tazdog6007 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Six days after the promise the new handles for my chausson 630 arrived.the locks had to removed from the old unit and fitted in the new.first one took one hour ten minutes,now a chausson garage lock expert.Anyone in the same situation and need assistance,pm me,i am your man :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Out of curiosity, what was wrong with the original handles? Are these the ‘push’ type handles examples of which are on this webpage? https://www.caravan-parts.org/index.php/-chausson-motorhome-parts-parts-for-chausson-motorhomes-/-chausson-motorhome-locker-locks-/?k=:20:288816: They seem to be commonly fitted (my Rapido has them) and there doesn’t appear to be much to go wrong with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adiebt Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-06-02 10:36 AM Out of curiosity, what was wrong with the original handles? Are these the ‘push’ type handles examples of which are on this webpage? https://www.caravan-parts.org/index.php/-chausson-motorhome-parts-parts-for-chausson-motorhomes-/-chausson-motorhome-locker-locks-/?k=:20:288816: They seem to be commonly fitted (my Rapido has them) and there doesn’t appear to be much to go wrong with them. and what could possibly go wrong with an external bog cassette door that would necessitate that the whole door needs replacing ? Try a piece of plastic made from cheese on the top of the door that apparently is a part of the left n right locking mechanism ! Part is integral so can’t be replaced n that will be £88 ta very much , grrrrrrrrrr ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazdog6007 Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 The original turn to shut and push to lock where prone to jamming in the flush with the body position making them so that the only way to release them would be by inserting a knife in one side and levering them free.This has been a problem for many Benimar owners with the same type,mine have been replaced by a modified design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Adiebt - 2018-06-02 6:55 PM Derek Uzzell - 2018-06-02 10:36 AM Out of curiosity, what was wrong with the original handles? Are these the ‘push’ type handles examples of which are on this webpage? https://www.caravan-parts.org/index.php/-chausson-motorhome-parts-parts-for-chausson-motorhomes-/-chausson-motorhome-locker-locks-/?k=:20:288816: They seem to be commonly fitted (my Rapido has them) and there doesn’t appear to be much to go wrong with them. and what could possibly go wrong with an external bog cassette door that would necessitate that the whole door needs replacing ? Try a piece of plastic made from cheese on the top of the door that apparently is a part of the left n right locking mechanism ! Part is integral so can’t be replaced n that will be £88 ta very much , grrrrrrrrrr ! I assume that’s a rhetorical question... My Rapido's toilet-cassette locker door does not have a ‘push-to-lock’ handle, and the Rapido’s other two locker doors have the type of handle shown in the attached photo. The latter type of handle is commonly used on Continental European-built motorhomes and (generally) does not seem to be problematical. I’ve not had problems with my Rapido’s handles (which have a design that hardly pushes the boundaries of engineering complexity) though I have adjusted both so that the door’s seals fit together tighter. I believe you own a Bailey motorhome, but I’ve no idea what locks/handles Bailey fit. Plainly, as tazdog6007’s Chausson’s handles would not release, they were right to be considered unfit for purpose and needed to be replaced. But my Rapido’s handles don’t exhibit that flaw - hence my enquiry above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy mccord Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 The new handles fitted to my benimar seem to be made of less heavier plastic...feel a bit more flimsy than the original handles....but at least they pop out and work Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Funny thing is that - if there were (or had been) a widespread general problem with the handles/locks fitted to the exterior lockers of recent-ish Chausson motorhomes - one might expect there to have been a lot of moaning about this on French motorhome forums. That does not seem to be the case. Were the handles/locks originally fitted to your Benimar the same as those originally fitted to tazdog’s Chausson? Are your replacement handles/locks the same as the replacements fitted to tazdog’s motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy mccord Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Hi Derek The tale goes that the original locks fitted to my benimar are designed for use in warm climates....not the UK, so the new ones are designed to be used in cooler climates.....now believe of that what you may, I do believe that the handles originally fitted to my van are the same type that Chausson have been using. In my opinion the original handles seem to clog up with grit & grime and the spring wasnt strong enough to push the handle out. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 andy mccord - 2018-06-05 12:03 PM Hi Derek ................................. In my opinion the original handles seem to clog up with grit & grime and the spring wasnt strong enough to push the handle out. Regards Andy Interesting. The gas locker and toilet doors on my 2006 IH Tio R are identical Thetford components. Soon after collecting the vehicle, I could not comprehend why they were both fitted with the locking button in the lower position. More stooping to reach, and more into the road grit zone. One of my earliest modifications was to move the locking buttons to the upper position on both doors. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I believe the Thetford locker-doors on your IH motorhome are the “Door 3” design. Evidently these are marketed by Thetford so that, with the door’s hinge vertical and on the left when facing the door, the locking button is in the door’s top-right corner on the opposite edge (ref. 1st attached photo). But if the door is installed rotated 180 degrees so that the hinge is on the right, the locking button will be in the door’s bottom-left corner (ref. 2nd attached photo). It’s practicable for a Door 3’s locking and non-locking buttons to be swapped over (as you’ve done) but it would be interesting to know how many (if any) motorhome manufacturers choose to do this. My Rapido’s WC cassette-locker Thetford Door 3 is on the vehicle’s left side and has a ‘left-hand hinge’ (so locking button in top-right corner), whereas my previous Hobby motorhome’s cassette-locker Door 3 was on the vehicle’s right side and had a ‘right-hand hinge’ (so locking button in bottom-left corner). I don’t recall ever being concerned that the locking button was at the bottom of the Hobby’s Door 3, but the Hobby’s cassettee-locker was well up from the ground so stooping to reach the door’s locking button was not an issue and the door itself was not in a position where road muck would be deposited on it. However, as it’s a straightforward task to swap the buttons over so that the locking button is uppermost, it’s a modification that’s probably worth making for any motorhome that has a Door 3 with a right-hand hinge. Incidentally, I notice that the Thetford Door 3 is now available with a magnetic button to hold the door in the open position. This could be useful for panel-van conversions (ref. “General Information” here) https://www.thetford-europe.com/product/service-door-3/# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.