The Amazing Self-Locking Airstream! (And How To Fix it)

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The Problem

We’d heard the horror stories. Airstream owner steps outside, closes the door behind them, and returns a few minutes later to find the door unintentionally locked—stranding them outside. Their keys remain inside, dangling from a hook, just beyond the glass of the windows. In the worst cases, pets are trapped inside or food is cooking on the stove. Sometimes a locksmith is called and hours are lost while awaiting rescue. Other times, a window is smashed in order to regain access posthaste—ruining more than just a short span of time. Either way, it’s a major disruption. Why does this happen?

On the inside of Airstream doors is a small, cylindrical protrusion that slides laterally to engage or disengage the handle lock. Slide it one way, locked. Slide back the other way, unlocked. The trouble is that the latch—the cylindrical protrusion—doesn’t like to stay securely in position. Instead, it tends to gravitate ever so slightly toward the locked position. That’s one factor. The other is the fact that Airstream doors naturally lend themselves to being flung shut when closed from the outside. They have a hefty feel and pivot freely on their hinges, resulting in a viscerally satisfying thud when swung shut with a flick of the wrist. It feels like a tank. But as we all know, RV’s—regardless of manufacturer—are not built like tanks. Weight and cost are prevailing concerns in their construction, so even brands like Airstream include parts that are flimsy, cheap, or both. Airstream’s door handle—not to be confused with its deadbolt lock—falls into this category. Not only does the lock have an unfortunate tendency to jiggle toward the locked position, the handle itself is prone to ripping completely off when used to pull the door shut from the inside. That latter problem is why the ‘door handle mod’ shown below is so popular.

Until recently, we weren’t overly concerned about the door handle’s potential for magically locking itself. We’ve long since been in the habit of putting spare keys in a lockbox outside the trailer, so we felt protected against the dreaded lockout scenario. But occasionally we’ve forgotten that part of our camp setup process. And—no kidding—one of those times I actually did manage to lock us out of the trailer. At night. After a long day. In near-freezing temperatures. Back then, we were in the habit of locking the door handle lock from the inside, then shutting the door from the outside, and then locking the deadbolt with the key. The only thing that saved us from a long, cold evening was Jill’s phone which we used to unlock the truck and retrieve the spare Airstream keys. (Yay, technology!) Nowadays we just stick to using the deadbolt and completely ignore the handle lock.

That incident was a long time ago and obviously self-inflicted, but just recently something else happened that was 100% not our fault. Looking out the window while on a recent trip, I saw that the wind had picked up enough to start thrashing our main awning around. I hurried to the door so I could put it away, but when I twisted the door handle to open it, it wouldn’t turn. I applied more pressure, but it didn’t budge. For several seconds, I considered the possibility that the lock had broken, stranding us inside the Airstream. The timing seemed incredible. Of course this would happen right when I need to rescue our awning from the wind. Finally I took a closer look and realized that the handle latch had jiggled itself into the locked position. Gaw! I slid it unlocked, went outside, and retracted the awning.

The Solution

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that the lock to your door—your only door—should never become unintentionally locked. Yet here we are.

I’ve seen a number of solutions for this problem shared on social media over the last couple years. Some are a bit hacky and unattractive, but this lockout blocker is simple, effective, and visually appealing. After getting momentarily “locked in” the other day, I decided to buy one. It cost $25 which, I admit, made me think twice. But we’re glad we got it. It gives us confidence that our door handle will stay unlocked until and unless we desire otherwise.

Want one too? Get yours here.