Additional lock on upper half of door

Today I installed a cam-type, cabinet door lock on the upper half of the door of our 3124KS. The installation of this additional lock was described on John Irwin's TM site (before it was blanked out!). I believe it was devised by Jack or Vivian Fox.

I've wanted to install such an additional lock on our door since learning about it. Our door, like those of other TMs, I suspect, has been difficult to keep closed. This became evident to us during a stay at an Oregon state park when we locked up the trailer and drove to see the park's lighthouse. When we returned, the door was wide open. Nothing was missing and no one seemed to be responsible. The door had just swung open on its own because we just hadn't fiddled with it until the knob's latch caught. On returning from that trip I built up the strike plate with a 1/4" thick aluminum one. That made it easier to keep the door closed. The knob's lock, however, still seemed to be an insecure way to lock the entire door - with the upper half just held by a swung-down plastic piece.

After making several expeditions to our local hardware stores, I found what I was looking for: a cam lock for a cabinet/small door, to go through the 1-1/4" thickness of my TM's door. The lock I purchased was one of National Cabinet Locks C8060 series. Installing the lock took a couple of hours time (because I decided to make a straight cam from scratch). First I drilled a 1/4 diameter pilot hole through the door. The center of the hole was located 6" above the bottom (of the upper half door) and 3/4" in from its edge. While drilling through the door it became evident that there was a wood frame underneath the aluminum skins. Then, starting from the outside of the door I used a 3/4" diameter hole saw (with a 1/4" pilot drill bit) and carefully cut a hole through the OUTER ALUMINUM SKIN and the WOOD FRAMEWORK. I stopped just before reaching the inner aluminum skin so that I would not cut a completely round hole through it. I then removed the wood core (left by the hole saw) with a 5/8" Forstner bit (a 1/2" drill bit or a small chisel will also do). Since the cam lock requires a partly round hole with two flat sides on the inside of the door, I used a round file to create this shape. After the hole was fitted by trial and error, I inserted the lock's barrel and snugged it tight with the nut provided with the kit. I finished by installing the remaining parts according to the directions. I did not like the small area of contact that the offset cam made with the door frame so I made a longer, straight cam for the lock.

Although this cabinet lock looks small on the upper half of our door, it really adds a lot to the knob's locking mechanism. Now our entire door seems secure when both locks are engaged. Sure, a determined thief could break in if he wanted to, but the dual locks give us more peace of mind when we leave the campgrounds.

For those of you who want to install a second lock but can't find a suitable one at your hardware store, National Cabinet Locks has an online site, at:

http://www.nclnet.com

Click on their "stock cabinet locks" to see their selection. They also may have a listing of distributors on the site also - or a phone number you can call to obtain this information. : :