Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Good evening!

I've spent the last day and a half building my first door, things were going well! I was actually super confident, got my window hole, it seated in nicely, I carved out the hole for the handle (which is this one https://teardroptrailerparts.com/product/global-link-rv-entry-door-locking-latch-kit/) but it didn't fit. I widened the hole just enough so that it could tilt in, but that is too much, since there is now a big gap.

I tried looking up installation of these, but they are all on purchased campers, but it still doesn't make sense to me... I could build two new doors and build them with this latch in place as i put the sides on, but I'd rather be able to get it in and out if something breaks.

My doors are made up of 1/4" ply, 3/4" core, 1/4" ply, for a total of 1 1/4" thickness. Do I need to change the inside from 3/4" to something thicker to give some extra room to tilt in?

Any help would be amazing, I need to get these doors finished tomorrow. I've started building 2 new ones already but haven't put them all together yet.

This is what the hole looks like before I made it bigger



This is what the hole looks like inside, before making it bigger/attaching the outside 1/4" ply



From this video, it LOOKS like I just need to have a much wider door so it can slip in and out easier with tilting

https://youtu.be/q_bW-SwcU3Y?si=OvSb-OzPvaFqdSK-&t=181

Cannot slide it in with tilting here:



Cut out more space and now there is a big 1" x 3" too big of a hole when it "fits"

Did you make the hole too big? Could you add a decorative piece of wood or metal around the hole edges to hide the excess space?

It was almost a decade ago but I remember it was a real head scratcher to figure this out. It might be worth it to work this out on a mock up of your door frame before you start cutting another door.

Can you remove any parts of the handle that might make installation easier, then reinstall after it's in the hole?

I agree with you on this lock design, it is fiddly and mostly designed for very thin plastic or metal door skin to be installed easily.

In my build It required some trial and error to fit this lock in to my door with 3mm plywood skin too, but it worked in the end.
I just kept working on it and it did fit. Below are the pictures how I did it.

The opening you made is too big.
If I remember correctly, Instead of making a bigger opening I had to cut the bolt opening wider to be close to internal plywood skin to install the lock without such big opening as in your photo.

Watching the vid and seeing your pictures, two thoughts occur to me:

Did you try to have the latch retracted when attempting to fit the part into the hole?
Does the cover plate cover enough of the door that you can just make a saw cut to pass
that hitting part in your picture?

Thanks for all the replies. I have continued to try and make it work, but it doesn't seem to want to. I have gone ahead and purchased these to use instead, very simple installation. Not as secure, but if someone is going to try and get in, they will get in regardless.