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| Last week we camped with our daughter and SIL. They have a 2011 Keystone Cougar. One day they tried to lock their door using the key and deadbolt, and the key just turned with no deadbolt movement. The same with the lever inside. When we removed the inside lever/jandlr assembly, we found that the inside plate that retains the mechanism was loose and the piece of bent steel rod that connects the lever and key cylinder to the deadbolt had dropped out. Replacing it and then putting the plate back on, with tight screws fixed the problem. However, they were fortunate as the steel rod could well have fallen out while travelling with the door bolted. Had this happened, they would not have been able to get into the trailer when they got to the campground, and the handle assembly would have to be drilled and destroyed to get access to the trailer. A locksmith would have had no luck as the lock was working fine. A couple of similar failures were reported on another RV forum that I subscribe to. I checked the lock on our trailer (its an electric lock, but still has a similar plate) and it was fine. Considering the possible consequences of this failure, I recommend a check their door lock mechanism - 5 minutes work. Just undo the 4 screws holding the inside handle/lever on and you'll see the plate that holds the actuating rod and other parts in place. It was held on by two screws on the Cougar. My SIL will be adding some Loctite to the screws on the plate. |
