Latch trouble! Any upgrade ideas?

Bbsmith

New member
New to group!
Just picked up a 2011 Agile. (Built on Mercedes sprinter)

It drives well but has a few issues:

Starting here:
The latch on the bathroom door is broken. It takes some finesse to close and it will no longer open from the inside. I looked at all the other latches which are currently working, but they are made of a similar plastic which looks subject to breaking.

I assume this is a problem for many people, therefore, I would like to hear if there any quality upgrades. I find a similar replacement on the web but it is smaller and I suspect subject to the same kind of breaks. Is there anything better I can just drop in instead?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 

irvingj

2015 RT SS Agile (3.0L)
Mine's in storage so I can't look at the upper door latch, but I believe in later models (ours is a 2015), they added a pin at the bottom of the door to hold it shut while on the road, which also takes some of the load off the upper closure latch. Yours may not have that; if not, you might want to add one. The black rod swivels out at the top, then lifts up to release. There's a hole in the edge of the shower base it fits in to.

DSC05999.jpg
 

BobLLL

Active member
There are some older posts on here with ideas, here is one thread I bookmarked:

I opted for a simple "temporary" solution of using a small padded C-clamp on the top right corner of the door, to clamp the door to the wall. This turned out to be so effective it has become the permanent solution. Unsightly, but only needed while we are driving, so what does it matter?
 

irvingj

2015 RT SS Agile (3.0L)
Haven't seen that, but I've not been impressed with the button locks (if you mean the steel button ones that pop out to unlock) on ours. Some seem to stick, others are loose -- they seem to change just with variations in humidity and wood swelling/shrinking a small amount. They do have an adjusting screw, but that doesn't always work, either.
 

Bbsmith

New member
I appreciate the comments and suggestions so far. Unfortunately,It sounds like this doesn’t have a good solution. Right now my bathroom is the only one broken, but I strongly suspect others are not far behind.

I think I will try to track down an original replacement for now. Does anyone have an email or otherwise good contact at Roadtre?
thank you very much.
 

Bbsmith

New member
So I’m still looking at this latch situation. I found some replacement latches from a guy on eBay and I’m waiting to install them...

...but...

can someone please explain to me how the Agile bathroom latch and closure is supposed to work? there is a funny peep hole cover on the inside that can rotate out of the way and you see the back of the latch. But, Right now I don’t see how someone can escape the bathroom if the latch catches. Am I missing some handle on the inside or something? I just don’t get how it works. Is it not meant to be closed when using? That seems weird...

it would be awesome if someone could make a video clip of this to help explain the proper function. Or some pictures of the parts and description of functions.
 

irvingj

2015 RT SS Agile (3.0L)
IIRC, all mine has is a spring & roller-type closure at the top; yours must be a totally different design. Can you get some pics of it?
 

Bbsmith

New member
Finally have some pictures.

I consider myself of nearly average intelligence, but I can’t figure out how to open the door from the inside.
we all enjoy our private time, but it’s sad to lock yourself in!

hows this work?3A8D10AA-4372-4F9F-A15E-CA97838F01F3.jpegA89FFCFB-6461-4A2C-9A09-2073E0BEA2B7.jpeg941B1973-12E8-4BD2-9203-D964BF2F2F4B.jpeg8BF5504B-6F46-423D-BE4D-0993D4D0E6C5.jpeg2ACBFE54-BB92-44C2-8031-A13D4E20E4E4.jpeg
 

irvingj

2015 RT SS Agile (3.0L)
Wow...our Agile has no such hardware! I have no idea how that's supposed to work.

What we have on the top (and it doesn't work real well, hence the added pin-lock on the bottom) is something like this:
Screen Shot 2020-12-03 at 5.32.30 AM.png
 

Bbsmith

New member
Wow...our Agile has no such hardware! I have no idea how that's supposed to work.

What we have on the top (and it doesn't work real well, hence the added pin-lock on the bottom) is something like this:
View attachment 162657
the only thing holding your door from flapping about (before the bar cleat) was that one roller clasp? That’s really surprising.
 

irvingj

2015 RT SS Agile (3.0L)
No, ours came with that pin in the bottom, an apparent upgrade from previous models, from what I've gathered. Obviously, when parked, the roller clip thing at the top is fine; before hitting the road we drop that rod into its hole in the base. (If we forget to do that, we're very quickly reminded!)
 

Bbsmith

New member
Ok, figured it out. Everything fine.

I bought replacement latch on eBay. Exact OEM. I was afraid to test it for fear of locking myself in. I had my wife on call in case I needed rescuing. As it turns out, you can stick your finger in the hole and push the catch back to release it. Phew.

Not the greatest design, but I’m confident this is how it is supposed to work. Cheers!
 

SafeTee

New member
Same problem but different hardware.

Your attached photos are the replacement parts... same as the old. Is that correct?

Assuming once the replacement parts where installed, all is good. Is that also, correct?

The manual which came with our 2015 Agile SS on the 2500 Sprinter 4-cylinder diesel, shows the same type of latch on the outside as your picture reflects.

Our latch, which is not the same as yours and what we have been looking at in our Roadtrek Agile SS manual since our purchase, is the push button type that is used on all of the cabinets. Absolutely not working on that shower door.

Were did you purchase your new parts? Do you think we would be better off to convert to your latching system?
If, so where again did you purchase?

Thanks for to all who contributed with advise and council, most especially BbSmith. This ugly little problem that we have been annoyed with since 2015 is a constant reminder to use the age old adage... "Buyer Beware"!

Following photos are our Shower Door Latch which does not work...

IMG_6157.jpgIMG_6156.jpg
 

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