This is one for the book's!

[Smokecreek1]

Okay guys, this seems to be a year for weird things to happen to my 10 year old Granby!!! The other day I was camped up at Ash Creek in Modoc County; It was early morning and I was enjoying a second cup of coffee in the camper with my dog "Bob" (the wind had just come up and we had moved inside to get warm after that first enjoyable out side cup). Well after finishing the coffee, I went to open the door----and it would not open and no matter what I did it would not open! So before I panicked and started to rip the door lock off-I called out to the only other campers there (who where in the process of packing up to leave) to come over and see if they could open it from the outside. They tried to help with no luck, so it was time from some drastic measures-I decided to crawl out the emergency exit to check the door out from out side. I don't know about you but this was a first fro me-I'd had it pop in before after it had popped out (something hit the latch and popped one open) and got it back in no problem, but climbing out is another story.

Some of you know I have been going through a long and slow rehab after back surgery and I move sort of slow, so I needed the my neighbors to help me to slither out of that opening. Did I mention that I had a few adult beverages the night before and was a tad slow! After a visual of the door it was obvious that I had to fix it from the inside-so back in through the window I went. The fix turned out to be simple but took time to do. unscrew the whole thing from inside and push it through the hole and I was out. The problem -a screw had fallen out of the door mechanism and had loosened up the latch so that the prong that fitted in the slot came out of the slot and did not engage the release when I pulled the handle (sorry no pictures). A little WD-40 in it, and I screwed it back together put it in the hole and problem solved.

So just a tip guys, keep up on all those little checks -including making sure all those screws are tight especially where they get knocked around allot like a rear door! I'm not sure if this should be on your everyday "to do list" but maybe yearly or something like that. And make sure you have some tools in your camper-just in case. Well at least me and "Bob" made it through the situation and I didn't have to eat him or maybe him me! So just another adventure for me and "Bob" while WTWing in my pop-up

Smoke

 

[alano]

Aaargh. Glad you are telling us this story instead of some Ranger trying to guess how you and Bob decided who would sacrifice himself so the other could go on. Thanks for the tip about checking the door hardware. I'll do it before our next trip.

Alan

 

[RicoV]

Yep, very much appreciate the tip, and thanks for the story behind it!

 

[Squatch]

Glad it all worked out and that you had some help. Some folks would have panicked.

 

[ski3pin]

Courage under fire, good for you Smoke, and glad you solved the problem. Carry on.

 

[highz]

A good cautionary tale. I'll be out checking the door latch, too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[craig333]

Thanks for the warning. It'd probably happen to me when I have that urgent late night need to get out! Never tried my emergency exit. Maybe I should, lot better option than sacrificing the vinyl window (not to mention the drop).

 

[Lighthawk]

Good on you, Smoke. Not only are you man enough to ask for help, and drag your body through the window (twice ), you also kept your cool and mechanical know-how. Does Bob get any points for good behavior?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Smoke, that didn't sound like fun, not a bit. Salty and I are glad that you and Bob figured it out, and no injuries were incurred.

Thanks for the tip, too!

 

[N'kwala]

Thanks for the warning. Actually, I had a similar (but less severe?) problem last month. Managed to jiggle the handle until it released. Whew. (If that sounds like a calm process, it wasn't.) But sure enough, the screw in the door mechanism was loose and bunged up the latch. I can see that if it had been looser or had fallen out it would have been serious. And yes, I now check that pretty regularly.

 

[Brad's Dad]

Thanks for the warning. Actually, I had a similar (but less severe?) problem last month. Managed to jiggle the handle until it released. Whew. (If that sounds like a calm process, it wasn't.) But sure enough, the screw in the door mechanism was loose and bunged up the latch. I can see that if it had been looser or had fallen out it would have been serious. And yes, I now check that pretty regularly.

Smoke and N'kwala: any possibility of pictures showing which screws came loose and..

Was there any tactile warning like a loose handle prior to the handle sticking?

Thanks!!

Fred

 

[Taku]

Sounds like a good place for a few dabs of Loc Tite. Thanks for the warning! Tell your PT you have a new rehab exercise.

 

[Vic]

Good reminder, and also good to always know (and those that are travelling with you know as well) the alternate exit from the camper and how to use it.

 

[Smokecreek1]

The more I think about it, yep it did sort of stick sometimes of late and I would say," I'll check it later", but never did and it was just one of those things that sort of got forgotten about! Yep if I would have stopped when it happened and put some WD-40 or what ever on it, I would have noticed the loose screws! But then I would have never the fun of tearing apart the door mechanism and inventing such a wonderful new exercise of using the emergency exit as the main exit ------ ! Learn something new every day! "Bob" thought this new game was pretty silly and slept through most of it!

Smoke

 

[XJINTX]

I'd like to see pics too... I might just loctite too

 

[ski3pin]

................................................ But then I would have never the fun of tearing apart the door mechanism and inventing such a wonderful new exercise of using the emergency exit as the main exit ------ ! Learn something new every day! "Bob" thought this new game was pretty silly and slept through most of it!

Smoke