Barn Door Security

[jwh92020]

For those of you with barn doors - How do you secure the doors from the inside while camping and still be able to open them if necessary?

[low277]

Great question! I am interested in this as well?

[onehoser]

i have a slide bolt installed on the inside of my barn door

[M C Toyer]

I use a surface mounted vertical deadbolt, aka "jimmy-proof deadbolt" mounted on the inside of the primary door and the striker on the secondary door which is also secured with slide bolts top and bottom.



If the slide bolts fail the knuckle action of the deadbolt would prevent the doors from opening more than and inch or so.

One the outside the only visible part is the keyway cylinder. On the inside the bolt is operated with a turn knob. I added simple pull handles inside and out to overcome the friction of the tight fit and weather-strip.

[wtcreaux]

This is how I did mine........above on the inside, below on the outside

[jwh92020]

Thanks for the ideas. I really like M C Troyer's deadbolt installation. I was looking for something a bit simpler. My wife had a stroke a few years back and whatever I come up with has to be really simple to use. My bed is at the rear of the trailer, so upper and lower slide bolts would be a pain for her. I was thinking of a couple of "S" brackets mounted on the inside edge of each door. When doors are closed, drop a piece of 2 x 4 in them. They won't be opened from the outside, and in an emergency, she just has to know the 2x out of the brackets. Any thoughts on this?

[working on it]

• Though I don't have barn door, drop-in door bars would easily secure a barn door as well as they secure my smaller doors. Since the cargo trailer barn door has more structure and weight, as well as a larger area to hold firmly against the seals, a larger bar (perhaps a 2 x 4 ?), could be used. No one could break in thru that barrier, I would think. I arrived at the door-bar idea, from a desire for maximum security. It's a strange tale....
• I originally built (or at least started the build) my trailer for the wife. She had become involved with a group of wild-eyed Crypto-zoological recon Bigfoot hunters, a few years ago. She wasn't dissuaded from her pursuits, as I was too busy working, and dragracing on weekends. I probably met stranger humanoids at work or at the dragstrip, every day, than she was likely to meet in the woods of the midwest (her Bigfoot group's favorite area; you just don't mess! with Texas Squatches, I guess).
• I was trying to get her out of a ground tent, off the wet earth, and put solid walls between her and whatever might be out there, doing the hollering she heard at night, on her trips. I built the walls, roof, and floor of steel-braced 3/4" plywood, and the doors were just windowless cut-outs from the walls. I put in two, small, safety glass windows, high up, so a large hairy arm would have to fish around before grabbing her.
• I also wanted her to have two doors, so escape would be possible from one, if the other door was blocked. Both doors were triple-hinged, and quadruple-locked, to keep daytime thieves at bay, and both doors had two gate-type slide bolts that could be locked OPEN, so she wouldn't get locked in.

• 

  outside door security.jpg (93.67 KiB) Viewed 2450 times

  very strong hardware to deter quick entry into cabin
• Once inside for the night, she could pull both doors tightly closed (the doors have automotive door compression seals), and snap 3/4" round oak dowels into the channels on door and doorframe, made to receive them. Oak dowels have an incredible resistance to shearing forces, and will keep out the juvenile hominids, at least, for awhile.

• 

  inside door security.jpg (128.76 KiB) Viewed 2450 times

  my variation of a drop-in bar
• She hasn't used this trailer, ostensibly built for her, nor has she been Squatching, for over 6 years now, but I've been using it, and will venture forth into Bigfoot habitat, eventually. If he does come calling some night, I'll be securely sleeping behind my barred doors, but if a hairy arm reaches inside a window, I have machetes on each side of my mattress. I was a Boy Scout. Be Prepared!

[Iconfabul8]

Working on it,

Love it! Custom built for a specific purpose.

[jwh92020]

working on it - I started out trying figure a simple secure door lock for the inside, but now I have to worry about Bigfeet (multiple Bigfoots)! In my case, much like your wife, my wife would love to see something like that. Me - I'm waiting on the little green men (preferably the kind with pots of gold). I like your set up, simple & secure. Thank you.

[Rainier70]

The "inside" door of the two barn doors is secured with a top and bottom slide bolt. Those bolts do not need to be opened for you to go out the other door. The other door can then be secured with a simple slide across to the first door. I use a gate slide such as this one from HD. Mine is secured with screws and washers into the door frame rather than the through bolts shown in the picture.

[jwh92020]

Cindy - Never thought about only needing 1 door to open. Great idea. Thanks