Storage Compartment Door Latch Rust
Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 8:15 pm
At least until Born Free changed body styles around year 2015, prior to that they used Southco door latches on all the outside compartment doors. I have a 2002 26' RSB coach with those door latches and have noticed that the steel washer associated with the latch retaining nut have started to show serious rust as viewed on the backside of the latch with the door open. In fact the rust had become real serious and I should have addressed the problem earlier.
I had to treat the nut and washer with multiple applications of WD-40 over a period of up to 6 days before I was able to break the 7/8" nut loose in order to remove the latch to treat it and it's attaching hardware to remove the rust. If fact two of the many latches had to be cut out of the door with a carbide cutting tool because the retaining nut could never be broken loose. These Southco latches are rather expensive to replace at $22 to $34 each depending on the style.
You might want to check out this latch rust problem in your coach.
I had to treat the nut and washer with multiple applications of WD-40 over a period of up to 6 days before I was able to break the 7/8" nut loose in order to remove the latch to treat it and it's attaching hardware to remove the rust. If fact two of the many latches had to be cut out of the door with a carbide cutting tool because the retaining nut could never be broken loose. These Southco latches are rather expensive to replace at $22 to $34 each depending on the style.
You might want to check out this latch rust problem in your coach.