I pulled into the campgrounds the other day and when I stopped the door flew open. I had just drove 20 miles and never noticed anything in the mirrors, however I would of had to be turning left or braking and looking in the left mirror at the same time to see it happen. I checked the door and hinges and they were good but I found the striker plate to be loose. It is held in place by two rivets and two machine screws. The rivets had pulled loose and allowed the striker to move when closing the door.
The following photos show how I fixed and reinforced it.
Photo #2 shows the inside of the closet
Photo 3
Photo #4
Photo #5
Photo #6
The bracket and back-up plate I got at a hardware store. The last photo shows that the catch is fully deployed onto the strike plate. The oak flat helps to transfer the force when closing the door over a larger area.
It is overkill, the way I like things to be.
KVJ
I did a similar thing on my 81 years ago, but your fix went quite a bit further. I like it. Good photos!
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
I cut the length of the bracket to fit perfectly bucked up to the frame of the screen door jamb. This gave support to the three holes I drilled through the fiberglass closet wall. I didn't want the force of the door being slammed completely on those holes. The oak board on the inside was cut to buck up against the inside of the closet face basically doing the same thing. It is solid.
It might be over kill,but thats how we do things too,and it sure looks like it will do the trick.Have you had the door fly open after installing your fix? We had this problem when we were bringing our new one home last Nov,and Scamp sent out a new latch,we went thru 2 more and finally thought we had the problem solved,till we sold it a short time ago and it swung open on our new buyer, Now we're wondering if we are going to have the same door issues on the new Casita we have on order since the doors sure look the same,I am going to show your pictures to Launey so he will have it in his memory if it does happen:-)
Launey and Earlene
Earlene,
I have not yet been out but I don't think its going pop open on its own.
KVJ
KVJ, I would hope that you now will have no problem with the door again. I would think that Scamp would surely know about this problem with their doors flying open after so many people are complaining about that issue.Not just here on SOI but on other forums as well. Whats funny in a way,is that back in 81 we had a new 13ft,that I pulled much farther then the 2015 we had and not once did we ever have a problem with the door flying open like that.Wonder what was differant back then:-) We cant rememeber the latch on it,been to many years
Launey and Earlene
This post has now been added to the Modifications Table of Contents so it is easy to find in the future.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
As for the light, I use it at night to help me locate the locking pin hole...
If I understand this, the problem seems to be from the latch pushing the striker plate in when the door is pushed shut. Could the problem be eliminated or greatly reduced if one just got into the habit of turning the handle as you close the door? That way the striker plate would not be taking that force. Also, would keeping the latch well lubed help?
When we picked up our 13' from the factory, we were instructed to hold the door handle in the open position, push the
Door closed then release the door handle to the neutral ,latched position and lock it for travel.
Time will tell..
LyleB,
This is my second Scamp. Never any issue with the door on the '97' 19 ft deluxe. I was always careful to turn the handle and press the door in and make sure it was secured. That's not to say other family members were so thoughtful. It's just natural to want hearing the latch click for that extra bit of confidence knowing the door is completely shut, much the same as the house door or the car door. I'm not complaining about it, I just thought if others were experiencing the same problem that it can be a DIY fix without going to the RV center. To be honest, I never slammed the door shut because I didn't want the gel coat to crack as I have seen others write about.