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ABnormal · 04-13-2011, 12:58 PM

Learned a valuable lesson last night. I went to pick up the coach at Freightliner after having preventive maintenance on the engine. The door would not open. Both of the dead bolts were working, but the latch would not open. Called a locksmith and he could not open it either. The outside door latch cannot be removed from the outside. He tried to unlock a window with a coat hangar and that was a waste of time. I called Newell 24 hour maintenance and they asked if the door had been exposed to direct sunlight or if it was a very warm day. Negative on both counts. Mike advised there is no way to enter my coach short of removing a front windshield.

The locksmith finally noticed that the lock on the window over the booth was only partially locked. By banging on the window a couple of times, the window latch dropped to the unlocked position and he was able to crawl thru to the inside. Apparently the door latches for the 1987 Newell is made by Ford and is still orderable. We shall see.

The lesson learned: I will never again lock every window on the coach. The left windshield is cracked and needs to be replaced eventually, but I also understand they are very difficult to find.

Larry P.

04-13-2011, 12:58 PM	#1
ABnormal Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Stanley,KS Posts: 45	Broken Door Latch Learned a valuable lesson last night. I went to pick up the coach at Freightliner after having preventive maintenance on the engine. The door would not open. Both of the dead bolts were working, but the latch would not open. Called a locksmith and he could not open it either. The outside door latch cannot be removed from the outside. He tried to unlock a window with a coat hangar and that was a waste of time. I called Newell 24 hour maintenance and they asked if the door had been exposed to direct sunlight or if it was a very warm day. Negative on both counts. Mike advised there is no way to enter my coach short of removing a front windshield. The locksmith finally noticed that the lock on the window over the booth was only partially locked. By banging on the window a couple of times, the window latch dropped to the unlocked position and he was able to crawl thru to the inside. Apparently the door latches for the 1987 Newell is made by Ford and is still orderable. We shall see. The lesson learned: I will never again lock every window on the coach. The left windshield is cracked and needs to be replaced eventually, but I also understand they are very difficult to find. Larry P.