Hey Everyone - Here’s a helpful how-to guide for those looking to add a locking solution. The Reese Towpower lock is what works best with this setup. To grab your own jig or file download, feel free to reach out to our team at support@gfcengineering.com. Enjoy!
Instead of drilling an extra hole, why not just remove the spring pin and put the lock through there?
@PRob - Good question. There are a lot of folks who live in areas or have moments where needing a lock is unnecessary so this gives you the security when you want it while maintaining the Spring Pin’s functionality.
It can also be a safety thing. The spring pin ensures that the latch can’t unintentionally come undone. So if you replace it with a lock, you’d need to always run the lock when closed. Having the dedicated lock hole allows you to safely latch the tent closed without having to lock it every time.
Agree with this. Locking and holding the camper closed are best as separate functions.
How do I acquire the jig? I was actually in Belgrade in May '22 when they made the change to the pins/spring locks. At the time I purchased a variant of the lock you mention here from O’Reilly’s auto parts, as we were on the road. I removed them, used the locks, and actually found the old school problematic locks on Amazon when I returned home. I can now see how they can get gummed up if you don’t keep up on maintenance. Also, I think it would be cool if you could link all the parts from video. Thanks.
Hey @RunningRndHairOnFire - Hope you’ve been loving it! To get jigs from us, click here. Please note the FREE STL file download option for anyone with their own printers (or access to a public library with one). As for the tools, they should all be available at your local hardware store.
Hit me up if you have other questions!
Anyone local in the Portland area have these or getting these? Seems like something we can share since they’re a one use item.
I just eyeballed where I wanted the hole for the lock pin and went for it. If you want a jig by all means go for it but I don’t think it’s all that necessary.
I had pre ordered one of these Reese coupler locks before getting my camper. Picked up the GFC two days ago but the lock won’t fit through the hole that the camper came with.
I was wondering if I accidentally ordered the wrong size, but there only seems to be one size for that lock. Curious if the GFC guys have any suggestions - is the hole meant to be large enough for this lock from the factory now?
On my V2 (late 2022/early 2023) the hole is the correct size for the Reese Towpower lock. ~0.28" or 7.25mm.
The Reese Towpower pin is .275 in or 6.95mm.
I can print up a couple sets for LA/SoCal area people if you will handle sending them on to the next person(s).
I dont use this forum much, but I have a jig in Portland. Its only for one side though. Hoping to use it this weekend.
Awesome, it’d be cool if I can arrange to use it (I can come to Portland sometime and just bring my drill).
I ran into the same issue and even brought the lock with me to my install this weekend. The lock didn’t fit on the driver-side latch. But after driving back home, I noticed that the lock fit on the passenger-side latch. It seems that the the driver-side latch is slightly smaller for some reason. This isn’t really an issue because we only really need one lock for the tent but has anyone else noticed this size discrepancy?
Mine won’t fit in either side. I’m about to drill out one side a little larger so it will fit I think! I reached out to GFC support and they said it was strange but just to bore it out a little.
Hey @Aeroux & @cmc - Thanks for the response and patience. I had a quick convo with one of our engineers over at the production facility, and confirmed that there was indeed an issue for a short period of time, but things have since been solved.
Here’s a quick breakdown…
The minimum diameter required for these locks is .274" - .276", so we set our bore diameter to .285" =/- .005". Unfortunately, even when all the settings are correct there can be unseen issues. Once the lead engineer on this sorted out the source of the issue on July 5th, we were back to proper spec and haven’t had issues with newly produced units since that point.
For you and anyone else dealing with a diameter < .274" - .276", the fix is simple and takes maybe 5 minutes. Simply get ahold of a Letter “L”, 9/32", or an 8mm drill and bore out the whole to accommodate the lock. It’s essentially the same as the retro-fit process, minus needing the jig, and you can check that below.
Sorry for the slight inconvenience, but this should take care of anyone affected.
No problem, Thayne! Thanks for the great support. I just wanted to check and make sure I had the correct lock before drilling a bigger hole unnecessarily.