Loose entry door

bobpie · 03-25-2009, 07:48 PM

Hi guys, We have a gas coach with a mid entrance door, My question is can you make the door tighter when it is closed? The door does rattle a bit when closed, and it is not all that tight. I tryed loosining the allen screws on the door side and closing and oppening the door. It did get a little tighter but I think it could get better. It still is a little loose. Any suggestions?

Doggy Daddy · 03-25-2009, 08:53 PM

Check the weatherstripping gasket around the door. If it is missing or deformed/flat, replacing it with a thicker seal/gasket/foam would fill the void between the door and the frame. It may be necessary to adjust the latch plate on the door frame as well.

Wayne M · 03-25-2009, 09:10 PM

I know this is going to sound silly, but it did happen to me. We noticed the door rattling. DW investigated while on the road it it was tight. However, the little door latch stick on the outside that will keep the door open when you just want to use the screen door (long sentence) was flapping in the breeze and making the rattling noise. I put some Velcro on it and now it sticks in place

Just a thought in passing.

bobpie · 03-27-2009, 07:07 PM

Both good replies, thanks and I will look at both options. Although I have tryed to move the latch plate with no sucsess. Or should I say bolt.

cruise350 · 03-29-2009, 09:44 PM

I have the same problem, when I shut the door sometimes it shuts flush and solid other times it will shut and the door will have about 1/8" of play in it where you can push and pull on the door and it is loose. When this happens I usually can open the door again and pull it shut hard and the door will close normally and flush. Temp doesn't affect it. I usually just shut the door hard to assure a good closing. When the door is loose, it does appear to be latched and I can push or pull on door and it wiggles but doesn't open.

tomsm · 03-30-2009, 04:19 AM

This is not an elegant solution, but lots of folks have "fixed" that with a couple of wraps of electrical tape around the latch bolt. The latch mechanism eventually wears through the tape and it has to be replaced, but it's a quick, easy solution...

bobpie · 03-31-2009, 07:16 PM

OK, I thought that I could move the bolt In as an adjustment to get the door to hold tighter. I tried but couldn't move the latch bolt, even though it has a hex- bolt shape to it. I put a wrench on it and it didn't move. There has to be a way to fix this. The correct way. Not just temporary, thanks for the replies.

steelheadbluesman · 04-01-2009, 03:49 PM

This is a difficult issue; I know because I had a door that was too tight and I had to slam it really hard to get it to catch. Took it in for warranty, and they said they tried but could not fix it! I tried to adjust the latch parts on both sides, of course, but no good. I always was concerned with damaging the wall, etc from slamming the door so hard. Like you, I tried to tweak hinges, turn the latch bolt, and adjust the weather stripping, all to no avail. The fix was a little scary, but you might want to try it as a last resort: I rapped the door jamb pin with a hammer to move it slightly toward the outside, using a piece of 2X4 as a buffer between the latch bolt and hammer. (Of course, you would need to go the other way with it.) It still closed hard, but was acceptable after that. If you decide to go for it, I would go real easy, you know, baby steps so to speak, checking for improvement with each whack. Best of luck.

bobpie · 04-02-2009, 02:53 PM

OK steelhead I have just the hammer for this fix. Maybe I'll give it a try.