2002 Journey Dead Bolt lock warning

[CharlesMoore]

We just had a very disconcerting incident relating to our dead bolt latch and sub teen temperatures. So be aware of the dead bolt sliding latch and the fact that it can freeze locked shut unexpectedly.

Tonight we decided to conserve heat for the approaching very cold weather. To conserve heat we defeated the wheel well slide cover and manually pushed it closed. Later we locked the door with the top slide bar lock (roating red lever). About 3 hours later our little Morkie needed to go out. Well, we could not get the top slide bar to move at all - it was frozen shut!! So we put one of the electric heaters close to the door at the slide bar. After 5-10 minutes it finally allowed me to twist the lock enough to unlock the door. That could have been very bad if we really needed to get out! Just a word of warning to be be aware of.

The days previous to this cold weather system were 60° days and 40's nights and rainy. The day of the event I decided to winterize the RV in case the power failed. Until noon here in College Station, TX it was 55° and I blew the lines. Then the wind shifted to the North and the temperatures dropped into the mid-teens (as of this writing) rapidly.

Just a note: Our Suburban SF-42 failed again in the early part of our winter in Texas so the bay warming feature is absent as is the 40K BTU heater. We are heating only with electric.

[Jim_HiTek]

I hadn't considered the dead bolt freezing. My sliding step well cover has gotten ice on it as I close it every night and put two rugs on the door side and the inside part because the metal of the thing gets sooooo cold! I can feel the difference in cold coming from that area when it's extended towards the door and the rugs are in place, but in the AM there's ice on the metal. Yikes!

But so far, haven't had a lock freeze. Thanks for the warning.

[CharlesMoore]

Hope all is well with you. I follow your blog with each new issue. Hope the vision is continuing to improve. FYI - as the weather warmed, the issue went away. I will not lock either lock when the weather goes into the teens again. There may be solutions like a coating of silicone on the slide bar but the real "fix" will take someone like yourself to break into the door and inagine what could go wrong. Cheers & keep safe.

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by CharlesMoore

Hope all is well with you. I follow your blog with each new issue. Hope the vision is continuing to improve. FYI - as the weather warmed, the issue went away. I will not lock either lock when the weather goes into the teens again. There may be solutions like a coating of silicone on the slide bar but the real "fix" will take someone like yourself to break into the door and inagine what could go wrong. Cheers & keep safe.

HAH! Well, Charles, thank you for the endorsement. I was going to suggest doing what I do every winter for all my vehicles locks...spray Lithium. I used to use spray silicon but I think the Lithium lasts longer so I only need to do it once every 2 years. Meanwhile, I only lock the upper lock in cold weather because it's much simpler mechanism and less likely to freeze up in my opinion. But I never considered spraying the RV locks but I sprayed mine after reading your report above...thx again.

My corneal ulcer is around the same size as it was back in Sept. so the Dr. has prescribed some really special (expensive too!) med for it. I am still waiting to hear if the VA is going to order it for me.

I plan on heading south tomorrow if I can get away, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, on your lock, you can check out my blog article about it, if you have the same design it may give some insight: Doors & Door Locks...