the door won't lock and barely even shuts

Chris_and_Sarah

Over time, my door has gone wonky.  I have no idea why.  It's been happening slowly for a long time. As far back as a year ago in order to engage the deadbolt I had to pull up HARD on the door handle...eventually I stopped trying because I didn't want to damage it.  Now I can't engage the deadbolt at all no matter how hard I pull.  And you really have to PUSH to make the door shut at all. 

I mean, I can mess with the screws, but I don't really know how to adjust doors.  Any thoughts on this?

Nomad

More than likely the screws and locking mechanism need adjusting. Mine did when I first got it and there's a few mentions of the problem on the forum, one just recently.
If you don't feel you can mess with it yourself you'll need to find someone. It's not hard to mess with so I'd think any handiman could do it.

Nomad

Here's one door thread...
http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/3884/i-am-locked-in-my-t-b#latest

Chris_and_Sarah

Thanks.  I don't think it's the handle mechanism that's the problem -- I think it's the hinges.  The door just isn't sitting right.  I'll mess with those tomorrow.

Nomad

Boy, my hinges are pretty heavy duty, it'd probably take someone swinging on it to bend them.
You mentioned only the deadbolt area - if it was the frame it'd probably hang up on top by the arch.

Dalehelman

This just isn't the type of thing that can be solved by words. It really needs eyes on. If it is not obvious to you where the problem is search out someone with more   Mechanical skills. If the door or frame has not been damaged it should not be hard to fix. First check to see that all  hinge screws are tight in the door and  rivets are tight in the frame. There should be no movement if you try to twist the door in the open position. Hope this helps.

marknjudy

Mine was the same. In the end, I discovered the top hinge bent about a quarter inch. The easiest solution for me was to make the dead bolt slot about an eight of an inch longer. In our case though, the door shut and sealed fine. If you close the door and study both hinges, you can see the difference. 

Chris_and_Sarah

@Dalehelman you're right. I'm going to have to recruit some hands-on help here.  It's not obvious from looking, the screws and rivets seem to be tight, and there's no visible bending anywhere.

TabberJohn

We may be able to help more if you post a couple pictures such as close-up shots of the hinges with the door open 90 degrees plus a shot from inside right before the door closes.

Chris_and_Sarah

the thing that has just helped the most was me bending over and grabbing the bottom of the door and pulling up as hard as I could.  Now I can get the deadbolt to engage, though not easily.

I think to make it really work I'm going to have to go with the @marknjudy solution and grind out the bottom of the deadbolt slot just a hair.  I will say though that I can't see any issue with the hinges; I don't think photos would help.

Dalehelman

Grinding or  filing the bottom of the lock plate is an easy job and certainly can do no harm. It will probably solve your problem.

Nomad

But, before you do file, loosen the screws and try to make adjustments to either the whole door latch mechanism or strike plate or both. That's what mine took.
A locksmith or handyman could do it if you're not comfortable

Chris_and_Sarah

I've messed with the strike plate -- that didn't do anything.  Tomorrow I'll loosen the mechanism and see if that can fix it the rest of the way before grinding.

Estancio

FYI, my entire door had to be replaced. The faults were the hinges, latches, and seal. New door  has been great for the past 4 years.

Chris_and_Sarah

Thanks for the info everyone...today I took apart the door mechanism and it's back to locking normally!

Nomad

Cool - That's what it took on mine not long after I got the T@B