rv had the same problem, the door jammed and couldn't unlock it. Rv repair man was at the campground and new what the problem was, slammed the door real hard and then it would open. He looked at it and told me to drill the hole out as the slide bolt was not going all the way into the door jamb.