Door latch options....(for a PD4106)

[bwze]

Interested in what you 4106 owners (and all other's for that matter) are using for a door latch. My bus came with half of a latch but the inside doesn't match. Need to get and install something for security.

[Lin]

We have an RV-type lock and a standard dead bolt.  So far so good.  I have thought that some sort of draw latch would be nice for the inside too though.

[travlinman]

An electric actuator does the opening duties on ours, with momentary switches inside and outside. There is a backup lever inside and a pull cord outside for when the actuator decides it does not want to work. Deadbolt takes care of security. Here is a recent shot of the inside, we are in the middle of a redo so nothing to fancy.

TM

[rampeyboy]

Billy, I used a dead bolt on my Scenic. The hole was already in the door, so it wasn't like I really had a hard choice to make. I did have to make a thick door set. Actually what I used was two of the torque rods welded together end to end to make them long enough(then cut to length), and extra long screws. The bus door is something like 2.25 inches thick and the standard lock set fits up to 2"? doors. So you have to get longer hardware or make the door thinner! I also added a bar type outside handle as a pull to open the door. Ended up with about $25 in the deadbolt and outside handle. I think I saw someone else using a Barg L300 latch/lock. Those look nice, but I am unsure of the fit.

Boyce

[Barn Owl]

My bus only has a deadbolt and the original opener. I love that setup because I like to open the door from the drivers seat for various reasons. When I first got the bus I was about to add a grab handle because I thought there was an oversight in the ability to open the door from the outside. Somehow I figured out there was a hidden handle. My fathers bus has a latching RV style opener and I just find that setup annoying for the way I use the door.

[white-eagle]

i've got an eagle, but we have an rv latch, and a deadbolt.  The RV latch is ok, but we have to close the deadbolt in order to keep the door shut when flying down the road (remember, it's an Eagle).

i'd recommend keeping the door handle by the driver if you can.  Everyone that i know that has that type of door latch, is able to control it better and has less wind noise.

[bwze]

I like the deadbolt option. I may look into that. What I have currently is pictured below....

Outside latch view...


Bolt view...


Inside view...


Inside plate...


This was all installed by the PO, and I feel like he started cutting before he realized that this was no ordinary door construction. As you can tell in the "Inside view..." pic above, there is a least an inch of space between the inside mechanism and the inside door surface. Also, in the "Bolt view..." pic, you can see that it wasn't even centered. This makes for some difficulty when attempting to mount a strike plate.  It would take some engineering to get this lock to work, but I know there has to be a different option that would be more feasible for the given circumstance. It seems that the consensus is to go with a latch/lock designed for an RV. I'm assuming that these will be designed for a thicker door installation?

[gus]

I have the same setup as white-eagle on my 4107 which, I assume, is about the same as the 4106.

However, I think my latch is from a big truck door. It won't stay latched for more than a few miles so the dead bolt is necessary to keep the door from opening. This setup is a pain because the door latch bolt won't completely extend behind the door frame plate and the inside door handle vibrates down to allow the door to open!!

I am going to try two things - file down the door frame plate so the latch extends completely behind it and/or install a stronger spring inside the door handle to keep the latch extended.

The whistle when the latch pops out and the dead bolts takes over drives me nuts!! It also sucks an unbelievable amount of cold air into the bus through a very tiny crack.

My 4104 has the original door setup with a dead bolt added for security. This is a great system and really keeps the door tightly closed. It is neat to be able to open/close from the driver's seat. Take my advice, never remove this setup from a conversion - big mistake!!

[Barn Owl]

The whistle when the latch pops out and the dead bolts takes over drives me nuts!!

A whistling door will make me go insane! I cured mine with a new door gasket set from Luke. I budgeted an hour to remove and replace the old one, and it took me all day thanks to some rusty screws. Worth every hour it took.

[bwze]

Gus..Barn Owl, my door also whistles when traveling down the road. I noticed that I can see daylight at the bottom, so it appears that a new door seal may be in my future also....

[pvcces]

We had an RV latch and deadbolt setup when we bought our coach. After putting up with it for a couple of years, I paid a shop to reinstall the operator hand crank. We wouldn't go back to the RV latch for anything.

If you have the operator's manual, and read the part about the door operation, you should see that the crank is a much safer setup.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey