Flimsy LP door

[Sbroyles6]

Just searching for ideas,, we are new and have a new Cougar 5th wheel, on the trip back from the mountains I look in mirror and seen the LP door was open and flapping in the wind,, it was closed when we took off, but figured with how flimsy it is that maybe bumps on the highway cause to come loose,, so now trying to think of ways to make it more sturdy.. any ideas???

That door and the docking door are the 2 doors that are very flimsy but at least the docking door locks by key, the rest are fine.. (tx)

[chuckster57]

First off LP compartments can not be locked. If the tab on the thumb turn isn't long enough or has the wrong shape, you can replace it. I can't say I've ever had an LP door come open.

[byrdr1]

First off LP compartments can not be locked. If the tab on the thumb turn isn't long enough or has the wrong shape, you can replace it. I can't say I've ever had an LP door come open.

could it be installed backwards. Mine open to the front side so If you are moving down the road the wind would push them closed.
randy

[Lawdog]

Just searching for ideas,, we are new and have a new Cougar 5th wheel, on the trip back from the mountains I look in mirror and seen the LP door was open and flapping in the wind,, it was closed when we took off, but figured with how flimsy it is that maybe bumps on the highway cause to come loose,, so now trying to think of ways to make it more sturdy.. any ideas???

That door and the docking door are the 2 doors that are very flimsy but at least the docking door locks by key, the rest are fine.. (tx)

Mine--also brand new--did exactly the same thing on my return trip home. Mine were very loose--no tension when closed. To keep mine from opening again, we stuffed a hanky in there to increase the tension. It stayed closed fine after that.

If you look at the tabs, you'll see they're threaded and have a nut on them. I think that means there's room for some adjustment there and I bet that can be adjusted to increase the tension on them when in 'closed' position. Once the snow melts and I can work on mine, I will post up again when I can figure a solution... For comparison, the door opposite where the battery sits has the same style I think and it was closed snugly.

[chuckster57]

could it be installed backwards. Mine open to the front side so If you are moving down the road the wind would push them closed.
randy

There doesn't seem to be any consistency on which way propane compartment doors open. I've seen them both ways but I see no reason why a person couldn't flip the whole door and jamb.

[vampress_me]

It could also be that your door latches are like ours. On the battery compartment (passenger side) the latches turned up to open. On the propane door (driver's side) they used the same latches, but now being on the opposite side, the same latch piece points down when in open position. So, gravity and bumps in the road would open our propane door while I was driving. I thought it was the flimsy door at first too, flexing enough to open. But, nope, latch was just "falling down" on the job. So, to fix I unscrewed the nut on the inside of the door, and rotated the latch piece itself so it now would rotate up to open instead of rotating down to open, and then screwed the nut back on tight. Haven't had a problem since, and that was about 5,000 miles ago. The only difference you can see on ours now is the battery compartment thumb latches on the exterior are vertical when latched, and the propane thumb latches on the exterior are horizontal when latched. And who cares since the door stays shut.

[chuckster57]

Sounds like a simple fix. Thanks for sharing (tx)

[squeak93]

My Driver side lp door came open 2 separate times on my last outing. We took the latch off and manipulated it (Hit with a hammer to bend it more lol). It was good the entire trip home and seems to latch "tighter" than before.

[Sbroyles6]

Thank you all for the ideas,, once i get time to get back to storage area and look at it, I will try these ideas.. :)(tx)

[Lawdog]

It could also be that your door latches are like ours. On the battery compartment (passenger side) the latches turned up to open. On the propane door (driver's side) they used the same latches, but now being on the opposite side, the same latch piece points down when in open position. So, gravity and bumps in the road would open our propane door while I was driving. I thought it was the flimsy door at first too, flexing enough to open. But, nope, latch was just "falling down" on the job. So, to fix I unscrewed the nut on the inside of the door, and rotated the latch piece itself so it now would rotate up to open instead of rotating down to open, and then screwed the nut back on tight. Haven't had a problem since, and that was about 5,000 miles ago. The only difference you can see on ours now is the battery compartment thumb latches on the exterior are vertical when latched, and the propane thumb latches on the exterior are horizontal when latched. And who cares since the door stays shut.

Exactly the issue. This worked perfectly for mine. Took me almost two minutes to do. :D

[LoneLizard]

We have this problem constantly with both of our LP doors. Several "fixes" from the dealer and the problem only gets worse. Here is what we know (at least in our case):
1) The doors are a bit too narrow and don't completely fill-in the opening in which they are installed.. There is a gap between the door's edge and the molding the latch is supposed to clasp onto. For this reason, barely a 1/16" of the tip of the latch overlaps the flange in the molding. After a couple of slips off the flange, the clasp has now wore a groove in the flange and has nothing left to grip. We have tried new latches and rotating the latches with no success. We have been unable to find latches with longer arms to compensate for the additional space between the door and the molding.
2) The doors are poorly constructed. They are flimsy and bend easily. If a big gust of wind pushes the center of the door it flexes and folds just enough to angle the latch so it can slip by the molding it is supposed to clasp onto.
3) Those compartments are getting a ton of wind pressure. I tried helping the doors stay latched by attaching two bungees inside the door to help hold them shut by applying constant inward pressure. Even with this counter-force installed, there was enough wind pressure to cause the doors to flap open and closed as if the bungees were never there.

Our dealer made a claim to Keystone who said the doors were installed as designed and are not covered under warranty. We plan to appeal to Keystone since it doesn't appear to be a problem with installation/manufacture...it is a problem with the design. There is another unit on the lot with the same duct tape around the doors as we have to use to keep the doors secure for travel. Based on this thread and others around the net we believe this is a design flaw that should be covered.

A stiffer door may prevent the flex that allows the clasp to slip-by the flange (too late for ours since the flange now has a groove in it)...
A door that fits fully into the hatch opening and molding might provide enough purchase for the latch to fully function...
A longer arm on the latch might help keep the door closed even though it is flexing like crazy...(we haven't been able to find one of these longer arms)
Less wind entering the compartment might reduce the pressure so that the doors are forced open so violently...

[Bowti]

Pete, is it possible to put spacers on your door hinges to move the door over allowing your latch to catch?

[JRTJH]

The problem with a stiffer door is trying to find a "better built" door that is the same size and that will fit the opening in your trailer. I don't know if you (or your dealer) will be able to locate a door that fits and is "stronger"....

Relying on the dealership to fix this may become a "nightmare" depending on how far you have to tow it for service, how long they "hold it ransom" before working on it and whether or not Keystone and the dealership are even on the same page with your problem.

Alternatively, you might consider riveting a couple of 1x2 strips of 1/8" thick aluminum stock across the inside of the door (from side to side) near the latches. That may give your door enough rigidity to prevent it from flexing and allow the cam locks to stay "locked" behind the frame. Anything you do on the inside of the door won't be visible, so use your "ingenuity" to strengthen the door.