Locked Out of 2004 Sightseer 30B

[M Falcon]

Just purchased a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer WFD 30B this past Friday. We were working on the interior, straightening things and cleaning. Both of us got out to run an errand. Came back and unlocked the Entry door but the handle would not open the door. It feels like nothing is engaging to open the door. The handle is loose and flops when touched.

Fast forward to this AM, called local Winnebago Dealer, no mobile service, Called other dealer with mobile service but couldn't come out right away. Called Locksmith came out but was unable to open the door, gave up and suggested the only way to get in was to cut the entry door latch and we should locate one first.

Called Winnebago Dealer and the parts are no longer available, but Winnebago factory did suggest a replacement kit. But 2 weeks out. Kind of not the way we thought our first Motorhome experience would go.

Found parts on Amazon that say they are correct and look as close as you can get visually, measurements sort of matchup. I don't have the hole measurements since we can't get in.

I tried to open windows, but all are locked up tight! tried using a Slim Jim but everything on the windows are tight, latches are tight, could not even slide the Slim Jim in.

Any other thoughts on how to get in??

:icon_peace:

 

[Morich]

ARGH! That's a bad one!

But there are some extreme measures that can get you in if the situation is right and it may not cause any big, big damage if you are replacing the latch and handle any way!
Looking at this page of the parts catalog for a view of what's inside and an idea.
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Service/wincd/2004/4wfd30b.pdf

Click this snip for best view or go direct to get parts and the whole story?
Study carefully as this idea can take some grit to do it without seeing really where you are going! Open windows are nice but they are also very expensive and terrible to replace, so I favor the door.


Is the deadbolt working and you have two places for keys? Sounds like the handle flopping is the main latch that has a vertical handle?

What I have seen is using an angle grinder to cut from the outside until you get enough of that material removed to to hold of the latch inside to pull it loose!
Radical but I think you may be down to that and it may not be as bad as it sounds if you have the grinder available.
The door latch is what I call "pot metal" as not really very good quality steel but much softer and easier to form, which also makes it easier to cut!

Part number 8 goes through the door where I put the red X and is screwed from the inside to part 7. There are several (3-4?) "studs" built up on the outer part that meet the screws from inside.
If you have a grinder with a small blade, it is possible to nibble/grind off enough of the outer part to get those studs cut off the outer part. That leaves it loose to remove!
Not tough metal and you do have a 4-5 inch hole to work in but it takes care not to let it slip and run wild across the door face!
Best if the deadbolt is clear but if needed, it can be cut also as it is part of the new handle and I am sure there are replacement handles/locks around.

If I were going radical like this, I would get a new one, to see where the screws go and try to save as much cutting by spotting those before starting!

A second way is to drill a hole straight through and use a metal blade in a reciprocating saw to saw it clear.

Sorry!
But I think you are in a mean disaster that requires radical moves!

 

[l1v3fr33ord1]

M Falcon-

I've seen posts showing Winnebago deadbolt breakage. That said, it seems as if your failure is in the latch/paddle. On a Trimark-like lock the paddle moves a latch at the bottom-left corner; if that latch slips or breaks the paddle can move but not move the mechanism in that corner to unlock the door.

If you search on iRV2.com you'll find posts on how to break in when the paddle lock does not work as it should. There are several methods.

1) For a Trimark-like lock, drill the paddle in a particular location to access the latch

2) On a window with latch, drill a very small hole in the window frame and use a piece of wire to push the latch open (note: drill through a part of the frame that avoids the glass)

3) Break a small window (the one in the door is a candidate)

4) I was able to remove a roof fan from the outside, then from the roof use a long pole with a piece of rope attached to snag the inside handle, pulling up as someone else alternately pushed and pulled on the door from the outside.

Even if you have to deform, break or remove the paddle/latch you may be able to use the deadbolt to lock the door until you get a replacement for the entire part.

Note: If this was a case of a forgotten key I've known folks to open doors with keys from other manufacturer's coaches.

The only sure-fire way to protect against lock-out by lock failure is to keep one or more windows unlocked. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only RVer who adopted that strategy after experiencing such a lock-out.

As a final note: At the bottom of this page is a window entitled "SIMILAR THREADS." Some of those may give you better ideas than I have.

 

[creativepart]

You might do best to look for an independent mobile RV tech in your area. You problem is not all that uncommon and I’d guess most experienced ZrV techs have run into this issue and have a solution.

A word about calling a Winnebago dealer, I hate to say it but that’s a poor choice in almost all circumstances. Certainly, with an older motorhome. Just call around or ask around and find a good mobile tech or independent RV repair shop… one that doesn’t sell RVs, just fixes them.

 

[Morich]

The problem with calling a tech is knowing who is a good one until AFTER they have totally screwed it up!
We were at South Padre when we got a real look at that. It was not us but we got back and found the repair guy thought taking the door, frame and all out was the way to go!
Once started, he had totally ruined the door because he had no idea what he was doing and thought prying on it was a good idea!
They were into replacing the whole door and frame and still not in the RV!

We buy insurance for all kinds of problems but finding "idiot insurance" is tough!
At that point the saw did a pretty quick job of getting the door out of the way but they were not sure how to get back to Dallas without a door!

 

[M Falcon]

Thanks Folks!

I took all of your suggestions into consideration. Each of you had some very valid points and thoughts to consider.

You were all thinking some of the same thoughts I was thinking. I had came up with most of the same information in my research of the topic. In fact I think I found some of y'alls posts from the past. Glad to see folks are still active on this site. If nothing else your names were at least a little familiar to me.

So what I did was I went to Harbor Freight bought the cheapest 3" cutting wheeled device, some blades and went at the door handle today. The cutting wheel would not reach in as far as I needed to open a flap to access the inner latch. So a drill was used to open up a hole in the lower left of the handle. Cut the handle/flap in half roughly to get access for the drill to open up the inner mechanism.

Success on getting inside the coach!!! Now the handle works with the flap or at least what is left of it. The dead Bolt works and I can close and lock the coach up. Now to wait for the Amazon part to show up for the install. Hoping it is a good match as the assembly is much cheaper than ordering the parts from Winnebago or any of their dealers.

I did reach out to a couple of independent RV Techs to see if there were any other ideas that would sound reasonable. But none did or wouldn't return my call. When possible I prefer to DIY when I can. Just had not experienced this situation before. But then this is my first Class A and first Winnebago. Having just retired myself and then moved to AZ there are a few things I have noticed. The workers in the area don't really seem to care, even on the RV side of things.

If you haven't already heard of AZ Expert on YouTube I would highly recommend watching his videos about repairs, solar, and there is a section that is all on Winnebago's. From the videos I have seen he likes Winnebago's, But has some real good tips on the roof. I wished I had watched these videos before buying my Winnebago. It has Classic Bad Roof Delamination. I will have to replace the roof sometime in the near future. Hoping to make it through my winter travels and handle the roof in the Spring of next year.

 

[Wiley-WO]

We have a 2001 journey and we had the exact same problem. Ours had an escape window in the bedroom area and there is a red handle that if you flip it up you can pull the whole window from the bottom out and crawl in that way and I was able to take a slim Jim and pry the window open a little and get a screwdriver in there flip that handle up. Once I got inside I was able to open the door. We then took the door lock mechanism apart and there was a piece in there that you could see you just had to bend a little bit to get the handle to re-engage with it. We fix this about three trips ago and it's been working fine ever since.