Trillium 4500: Need replacement door lock/latch

[Laurie]

Does anyone know what this is and how to order a replacement?
Thanks in advance!
Laurie

[Scott H]

Laurie, That is the elusive Bargman 400. No longer made, hard to find, and expensive. They come up on E-bay now and again, but your best bet may be to have your old one repaired.
Good luck!

[jen b]

Oh, boy, I have one of those on my Burro and it's not in such great shape. Which is to say that it holds the door closed just fine, but the locking mechanism is nothing to write home about. When in the locked position I can still yank it open no problem.

I was hoping there would be an easy replacement. Is there a modern version from another manufacturer?

[Laurie]

Good luck to me, and thanks for the info, guys...love this forum...

[Rodre]

Depending on what is broken/worn you may be able to use a Bargman L-400 lock repair kit. These tend to be easier to find than the whole lock. Also, when looking for the L-400 make sure the size and finish matches yours. It comes in 2 finishes, the chromed one that you have and a grey powder coat finish. I was told by an RV dealer that they made 2 sizes of the L-400 while I have been able to confirm the different finishes I have not been able to confirm the different sizes.

~Rodre

[Randy Bishop]

Originally Posted by Rodre

Depending on what is broken/worn you may be able to use a Bargman L-400 lock repair kit. These tend to be easier to find than the whole lock. Also, when looking for the L-400 make sure the size and finish matches yours. It comes in 2 finishes, the chromed one that you have and a grey powder coat finish. I was told by an RV dealer that they made 2 sizes of the L-400 while I have been able to confirm the different finishes I have not been able to confirm the different sizes.

~Rodre

Your right about the finishes I have 2 spares... one of each but there is no difference in the sizes or working's from what I can tell..Here's pictures the housing around the locking mechanism is a little different as you can see in the photo's but I think that's about it.......

[Laurie]

Originally Posted by Randy Bishop

Your right about the finishes I have 2 spares... one of each but there is no difference in the sizes or working's from what I can tell..Here's pictures the housing around the locking mechanism is a little different as you can see in the photo's but I think that's about it.......

Any chance you want to part with the shiny one?
Laurie

[Randy Bishop]

Originally Posted by Laurie

Any chance you want to part with the shiny one?
Laurie

I'm afraid not I have looked looong and far to find these and couldn't dare part with one,,,But thanks for the offer.......

[Rodre]

Laurie,

What is broken on yours? Here some links:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/VINTAGE-BARGMAN-L...item3367c6b73e

http://cgi.ebay.ca/VINTAGE-BARGMAN-L...item3367c6e2fa

The second link is the repair kit. It might have what you need. The outside handle on yours appears to be in good shape, so the repair kit may be all you need.

~Rod

[Laurie]

Originally Posted by Rodre

Laurie,

What is broken on yours? Here some links:

VINTAGE BARGMAN L-400 TRAVEL TRAILER DOOR HANDLE AVION on eBay.ca (item 220784408382 end time 25-May-11 09:19:41 EDT)

VINTAGE BARGMAN L-400 TRAILER DOOR LOCK REPAIR KIT NR on eBay.ca (item 220784419578 end time 25-May-11 09:46:24 EDT)

The second link is the repair kit. It might have what you need. The outside handle on yours appears to be in good shape, so the repair kit may be all you need.

~Rod

I want. I want. The repair kit will be mine.

[Laurie]

Well it wasn't as easy as ordering a repair kit and it didn't help that "experts" in the lock industry were not.
There are two types of lock bodies and they are not interchangeable. So the locksmith ground the body to resemble the original only to discover that if he had used all the components from the repair kit, he wouldn't have to grind down the new body. I have been waiting 1.5 hours so far at $90 USD per hour and it may not work. The kit on eBay cost me $95 so this was a very bad investment so far...

[Rodre]

Originally Posted by Laurie

Well it wasn't as easy as ordering a repair kit and it didn't help that "experts" in the lock industry were not.
There are two types of lock bodies and they are not interchangeable. So the locksmith ground the body to resemble the original only to discover that if he had used all the components from the repair kit, he wouldn't have to grind down the new body. I have been waiting 1.5 hours so far at $90 USD per hour and it may not work. The kit on eBay cost me $95 so this was a very bad investment so far...

Hi Laurie,

I recall that ad on ebay had a very detailed method of identifying if it would work with the version of lock that you were looking to repair. In any case it sounds like you got the right repair kit but the wrong locksmith. The reality is that you probably could have done it yourself as there are not too many parts in there. Sorry to here about your mis-adventure, I hope thay can fix it.

~Rodre

[Gumpit]

Well after reading this post I decided to go outside and look to see if the part in the Ebay kit I ordered was the same as the one in my door. Here is what I found out. I am lazy and stupid. If I had known all I had to do is remove the 2 screws and the whole thing came out as one unit I would have done this earlier. The good news is that the part that supposedly changes from one model to the other seems to be the same in mine. Also that when you spray the old one with WD-40 you know longer have to lift the handle to close the door. And I no longer will cringe when someone shuts the door hard trying to get it closed without lifting the handle because now it closes and latches without touching the handle... I thought you had to lift it even when it was new. Now I know that WD-40 truly is awesome!!! And after looking at the components. I am sure anyone can replace the parts with the ones in the kits. Just take a picture of the old parts and remove and replace using the picture as a reference... Thanks Randy

[Laurie]

I bought the replacement kit. The one part that changes wasn't the part that was different on mine. It was the latch mechanism (long piece with the tongue thingy). The locksmith had to grind it down and cut a notch in it like my old piece....and that was the ONLY piece I needed. So I have the remaining repair kit in case my 5500 also has a problem. Eesh.

[Vic Berger]

Laurie: I noticed in your 'Registry' the description of your Trillium says: Bathroom package. Do you have a bathroom in your Trillium 4500?

[David Tilston]

From Laurie's public profile:
Last Activity: 09-16-2015

Almost seven years ago. We miss you Laurie.

[spidermoore]

I have this latch and it still works. However, the door cannot be pushed shut. The latch has to be held out while the door is closed, then the latch released.



Perhaps this is the correct way that this latch is supposed to work. Does anyone know if this is supposed to work this way or is there something wrong with mine?

[David Tilston]

Mine will close if the door is slammed. However, I never do that. I close the door by lifting the latch and pushing. I'm trying to keep the wear and tear to a minimum. These things are as rare as hens teeth, and not cheap.

[spidermoore]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

Mine will close if the door is slammed. However, I never do that. I close the door by lifting the latch and pushing. I'm trying to keep the wear and tear to a minimum. These things are as rare as hens teeth, and not cheap.

What I mean is did this latch ever close properly by just closing the door gently like in this Slim Potatohead video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ85FEFmM9s&t=653s

He just gently pushes the door closed and the latch, latches without having to be slammed, or manipulated. Mine does not do that at all. I think it wouldn't do that even if I slammed it really hard. I know that our latch is not the same as that one, but I am just wondering if mine is acting the way it does by design or by age that mine doesn't do that.


Can it be repaired so it would click shut if gently closed or is that a non-starter?

[Glenn Baglo]

I have never slammed the door on my Escape. I hold the latch open, gently press on the door until closed and then let go of the latch.


Brute force is not an answer.