How to open upper door from inside when lowered?

[thisoldcamper]

Has anybody come up with a way to open the upper half door when the when the camper is lowered? I was thinking that it would be nice to be able to pull over and take a nap while leaving the camper in the down position - but I don't want to get stuck inside.

 

[dcsparky]

Mine has a lever buiilt in to the latch. Allows you to open door from inside. Talk to Bryan at Alaskan. If don't have lever you can probably get parts from Alaskan to modify. I have used mine several times with the top down. You just can't run furnace because vent is blocked.

 

[Ripperj]

Mine has a rod attached to the door handle. The rod goes about to the top of the upper window and has a bend that you can grab it with

 

[thisoldcamper]

Thanks for the ideas. I think that the rod attached to the handle might be the way to go. I might also look into a different style latch, I have the old lever style that pushes down to open.

 

[Freebird]

Good question! Lol.
I've never closed my doors with me inside and the camper down, and so hadn't give this topic any thought....

 

[Buckwheat]

Yes my '67 has a lever so no problem to pop in there for a quick nap

 

[thisoldcamper]

Here's a picture of what Alaskan Campers does now... problem solved.

Found this while reading the link that Stan@FourWheel posted: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/10820-looking-at-new-alaskans/?p=123614

 

[Ripperj]

My Alaskan('84) has the same rod

 

[thisoldcamper]

I was looking at an ad in Greenville, SC craigslist today for an older Alaskan, and I noticed how the upper door handle was attached to a rod that passed up through the window frame and along the inside of the rear window. It seemed like a pretty good idea for keeping the opener tight to the door.

It also reminded me that I never followed up with how I fixed my door to allow me to open it with the top down – nothing new or innovative, just a piece of rod with a few bends in it.

 

[hangster]

Before I had ever seen an alaskan up close I wondered the same thing.
I messaged brian and asked "how do you get out if the lid comes down when you're asleep?"
doh.. I now have a 78 with the rod through the window sill.
I'd like to figure out how to pull my tailgate up but haven't put much thought into it.

 

[Rodeor]

Hi there, I'm new to this site and just saw the notes on opening the upper door when top down. That was useful & easier on an older version. Now on my 2003 the lock set is different. I could not see the picture included in the post from "thisoldcamper" in July 2015. I'd sure like to learn about the "new solution"

 

[PackRat]

Here is another pic of a 1976 rear door latch designed to let you open the top door frim the inside when the top is DOWN:

 

[Rodeor]

Yes, I see the picture now and it shows the door latch I had on previous camper and mine had the extension rod to open from inside when top down.
I'll have to look for an older latch if I want to do that on my 2003 Alaskn.
Thanks for the picture

 

[noteven]

I have a piece of parachute cord tied to the handle and looped through the pull on my ‘74.

It is useful for closing the top door. I can pull the cord and unlatch the handle from the wind catch on the back wall.

I test pulled vertically a number of times with the top up. I got looking I might need to add a top pull for closing the top door in top down mode.