Need some locksmith help

[Seangie]

So our door latch is at the end of its life.

It was actually built/hacked into the door by someone at sawyer bus sales and its not really a replaceable part.

I'm looking to replace the latch all together and add a deadbolt to the door as well.


The door is a welded 1.5" steel frame with aluminum siding rivited to the outside of the door. I was hoping to just drill a hole in the 1.5" of steel for a latch to slide through and be able to mount the lock on the inside of the door frame.
Problem is that I can't seem to find a lock/latch that has a latch long enough to go through the 1.5" of steel. 

Maybe I am approaching this the wrong way.  I'm hoping to not have to cut and reweld 4" of steel to make a simple latch fit in the door.

What say you?  Any ideas?

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[Audiomaker]

Would something like this work?

[Seangie]

Sean - here is a picture to describe it...Ill take a few pics and post them later...



-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[eagle19952]

this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BARGMAN-L-300-DOOR-LOCK-HANDLE-LATCH-VINTAGE/331159641853?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23772%26meid%3D7813348541027315034%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10164%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D380926013746&rt=nc

and this:http://www.doorhardwarecenter.com/schlage-b60-single-cylinder-grade-1-deadbolt

Works well and will fit a 1 1/2 inch thick door, not sure how the inards of your door are...

were I to leave my coach in storage or unattended for a period of time I would add this to prevent someone trying to pry the Bargman handle with a bar.. which I had happen once...at 140$ for a used and 3004 FOR A NEW ONE Bargman I'd consider it....

here's a new style http://www.ebay.com/itm/RV-Motor-Home-Door-Lock-Replacement-for-Bargman-L300-Lock-Black-NEW-FIC-/380926013746?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58b0f5b132

[eagle19952]

pictures of your jamb/frame and current latch would help....old freightliner latches work pretty well too...

[BusCrazyinFL]

Sean, this is what I've done to mine (and I'm a locksmith by trade).
You will have to scroll down on the page once it loads to read/see about the lock I installed on my Eagle.

http://www.eaglesinternational.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=247&start=170

[lvmci]

Hi Sean, just the simplest of install, a standard deadbolt of the thin variety,  the door latch came from the previous owner, BusCrazy, that is impressive, lvmci...

[Seangie]

Manny -  We will be in FL from Dec-Feb.  Do you want some work?  I'd love to bring the bus to you and get this door done right.

-Sean

[Seangie]

Here is a pic of the door.  Its not the thickness of the door itself but rather the frame.  You can see in the picture how the rightside frame of the door has been all hacked up.

I'm thinking that easiest way to do this would be to drill a hole through the frame where I could insert a latch with a 4-5" backset.  I would like to reuse the existing RV style handles that I currently have.  At least on the exterior of the door.

I'm trying to keep it simple but its not looking too promising if I want to get it done right.

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[Audiomaker]

Honestly if it were me, I'd try to repair it (or un-hack it).

If I weren't in the process of packing my shop into dry vans, I'd invite you down for a fun day of metalworking.

[eagle19952]

oh my.....

[Eagle]

Manny that Eagle doesn't look anything like it did when Tom Stinnett RV had it in Clarksville IN.  You have done a fantastic job with that Eagle.

JCB
Louisville KY

[luvrbus]

JMO take a lesson from Prevost they have some nice latches I used one of their deadbolts on Matt's Eagle and never looked back or replaced it with kids you need a sturdy lock and latch they RV crap will not last   

[BusCrazyinFL]

Sean, sure I will help you when you come to Florida. I love my RV lock and have had no problems but if it should break I will just replace it. The Prevost dead bolt is actually a mortise lock made by Corbin Russwin and they are good locks. I have worked on them also, but they too will eventually wear out - especially on entertainer coaches. I previously had a dead bolt on my door (as you can see on my post on EI) but it did not keep the door tight - it's  not meant to. The RV lock is meant to keep the door tight...what can I say?

Eagle, if you have ANY information on my Eagle I would love to hear about it! We had quite a long blog going on a fews ago on the Eagle's Intl Board titled "Trailways Red"  We were on a quest to try and find out the original VIN of our Eagle. Pretty sure I did locate it, but not 100%. When they converted it, they did a real good job of stripping it of its identity. We did title searches and called various agencies, but they said it went back too far. Contacted someone from Hercules Coach, but the owner had died and most of the records were destroyed.

We bought it from a man in Ft. Myers, FL, who bought it from Tom Stinnett RV in Indiana. The guy in Ft. Myers only had it for about a year and maybe had it on the road six times. We talked to a few people at Stinnett RV, but they weren't much help either. If you want to read that blog...here you go:
http://www.eaglesinternational.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=242&hilit=Trailways+Red

[luvrbus]

Looks like the door has been raised to match the roof line if so the top moves on the Eagle doors we have all fought that and they beat the RV latches apart,

The miles you put on the bus you may have some work to do we drove ours from 12 to 20 k miles a year and the latch was always a problem I carried one for a spare and it wasn't a cheapo either, Manny can probably fix you up but if the top is moving under way fix that problem 1st