problem with door lock?

[sledge]

as mentioned in my previous thread I thought it worth while to start this as another thread to alert owners to an inherent problem with the door locks. sorry if it has been discussed before but as our van is less than 12 months old I thought wouldnt hurt to repeat for all to be weary.

my wife locked the van as you normally would and on return we couldnt get the key in. we tried for on 30 mins and no luck. we thought someone may have jammed something in there but this wasnt the case. we were fortunate that a neighbour lent us his son to enter through the storage bay but unfortunately it wouldnt budge from the inside.

so after no luck with jayco roadside got hold of the only locksmith in town who arrived aroung 6pm. he noted straight away that the lock slot was on the horizontal and should be on the vertical after a key has locked and been removed from the lock. so being in the horizontal position was why the key couldnt be reinserted. he did his magic, turned the key slot and pointed out that the keys werent that well cut at the top edge, so cut me 2 new keys and all was great.

all I can say was thank goodness he was available and we werent bush as the axe was looking pretty good in making an alternative entry

 

[macca]

I try not to let anyone lock the van but me.

 

[sledge]

I try not to let anyone lock the van but me.

pretty hard to explain that to the wife......she thinks I spend too much time tinkering with the van as it is..

 

[hamish22]

This is a real issue and has now happened to me twice.

Last time was when I got home from xmas holidays and the Wife locked the door but the key jammed in the horizontal position.
Luckily I have a rear door to get in and once I got the door open and barrel out I had to put it in the vice and tap the key out it jammed in that hard.

I have since been to Jayco and bought a new barrel which will be going in before our next trip!

 

[sledge]

the locksmith reckons if a new key is recut from the ID code thats printed on the original, the replacement will have an extra notch and not allow it to come out incorrectly....

 

[Ren77]

That's a good tip....how awful would it be when you are out in the middle of nowhere and not be able to get into your van? So it's a good idea to get some extra keys cut as soon as we get the new van then?

 

[macca]

I try not to let anyone lock the van but me.

What I mean is I have told everyone that they have to be really careful with the way they use the lock and if I'm around I generally lock it otherwise my wife does, I try not to let the kids use the keys in the lock.

 

[Navman]

I believe that we were the "neighbours" on the weekend or by some strange coincidence the exact same thing occured There was no way that key was going back into that lock and the locksmith was brilliant. It does however make you wonder whether or not there should be a recall on these locks. We have also had trouble at time locking our van. Might be time for us to get some new keys cut too.

 

[Bmhdg76]

Yes if there is that many people with the same issue then shouldn't something be being done? How could we get some action on this issue? We generally always free camp and is now my biggest fear in not being able to get in or worse still, one of the kids being locked in!

BJ

 

[Brad]

Another way to try and enter is to jack up one corner of your van which can twist the van enough to bypass the entire lock. The door will simply open. Well it did on my last van anyway. Haven't had to try on the 18.

 

[Navman]

Yes if there is that many people with the same issue then shouldn't something be being done? How could we get some action on this issue? We generally always free camp and is now my biggest fear in not being able to get in or worse still, one of the kids being locked in!

BJ

I agree. It would be a terrible feeling to be locked in but I think that as you don't lock from the inside with a key then the risk of this happening is a little less .......hopefully

 

[straydingo]

I had a few minor issues while away over Christmas break.
I remove the lower latch plate off the wall so there is nothing for the lower lock to engage to. No more problems

 

[achjimmy]

Just had this happen to us. We were in Forbes and i just exited the van and locked the door. Next thing I couldn't get in. No locksmiths around until the next day at the earliest and a $300 charge! Got to Parkes and the Windsor dealer who had some spares. Son crawled inside and screwed the lock apart so I could get it opened. Once opened its the barrel that was jamed. But to get the barrel out to replace it you need the pins aligned ie the key in!!! So knowing I had a replacement barrel available I belted the key in to align the pins. The key was still tight with a 1 mm to go. Once all home it came out and the barrel started working again! For the $40 I changed the barrel anyway but am convinced if this happens again it will just take a forceful "tap" to get the key home and all will come good? Hopefully the newer barrels are improved and it doesn't happen. They are a slighty different key.

Big thanks to Judy at Jayco Sydney for assisting with info over the phone, the service was excellent. She had organized Orange Jayco to have a spare waiting if we headed there.

Also the guys at Parkes Caravans were very helpful and carry a good range of spares so I was able to continue on .

 

[hamish22]

Something else i have noticed is that out of the 2 sets of keys we have the door has now jammed numerous times with the one key only and not the other!

 

[achjimmy]

Something else i have noticed is that out of the 2 sets of keys we have the door has now jammed numerous times with the one key only and not the other!

Hamish when this happened it did with my spare cut key! The other thing was I had just come off about 80km of dusty dirt road. Although the lock didn't show any signs of dust, but I had given it a drink of water followed by 3 squirts of WD by then to try and fix! Iam convinced the method above would work if it happens again. It's the same principal as a "bump" key but with all the pins perfect.

 

[hamish22]

Hamish when this happened it did with my spare cut key! The other thing was I had just come off about 80km of dusty dirt road. Although the lock didn't show any signs of dust, but I had given it a drink of water followed by 3 squirts of WD by then to try and fix! Iam convinced the method above would work if it happens again. It's the same principal as a "bump" key but with all the pins perfect.

Yeah I don't know if it is a coincidence that it has only been the one key, but the last time as i said in my first post the key was so jammed in the lock I had to tap it out with a hammer and its been fine ever since!
Like you I have since bought a new barrel and will replace it if it happens to jam again!

 

[Swerve]

Hmmm, Might need to install a internal access hatch to my locker, should I ever need to break in. Is there a way to tell if you have a good or bad barrel ?

 

[hamish22]

Is there a way to tell if you have a good or bad barrel ?

Not that I know of!
Our door shut in the wind with the key in it and jammed when I had left the wife and son away on their own!
It jammed a few more times since, but it seemed OK before that!

 

[donnybabes]

Im having problems with my lock too.I got locked out,the lock has jammed several times. Is there a replacement that can be got as I dont trust the lock anymore.I have had it looked at but its an intermitten thing with the jamming.

 

[straydingo]

Yep. Its a Camec 3-point lock so you can replace simply enough. Just unscrews from the inside.
I've actually got a handle and a set of keyed alike barrels on order at the moment from Caravans Plus (and hinges, and cupboard latches, and awning bits, and and and)
http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=986_61_44_84