2005 t139 dead bolt issue

Canadiancamper · 12-09-2022, 05:42 PM

Well, the trip is canceled

My fun finder dead bolt is stuck. I had to remove a window to climb inside to try inside there, no luck. The deadbolt is super jammed. I took off the plate on the inside of the door handle but unfortunately this does not expose the guts of the door lock mechanism. Any tips to get this door open?

Also, it is not an issue with the key or door lock cylinder.

profdant139 · 12-09-2022, 05:51 PM

It could be that the door frame is slightly warped, putting a lot of friction on the side of the deadbolt.

The remedy might take two people. One person climbs in. The other person stays on the outside with the key. The inside person leans on the door, and the outside person carefully tries the key.

If that doesn't work, the inside person pulls on the door. The outside person pushes and tries the key.

Just for diagnostic purposes, did this happen suddenly? Or was the deadbolt always a little tricky?

I'm assuming that you have tried using mass quantities of WD-40, right?

Let us know how it goes -- good luck!

profdant139 · 12-09-2022, 05:56 PM

One more thought -- this could be caused by the striker plate being out of position, jamming the deadbolt. Unfortunately, the striker can't be removed until you get the door open.

If it is the striker, and you do get the door open, use plastic wood to fill the old screw holes behind the striker and then carefully drill new screw holes. Otherwise, the striker will just slip out of place again.

Don't ask how I know so much about bad striker plates.

profdant139 · 12-09-2022, 05:58 PM

OK, go ahead and ask. The wood rotted behind the striker on my old 2003 T-139 and I had to remount it. But it never got so bad that I could not open and close the door. You have my sincere sympathy.

Canadiancamper · 12-12-2022, 04:47 PM

I figured it out. The window had to be removed to gain access into the trailer. From there I removed the screws on the inside of the latch and the cover plate. Not much to see. The next step I drilled out a plate covering the mechanism and bent it back out of the way. This pulled the lock leaver from the lock cylinder and alas! The door opened easily.

Seems that the door lock cylinder is to blame. The dead bolt moves nice and smooth without it. Good news is the whole assembly is in stock locally and a generic part.

Thanks for the input guys!!! Maybe I’ll add a post with photos on how to change this out later when I have time for the job.

foakes · 12-18-2022, 12:53 AM

Another thing that could be an issue on some of these Funfinders.

On the passenger side rear — if the stabilizer Jack is raised too high under pressure — it slightly tweaks the frame upwards.

This jams the door and subsequently makes the deadbolt stuck.

Best, Fred

1kotonk · 12-21-2022, 08:19 PM

I had the same problem years back, There's a tiny spring in the locking mechanism that must some how have something to do with movement or allowing the movement of the deadbolt with the key. I remember the spring falling out of the door lock when I replaced the whole lock. I remember it was really small about half the size of one of those springs that used to come with the old school retractable ink pens.