RV Entry Door Won't Latch: The Striker Adjustment

Push it shut by hand, without slamming. TriMark states it as the target: the door should be able to be pushed shut by hand without slamming. In the same service manual it gives the limit on the other side, that the strike should not be adjusted in so far that excessive force is required, with a maximum of 25 pounds to push the door shut to latch.

And the seal has its own pressure figure. TriMark's specification sheet for its motor home entrance door hardware gives door seal pressures of 25 pounds or less for ease of function and maximum life, not to exceed 50 pounds. A door that needs a shoulder to close is over that, and it is the striker that put it there.

The striker moves in small steps, and the maker says how small. TriMark's procedure is to slide the strike plate inward no more than one sixteenth of an inch at a time, and to add or remove shims under the striker bolt washer as required, with the shim's outside diameter larger than the washer's. Lippert's latch manual gives the same instruction in one line: if the door is hard to shut or does not shut tight, adjust the strike plate on the jamb side.

TriMark's service manual carries a troubleshooting table. The causes it lists for a door that will not latch shut, and what each one means:

The deadbolt point is the one that catches people. TriMark states that the deadbolt engages into the same opening as the latch, that if it is extended it will prevent both closing and opening the door, and that it must be operated while the door is shut. A door that suddenly will not close at all after being locked from the inside is usually this rather than a broken latch.

Lippert adds a second cause from the build side. Its installation manual states that excessive putty tape or foam tape in the plunger opening may restrict full engagement of the latching mechanism, and that if the door is offset to the latch side, the plunger may hit the side wall framing and not engage completely. Both are things a door does from new rather than things that develop.

An entry door is built with a deliberate outward bow at the latch, and it has a correct measurement. Lippert defines camber as a slight outward bow of the door at the door latch, and its camber adjustment sheet gives the figure: the correct positive camber is a gap measuring between one eighth and one quarter of an inch.

Get it wrong in the other direction and the door lets water in. Lippert states that reverse camber, which allows the latch area of the door to contact first, will result in moisture entering the unit and causing water damage to the side walls and door frame areas. That is a door fault that shows up as a wall fault, so look at the door before the window.

A sticking handle is diagnosed by looking for marks. Lippert's entry door FAQ says to look for drag marks on the latch and adjust the striker accordingly, and to make sure there is not too much camber. The same sheet covers daylight at the screen door, which it attributes to the frame material folding over at the radial corners when it bends, and says that can be addressed by adjusting the striker plate.

Separation at the hinge is a repair with a stated method. Lippert's technical sheet describes reinforcing the door attachment at the hinges by removing the existing screws from the bottom and middle hinge leaves and installing new number 10 by one and a half inch screws, and it says any separation of the door requires the procedure on both the bottom and middle hinges.

Hinges are replaceable, and on some coaches they are friction hinges. Lippert publishes a replacement procedure for six-leaf hinges attached either with rivets or by swedging, and a separate manual for a friction hinge kit, which it describes as allowing the door to remain in any position and eliminating the door swinging freely open or slamming closed. It also publishes a lubrication procedure for the individual hinge leaves.

A door that is out of line is squared at the frame rather than adjusted at the hinge. Lippert's squaring sheet says that if the door is visually off or there is rubbing between the door and the frame, the door is squared. And its installation manual gives the cause that produces a twisted frame in the first place: screws must be installed straight on the latch side, because screws installed at an angle will cause the door frame to twist, may prevent the door from opening properly, and can result in latch damage.

What no maker publishes. No Lippert, TriMark or Bauer document states a rule for diagnosing a dropped door as a hinge problem rather than a frame problem, and none publishes a wear limit or replacement interval for hinges. Lippert publishes repairs for both sides, which is the honest state of the documentation.

The seal is a replaceable rubber part rather than a permanent fixture. Lippert's seal replacement sheet gives the part number for the entry door rubber seal and recommends ordering at least ten feet regardless of door size, and it carries an orientation note that matters: the flat section must face the center of the door and the raised rib section must face the outside edge. A seal fitted the wrong way round is a seal that does not do its job.

There is a second seal on the outer frame, and a third along the bottom. Lippert publishes a replacement procedure for the outer frame pile seal, and one for the entry door sweep. Its product page for the door seal describes the material as EPDM and the part as the seal the door closes against.

Where the water actually enters. Lippert's FAQ on a door that leaks around the hinges says to check the seal on the outer frame and make sure it is not pinched or torn. Its installation manual covers the frame itself: sealant tape around the back of the screw track frame, putty tape or closed cell PVC foam tape, a bead of gunnable sealant around the remaining edges to completely weatherize the door, and the door sealed along the bottom either on the lip of the opening or the edge of the floor.

And the one that is not a seal at all. Reverse camber, above, puts the latch area in contact first and lets moisture in at the latch rather than at the frame. Water appearing at the door frame after rain is worth checking against the camber before the seal is replaced.

Three things a reader might expect to find, and they are not in any maker document behind this page. No component maker publishes an instruction to level the coach before adjusting a door, though one coach maker's support article is reported to say so and could not be read at the source. No maker publishes a rule for telling a dropped door's hinge problem from a frame problem. And no maker publishes a hinge wear limit or a replacement interval.

What that means for a reader: the striker adjustment, the camber measurement, the seal orientation and the hinge separation repair are all documented and worth working through in that order. Beyond them, the honest position is that the makers publish repairs rather than a diagnosis tree.

Water at the door frame and water at a window can look alike from inside, and the window guide covers the other one. If the water has been getting in for a while, the delamination guide explains what it does to a wall. And the pre-trip walkaround carries the door and deadbolt check that catches a latch before it fails on the road.