Now I have a problem - Montana Owners Club

NewFlyLady · 02-13-2009, 01:27 PM

Well, my Friday the 13th started out just peachy. I woke up, got out of bed, went to the bathroom and the door handle broke in my hand. The bathroom door is locked closed. I have worked on it and cannot get it open. A very positive thought is that it did not happen when I was trying to get out of the bathroom. I can just see having to call someone to rescue me and having both the 5th wheel locked and the bathroom door locked. Who do you call, the fire department. Oh, never mind, how would I call anyone if I was stuck IN the bathroom. I have taken the handle assembly off and there seems to be no way to get the tongue to retract and open the door. HELP I can't hold it much larger.

richfaa · 02-13-2009, 01:37 PM

Due to several repors of folks being stuck in the john because of the door latch breaking we changed it out with a good one BEFORE that happened. Have no idea how to get in..Glad you are outside.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 02-13-2009, 01:49 PM

John and Al broke into ours once, Al and another fellow broke into the same one about 5 months prior. These were both OEM equipment.

They had to pry, and fuss and I don't know what not, but, it was ugly, sweaty and sore muscle time. The second time I swear it was all I could do to not rip that danged door OFF the hinges and toss it in the trash and do without a door. We almost never have company and the slider at the stairs is still there.

Anyway, it was not easy. Course they were trying to not destroy the door jam and stuff.

Al is not here right now to ask, maybe John will happen along soon.

My first suggestion, is DO NOT replace with OEM, go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a VERY expensive handle.

All that said, and even tho I was never locked IN there, I will NOT close that door all the way, ever. Yep, I am paranoid.

nailbender · 02-13-2009, 01:59 PM

Try inserting a knife but not sharp you don't want to get cut, between the door edge and the door jamb and push the latch in. It might take a few tries but it should work. Another option is to remove the hinge pins and pull the door.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 02-13-2009, 02:14 PM

Don, my memory stinks, but thought those hinge pins were on the inside??

And, the knife blade just did not work, there is something very different bout that lock set, sorry, I sure wish I could remember the details instead of just the 30 or more minutes it took 2 grown men of pure struggle to get that thing open. SIGHHH

nailbender · 02-13-2009, 02:43 PM

Carol, I don't know the model number of the unit we are talking about, but most bath rm doors swing out and the hinges would be on the outside. But as I think about it, the RV hinges don't have a removal pins, they are one piece. Too many years working on houses.

Perhaps NewFlyLady could borrow a lock from a neighbors RV and use that open the door.

exav8tr · 02-13-2009, 03:53 PM

Haven't had ours go kaput yet, BUT, we keep a credit card type card on the inside in case it happens while we are in there. You can push the card between the lockset and the door frame and release the lock to get out.

NewFlyLady · 02-13-2009, 03:58 PM

So the upshot of this is that the door is now open. The guy I commute with came in to help. We used screw drives to pry back the tongue a little at a time until I could get a tool blade back behind the curved part of the tongue ans slide it open. Something inside the handle broke so it is getting replaced soon, with a good quality one.

richfaa · 02-14-2009, 01:04 AM

On our 06 3400 the hinge pins are on the outside. These are the ones that were inserted upside down.

Delaine and Lindy · 02-14-2009, 03:03 AM

Just checked my bath room door and a Master Card works everytime. My hinges are on the outside. I have heard of folks leaving a screw driver on the inside of the room. GBY...

Dean A Van Peursem · 02-14-2009, 03:00 PM

High quality RV products require inventive minds. :-)

HamRad · 02-14-2009, 04:35 PM

In our old rig we have had two door knobs break. One to the bathroom and one to the closet. In both cases we simply had to continue removing the rest of the handle. All that was left was the bolt that actually holds the door closed. We had no trouble manipulating it to get it either in or out of the hole. If you can get the complete handle apart there appears to be no reason to not be able to remove the shaft that holds the door closed. But that is just my experience. It obviously differs from others' experiences.

So when we had the first one break we went to local Home Depot and tried to get an exact replacement. They had them but they were twice as much as a model that simply had round handle. Same finish.

We bought two of the cheaper ones. Installed the broken door and it has worked fine since. About a year now. Then while at Q this past January the other door handle broke. We simply found the new one and installed it. Works great. May get another couple just to have on hand in case the new ones break.

Good luck.

HamRad

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