Easy RV Mod -> Upgrade Your Drawer Latches
Pre-Post Note: This may not be my most exciting RV mod, but it solved a long-standing and annoying problem. Hopefully it will do the same for some of you….
With all the bounce and jiggle that comes with driving an RV, drawer latches are pretty much a necessity. They keep drawers shut and prevent things flying about while “the beast” is en route. Our RV, as many do, came pre-equipped with cheap plastic hook-and-latch (often called catch-and-strike) jobs that seem to break every few months. Not only that, but replacements can only be bought at RV stores, cost $4-9 a piece…and last just as long. After replacing almost 12 of these in our first 2 years (we must have an extra-special knack for breaking them) this was starting to annoy me in a serious way, and I went searching for a better option.
In my attempt at improvement I tried just about every option from the hardware store including child-proof and magnetic latches, none of which measured up to par. They were either too weak to hold the drawer in motion or would break or simply didn’t work. Finally ~6 months ago some folks on the iRV2.com forums suggested an all-metal adjustable-tension ball latch which looked to be the perfect replacement. I managed to find 2 packs at a local RV store in Eugene OR and tried them out on our heaviest kitchen drawers. BINGO!!! Several months of real-road testing later and I’m happy to share these are the bees knees.
The metal latches come flat, but can be mounted at a right-angle (top part vertical, bottom part horizontal) so they are a direct and easy replacement for your existing crappy plastic latch. The latch is held in place by tension “balls” and the tension is easily adjusted on each side by using a screw-driver. The hardest part of the installment is aligning the 2 halves of the latch so that they come together properly when the drawers are closed, but a bit of measuring (before installing) will help to make it all work out. I got the 2″ version which works fine, but for a little heftier clasp I would probably suggest the size up at 2 5/16″ that you can buy online HERE (thanks to Bob in the comments for the link on a place to source these for a decent price!). So far these latches look great and are a much sturdier option that I expect to last far beyond the ‘ol plastic ones.
Got a cool RV mod of your own? Feel free to e-mail me with photos and details and I’ll highlight on the blog in a future post. Full credit will be yours!
Good to know!
Somehow, all of our drawer latches work. (?!?) Sure, we haven’t had automatic steps since ever, but our drawers stay closed (because we’re ladies).
There is always something isn’t there. Glad your drawers haven’t run off without you 🙂
Nina
Hello from sunny Florida!
In desperation to an alternative solution to our drawer latch system, I came across your site. I read your article on upgrading those pesky RV drawer latches, that seem to break constantly. We have recently downsized from our big rig to a small casual travel trailer. With just minor usage in the past 2 years, we have replaced those black plastic drawer latches several times. Our latches are identical to the ones shown. Because of my frustration of not having a properly functioning drawer, and my husband getting sick and tired of replacing theses cheap latches at $7.00 each, I reached out and ordered the metal ball bearing latches. Received them yesterday. Any hints on how to properly install them? We will be heading out to the Keys next week. Thanks.
Well we just installed them in the same holes (or right next to the same holes) as the the metal ones. Then you simply adjust the metal ball pressure (by adjusting with the screws on each side of the ball) to whatever level of tightness you’d like.
Our lasted quite a bit longer than the plastic ones, but the ball bearings did wear down (eventually). Hope they work out for you!
Nina
Ours stay closed too but we have the old fashioned lift em’ up to close and open them. No plastic involved. Wonder why they quit doing the rail with the bump thing that we have?? Cheaper?, Easier? to use plastic?
Now THAT sounds like a much more practical option. Have no idea why they don’t do that anymore, altho’ I’m sure price comes into it somewhere.
Nina
It is all about what sells an RV. I have watched people At RV
shows and they look at self-closing drawers and doors and it sounds like they are watching fireworks ew ah, And then look at one with the pull up type and say oh this is cheap ……… but we know if you put a load in a self-closing drawer it will come open during travel in a TT.
We have been extremely lucky. No latch problems for the past four years…did I just jinx myself?
You know I think people either fall into “they break all the time” or “they never break” catagory, and I have no idea why! When I posted this problem on the forums I got a very mixed bag of responses…a bunch of people who totally identified w/ our problem and others who just had no idea why we were getting so many breakages. We must be especially hard on our drawers LOL…
Nina
No, you’re correct. We have a NEW, c class, second trip, 4 of the 7 have snapped. When we took our joke of a walk thru, the guy mentioned stocking up on the drawer latches. That should have been my first clue.
Only have one drawer that keeps getting out line but hasn’t broken. However, we are always ready for new fix it tips. Thanks for sharing!
Our big drawer(in lieu of oven area) has been a problem since day one. Currently have baby locks and they sorta’ work(drawer only comes out 2 inches) but wife hates them!!! These could be perfect!!!!1 Thanks!!!
Hope they work as well for you as they have for me 🙂
Nina
Any suggestion for an RV Mod is a good one in my opinion. Although I’m still not quite over YOU changing out that sewer handle !!
Luckily none of my drawer latches have broken………yet ! ‘Cause everything else sure has !! LOL
Right now the bedroom door (which is on a slide) is off the slide at one end. And there’s NO WAY to get at it ?? grrrr
You know sometimes you wonder how the RV manufacturers decide to put stuff together. We have a water filter in a completely insane location that requires an 8-armed octopus to change….really?
Hope you manage to get that door fixed!
Nina
Thank goodness I have the lift type of drawers. However, cheap plastic that hold the slider parts are broken on 4 of my drawers. The really good replacements for those are like $35 a pair.
Ouch…$35 a pair is really pushing it for a plair of slider parts. Always amazes me that cheap plastic bits can be sold for those kind of prices!
Nina
The same cheap ones cost less. That’s for the presumably good ones.
This is something we will look into as we have had to replace a few already. Now do you have any ideas for the catch that holds the bedroom mirrored closet doors in place? Perhaps yours are different than ours but we have had to replace these little plastic catches several times already.
Ah no…sadly I do not have a good replacement for those. I have one broken too (I definitely have a knack for breaking things)
Nina
Those darn things break so easily. I can’t tell you how many we have replaced.
Hi,
I’ve tried to absorb all the tips on your site as we prepare to go full-time later this year so I’m very happy to be able to offer a solution we found for our mirrored sliding doors.
My wife found that a window lock would work for us. It is a latching mechanism with a strong adhesive backing–simple to apply. The one we chose has the trademarked name, BurglarBar, and it is working perfectly for us. She found it on Amazon.
Bob
I have the brass ones on the cabinet doors in my Safari Trek and a few of them have broken too.
Sorry to hear that. I guess it’s overly optimistic of me to think these will last forever, but I have to believe they are waaay more sturdy than the old plastic rubbish. So far we’ve gone almost 3 months on the new latches which is already breaking my record on the old ones.
Nina
We have the metal latches installed right from the begining. I find they don’t let go, but my husband installed hook and eye type ones as a secondary backup for the longer, rougher trips.
Hmmm…interesting. I would think the tension could be adjusted to allow them to let go? Anyway I’m glad you’ve got a solution that works.
Nina
Mine stay closed on my 1989 Class A. Made well.
They just used to make ’em better is all I can say. Older RV construction was more solid than it is today.
Nina
thanks for the tip will start looking for them.
Glad I could offer a good tip! DO see Bob’s note below on where to buy these for a much better price than what I originally posted in the blog.
Nina
I took out all the drawers (not all at once, mind you) and eventually replaced them along with the drawer slides with full extension self closers. A slightly more expensive and time consuming exercise. Unfortunately now in an RV that we no longer own however. 🙁
Probably a good idea to look around the web for the best price for those catches though. It seems to depend on whether or not they’re labelled “RV” or not. It’s getting as bad as when something is called “marine”. That usually means pricey.
Here’s one example to compare to the link you provided. You’ll need to copy and paste, as WordPress doesn’t seem to like for me to put in a link.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=40618&cat=3,41399,41405
THANK YOU for the link!! I’ve been looking for a cheaper source for these latches and wasn’t able to find them. That’s definitely the spot to buy them. I will update my blog post with that link.
Nina
All our motor home cabinets but one came with the brass latches. The brass ones do wear out after a while. As a matter of fact I need a couple more to replace worn ones. I like the lee valley web site price better than the other. We had the same latches in a very nice sailboat we had ten years ago.
It makes sense that even these will wear down eventually. I’m hopeful they will last a lot longer than the plastic ones tho’
Nina
You might also try, McMaster-Carr as a supply resource for many things, including latches. http://www.mcmaster.com
Excellent! Thanks for the link!!
Nina
Thanks for this write up! I too have tried options but I didn’t figure out your solution.
Here’s a link to the McMaster-Carr product page: http://www.mcmaster.com/#ball-catches/=kf1dul
My two heaviest drawers have broken the same latches you have problems with. I just ordered the latches you recommend. Hopefully I’ll have them installed in a week or two and can stop taking the drawers out when we roll.
Hope they work out for you! So far these latches are still holding well for us. It takes a bit of fiddly alignment to get them installed, but once they’re in they do the job.
Nina
We spend alot of time off-road in our campervan (just bought 5 months ago) and most of our latches broke this summer. I found this article while looking for a replacement that would last. Luckily my local hardware store had these so I picked up 8.
I found a little trick for mounting these in good alignment easily. First mount the tension bracket than stick the latch inside it. Now take some easily washable paint (stole some of my kids watercolor) and put a thick bead on the 3 edges you want to line up. Close the door or drawer and it should contact the back of the latch and leave you a perfect outline to mount on.
Hope this helps some people out, happy wheeling!
Something to try…I have replaced a few of the plastic drawer clasp. Some more than once. I find these were a sub-standard product, especially for a 4 year old RV (trailer). We are planning a trip to AK. next summer, so I think I’ll get a few and swap out the old ones as they break. My wife uses a bungy cord on her silverware drawer as she does not trust the cheap plastic ones.
Been following you guys for a few years now….Getting set to retire in 6 months (age 53) and will scan thru your 4% rule formula.
For your closet doors go to rvgeeks website and check out their video on the burglabar. It’s a latch that will work. Thanks for all your tips, Jeff
I looked them up but it looks like the main use is for sliding doors. Where do you install them for drawers?
I’m sorry, I looked the burglabar up online.
Hey folks: I found a nifty little video for installing the ball latches. Here it is: https://youtu.be/_FHTZGttt8U I’ll be ordering a few sets from Lee Valley…
Thanks for all helpful the tips.
We are looking to replace the plastic drawer latches that are breaking. Thank you for all your posts, picture and
links on this subject. Good job! We are wondering if the brass ball latches are still holding up after 5 years? If not, did you find anything better?
We ordered new catches from Lee Valley, and they arrived this week while I was out of town. Or so we thought… the padded envelope arrived, but one corner was unglued, and it was empty! I sent a message to Lee Valley about 7 PM, with a picture of the open and obviously run-over corner, and within the hour had a message back saying the replacements would be here in 2-5 days. Now THAT is customer service, and a way to keep my business for life, Thank you for the recommendation!!!!
Michelle
I bought a 2018 RV about a month ago, and 3 of the original drawer latches broke on our first trip. Rather than fool around getting poor replacements from the manufacturer, I replaced them with these Camp’N RV cabinet door latch, and they work great. It was made by Durable ABS plastic: high impact ABS plastic material ensures that the device remains functional for years to come, simple to install with necessary mourning hardware. It can offer this benefit because of its 5lbs of pull force, which ensures the device won’t have trouble even in bumpy traffic.
ACIMONE cabinet door latch it secures and keeps the RV drawer from opening while driving on the road. Easy to install if you are replacing existing gaskets and pre-drilled pilot holes, if you just need time to get exact measurements or the pins won’t lock well.
The latches frequently fail which leaves drawers and cabinet doors impossible to close. Luckily, these cabinet latches from Camp’N helped me. Its all-weather, high-impact ABS plastic material ensures that the device remains functional for years to come. There’s no reason to believe this product won’t be keeping my cabinets locked for the next several RV trips.