Why do problems always occur away from civilisation? We have had two recent separate problems with our Camec door.
1) You lock the door on the way to scare-up some food & the barrel of the lock comes out with the key.
2) You’ve had your tucker & are locking up for the night (from the inside) & then find that you cannot unlock the door.
There’s no one around & what to do? All tools are outside the van & the only possibility inside is some olive oil. Tried this to lubricate the mechanism, but was still locked in.
Out the bedroom window is the only alternative.
I removed the fly screen by prying it free with a kitchen knife.
Placed a pillow over the window frame, slid out feet first & found still a long drop to the ground.
Once on terra firma, I found that the key opened the door as normal. Also found that the inside lock would work OK with the door open, but would still not unlock with the door closed. (No I didn’t slide out the window again this time, as SWMBO was outside with the key!)
I adjusted the striker plates on the door frame, & this seemed to correct the problem.
Time for bed now, all OK?
Good nights sleep & next morning, guess what?
We were locked in again! (Some people never learn)
Out the window again, & we left the door unlocked for the rest of the trip.
Fixes
1) After doing a major dismantle of the door, found that to replace the door lock barrel is simple.
Place the key in the lock barrel & with the lock tabs in the down position, use a small screwdriver to depress the locking tab on the barrel, & slide the assembly in until the locking tab locates.
I don’t know why the barrel came out in the first place, but its still there & the problem has not re-occurred again.
2) After removing the door handles, they have to go back in.
After much trial & error, this is how you do it:
Place the outside handle on first, unlock the inside handle, & place it where it should go (except it won’t).
Enlist the assistance of your beloved or one of the assembled crowd of rubbernecking sightseers.
Get them to depress the bottom door latch, while you depress the centre latch while pushing the handle back in place.
The bottom latch lifts a spring-loaded bar that operates the latches, & the centre latch engages a rack on the metal bar, with a pinion on the handle assembly.
These need to align, before the sliding aluminium actuator of the handle assembly will insert into a slot on the latch bar.
Replace the top & bottom screws on the door handle. You need to lock the door from inside to get access to the remaining screw. (press the spring loaded button near the latch to be able to lock the door while its still open)
Sounds complicated? Not really, patience & common sense are all that’s needed. (Don’t take too much notice from all the uneducated spectators.)
3) Now the funny part, of fixing the locked-in situation.
I waited until we got home to dismantle the door bits.
I completely dismantled the door handle assembly, & found an absence of any sensible reason why we got locked in.
I did find a slight burr on the sliding aluminium bits, which could catch, but I don’t think that this was the cause of the problem.(removed the burr anyhow)
I thoroughly cleaned all parts & lubricated everything with silicone spray lubricant. (Don’t know if this is the best procedure, but time will tell.)
Thoroughly cleaned all bits in the door, & using previously gained experience, reassembled the door handles into the door.
I adjusted the striker plates to where it seemed to be a good place. (It would be nice to know the exact procedure.)
I also adjusted the striker plates on the screen door to make it unlatch easier.
Everything back together again & the door locks are working like a bought one!
(Until the next time anyhow)
Neil
