Thor Forums

[OldArmyJeep]

Our Coach Door LOCKED US OUT... BUT just as easily could have LOCKED US IN.....

We have a 2015 Thor Miramar.....After recently locking the deadbolt on the door for the night, the deadbolt separated from the locking mechanism in the LOCKED position and refused to open. Luckily, we were not camping at the time. The coach was stored on our driveway for the winter so I had time to troubleshoot the problem. After repeated attempts (for at least an hour) to open the lock using the key, the mechanism finally connected with the deadbolt and the door opened. (pure dumb luck.... no skill involved!!!)

A locksmith removed the door lock cover plate (inside) and found that a 'formed catchwire' inside the mechanism disengaged from the deadbolt causing it to stay in the locked position. He stated that this could easily have happened when we were camping in the coach TRAPPING US INSIDE.

The catchwire had too much slack which allowed it to disengage from the deadbolt. The catchwire was gently bent to remove the slack and I now have more confidence that this won't happen again. As a precaution, however, the locksmith strongly recommended that I keep a phillips head screwdriver and an ice pick handy somewhere inside the coach just in case it happens again and we get locked INSIDE. If that happens, I will use the tools to remove the lock plate on the inside of the door then slide the deadbolt to open the door. If we're outside and it happens again, I may just leave a front slider window unlocked to gain access.

With the locksmith right there, I also wanted to add a residential-style deadbolt to the door so I could bypass the problem completely but was told the coach door/door frame was not thick enough to support a new lock. Has anyone added a deadbolt to their door??? Hopefully this was a fluke but I thought I would share the experience just the same....... Joe