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Old 07-29-2018, 04:07 AM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37LX
State: Florida
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THOR #6310
Well, it finally happened to us. The lock broke.

The Trimark lock broke on our Challenger today, locking us and my 83 year old MIL outside in 90 degree heat and the dog inside the RV. Fortunately thanks to this forum, I knew this was a potential problem and had left the side passenger window unlocked. DH climbed in and disassembled the lock from the inside.

I did a lot of research previously when I first read of this problem and had intended to buy a replacement, but never did. I could not find a Trimark replacement that wasn't made out of the same crappy metal. It seemed none of the other brands was an exact fit, requiring some modifications, or left some minor cosmetic fit issues.

Anyway, here we are. I need a replacement. Can anyone who has replaced a broken lock tell what you replaced it with and how well it has held up? We use our RV a lot. Lots of door open and closing. I do not want this to happen again.
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Old 07-29-2018, 04:25 AM   #2
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THOR #5034
That is unfortunate. Warranty?
E-Ask | TriMark Corporation

Probably not much help, I know.

https://www.rvlock.com/pages/installation
Ours has been reliable for nearly 3 yrs. full time.
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Old 07-29-2018, 11:52 AM   #3
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We replaced our Tri-Mark with a Bauer BP-12RV. The Bauer was less expensive than a TriMark replacement and a drop in--no modifications required for our Axis (It even works with our existing striker plate).
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Old 07-29-2018, 01:37 PM   #4
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I did a pre-emptive replacement on our ACE with this one from Amazon; no modding required and it is supposed to have the steel plunger:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 07-29-2018, 01:59 PM   #5
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I'm glad you got it fixed.

We've had to do two campground emergency repairs for this problem last year. One was a friend that had a 2014(?) Hurricane, and another that had a Challenger that was a little older. Fortunately for us, in both cases, there were people already on both sides of the door and it wasn't hot out.

The failure was exactly as shown in the picture - broken latch bolt. There's clearly a real weakness in this latch design.

In one case, I was at work and I had dropped off our (then) trailer so my wife and kids could spend the week camping with our friend and her kids, and they were able to get it open. I was around for the second and was outside the coach.

The result was the same - we jimmied it from the outside with a couple of thin but long screwdrivers to work the latch slowly to the "open" position to get the door would open. We then disassembled the lock to remove the latch bolt until the new assembly could be reordered. At least they could still use the deadbolt to secure the door until then.
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Old 07-29-2018, 02:07 PM   #6
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THOR #6310
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtntrek View Post
That is unfortunate. Warranty?
E-Ask | TriMark Corporation

Probably not much help, I know.

https://www.rvlock.com/pages/installation
Ours has been reliable for nearly 3 yrs. full time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
We replaced our Tri-Mark with a Bauer BP-12RV. The Bauer was less expensive than a TriMark replacement and a drop in--no modifications required for our Axis (It even works with our existing striker plate).
Thanks for the feedback. To both of you, Is the plunger steel? Did you have modify the screen door, or add a pull handle on the inside? We must be able to close the clear plastic handle cover as we have a Houdini dog who can open the door. Unless, of course, the lock is broken and he's inside. Then he's of no help at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tfryman View Post
I did a pre-emptive replacement on our ACE with this one from Amazon; no modding required and it is supposed to have the steel plunger:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I looked at that one. The reviews indicate that one breaks in the same manner. The Trimark website even states the plunger on that model is made with the same die cast zinc alloy, and not steel. In fact, as I've read on another thread, a 4 digit code on the keys indicate a 060-1650 lock and our keys have that 4 digit code meaning we already had that lock. This is why I don't want to replace it with the same thing. THIS time, it was not an excessively critical time for the lock to break. I definitely don't want the next time to be a life or death situation.
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Old 07-29-2018, 02:24 PM   #7
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THOR #8860
I'm seeing a lot of Class A rigs with the busted locks...
Do they use the same setup in the Class C rigs also?
Would I be able to replace my lock, with one that you folks have mentioned?
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Old 07-29-2018, 09:05 PM   #8
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Don't need to mod anything with the Bauer except that its pull to close is near the edge of the screen. We just put one of those grab bars on the screen door (even before switching out the lock) so no problem there.

Not sure if the bolt is steel in the Bauer or not but it is a completely different design (as such it may have its own problems; but we haven't had any with it so far).
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Old 07-29-2018, 10:16 PM   #9
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We had the same thing happen to us recently. Bought the same Amazon lock as the above post. It needed a little tweaking by our rv repair guy. He says he repairs these frequently.
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Old 07-30-2018, 10:29 PM   #10
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THOR #6310
Emailed our Thor contact today with a description of the broken lock and included pictures. Within a few hours we have a reply that a new lock will be drop-shipped directly to us. We're 6 months outside of warranty. As always, we are happy with Thor's help and responsiveness!

Now to see what we get. I'm fairly sure it'll be a duplicate of the lock we had, with a die cast alloy plunger. Not the best solution, but it'll help me kick the can down the road a bit anyway.
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Old 07-30-2018, 10:43 PM   #11
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Glad to hear that they responded quickly!
And if you decide to: it'll give you the time to shop around for a higher quality replacement.
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Old 07-31-2018, 12:26 AM   #12
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Same thing happened to us on our Challenger. My wife was inside and I was outside and we needed to catch a ferry at Cedar Island, NC. I was able to climb in the passenger window and a camping neighbor handed me our ladder so we could at least catch the ferry to Ocracoke. While on the ferry, I dismantled the lock so we could at least open the door. When we got home a week later, purchased an electronic lock from www.RVLock.com with a key fob. The RVlock is great construction compared to the garbage Thor installed.
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Old 07-31-2018, 10:39 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BradnKaren View Post
Emailed our Thor contact today with a description of the broken lock and included pictures. Within a few hours we have a reply that a new lock will be drop-shipped directly to us. We're 6 months outside of warranty. As always, we are happy with Thor's help and responsiveness!

Now to see what we get. I'm fairly sure it'll be a duplicate of the lock we had, with a die cast alloy plunger. Not the best solution, but it'll help me kick the can down the road a bit anyway.
Could you let us know what they send you?

DH got locked in, luckily in our driveway. We replaced ours with the same model. Now we carry a spare. We also keep a tracfone in our motorhome, and leave the passenger side window unlocked.

We also filed a complaint with NHTSA.
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Old 07-31-2018, 07:16 PM   #14
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Model: Challenger LX
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THOR #6543
Trimark Door lock

We had it happen to our 2016 Challenger.
After a lot of run around with Thor and not trusting I would get the right part from them and Amazon, I took my problem straight to Trimark. I had a few emails to Abby at Trimark and I stayed very patient and communicated politely on every email. Politeness goes a long way...
It was soon after and Kevin emailed me. He wanted a couple pictures of the damage and the number off the inside mechanism. He sent me the outside handle with the lock mechanism and a had to use my old inside handle. Good thing I didn't have to drill the lock to get inside the coach (like Thor advised). He wanted me to send the broken parts and outside handle back to him.
I didn't have to pay for the new one.
I received the handle with a steel plunger and during the install one modification was needed to the inside frame of the handle opening. Everything works great! No problems with my handle now. I'm very satisfied with the service I received from Trimark.
Kevin"s contact information is below:

Kevin Eschweiler
Program Manager, RV/Mass Transit Team | TriMark Corporation | www.trimarkcorp.com
500 Bailey Avenue | PO Box 350 | New Hampton, IA 50659
kevin.eschweiler@trimarkcorp.com | 641-394-3188 x1070 phone | 641-394-1545 fax


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Old 07-31-2018, 07:27 PM   #15
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THOR #1620
My precaution due to these lock hazards is we NEVER slam the door but pull the handle to retract the plunger, close the door then release the handle to avoid any shock being transmitted through the plunger.
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Old 07-31-2018, 07:31 PM   #16
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THOR #6543
Trimark Door lock

Here are a couple pictures of the modification I had to make for the clearance of the new Trimark handle.

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Old 08-01-2018, 08:30 PM   #17
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THOR #6310
Thanks for the tips! We have been advised that the new lock has shipped. They want the old lock back and have included a return shipping label. I'll let you know what we receive.
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Old 08-01-2018, 09:54 PM   #18
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So which lock style is it that breaks? Mine has the two keys in the top and bottom right side corners. The other common model has them on opposite sides from each other. Thank you.
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Old 08-01-2018, 10:00 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BradnKaren View Post
Thanks for the tips! We have been advised that the new lock has shipped. They want the old lock back and have included a return shipping label. I'll let you know what we receive.
Good luck; please let us know how the "lock transplant" procedure goes!
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Old 08-01-2018, 11:59 PM   #20
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After two trimark locks and three times being locked out I replaced mine with the Bauer lock. Have had it for a year now an no issues ..plus bonus no keys when walking the dogs
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