frozen inside. Door would not open - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

Brookside1954 · 12-08-2016, 10:25 AM

Woke up to not being able to get the door open. Stuck inside. Door latch frozen. Had to use a hair dryer to free up the latch. Any ideas on what the cause would be, and what would be a permanent fix, so it will not happen again. Thank you for any suggestions.

Treeclimber · 12-08-2016, 11:00 AM

Water is the culprit! WD-40 is usually the cure. It displaces the water (Thus the WD). If it can easily be removed, you could dry it out completely, then use a DRY lube such as graphite to lube it. Good thing you had access to the hair dryer, if you were OUTSIDE, you would have had more difficulty.
Tree

Brookside1954 · 12-08-2016, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the help. Sprayed the latch with ACE Lub-E Lubricant and Penetrant. Have to wait, and see, if it worked tomorrow.

Alfred

sam · 12-08-2016, 09:25 PM

DH used all the spray we got at our local lock smith. Don't remember the name,but it has teflon in it. Worth the cost. He always lubes all Truck and trailer locks. I wonder if lock deicer would work. I would spray all the locks at least once a year. A little TLC to moving parts.

JackandJanet · 12-08-2016, 10:26 PM

I liked Tree's suggestion, but if you DO spray it with WD40, I'd definitely take the lock apart and clean all the moving parts before using a good lock lube with graphite. WD40 does free up locks and other things (it's a pretty good penetrating oil), but over time, it thickens and becomes almost "gummy". It can really cause things to bind in that state, but, because it coats the metal still, things won't rust easily.

- Jack

Brookside1954 · 12-09-2016, 09:15 AM

This morning, after a temp of 11 degrees last night and no moisture falling, the door opened with ease. Yesterday morning, when I got up, 2 large dogs with "legs crossed and eyeballs floating, my hairdryer had it open in 2 or 3 minutes. We had a very light, wet snow the day before with a wind, thus the "wet".

We are in relocation having moved out of our house. We have had the 2310 only since Tuesday. The weather has locked us in place for a few days as I don't like to travel in freezing temps.

We have freed many a frozen this or that with a hairdryer. I actually have two and will put one outside in one of those tiny bins, just in case. We did stay warm and toasty over night.