Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 09, 2025 ...

U295 front door

September 29, 2018, 04:46:21 pm

My U295 front door will not open, it is not locked, any ideas short of a drive to Foretravel? I am at legends rv park just north of Houston TX.

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #1 – September 29, 2018, 06:06:35 pm

Garry,

You must be inside. So double check that the little handle lock isn't half deployed. Also move the dead bolt to the locked and unlocked position again.  Then give the door a good nudge.

 If you can get the door to open make sure that the striker bolt is slightly loose in the post. It needs to be a little loose up and down to offset the body movement when moving and leveling at a campsite. If this striker bolt is tight the door can jam.

Mike

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #2 – September 29, 2018, 07:14:56 pm

If you can get in through a window or possibly the engine cover, if you are small you can take the cover off of the door handle and use a screwdriver to pry the release arm to the left to try and get it to release.

Mark

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #3 – September 29, 2018, 07:19:25 pm

That's our recent experience.  Our coach is much much older but the handle broke off inside trapping us... in the slot for the handle we used a screwdriver to find the same position the handle would be in to open....  on our trip home from Santafe we just latched the screen door to the exterior door and used the screen slider locking pin to open and close at our stops... we have not replaced the door mechanism yet... just ordered ALL new 8 set tires.. so the door can wait..

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #4 – September 29, 2018, 08:51:48 pm

Door is now open. After many years of use (1997 Foretravel) the catch at the top of the door became bent/jammed, locking up the cable to the door handle. The cable then prevented the door handle from rotating and releasing the door.
To open the door I removed the screen door then the door inside panel to release the door latch, all with the door closed. Tomorrow I will tackle repairs and hope Foretravel has parts needed to get door back to its designed operation. No more climbing through windows.

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #5 – September 30, 2018, 07:52:19 pm

Garry,
With the door made by PTL they will most likely have what you need. They are good folks to work with. Our Products - PTL Engineering

Mike

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Reply #6 – September 30, 2018, 11:11:08 pm

Gary, does your latch look like this

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Reply #7 – October 01, 2018, 09:31:30 am

Is that a hide a key that is shown in the photo ??

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #8 – October 01, 2018, 03:00:49 pm

Looks like it is a zip tie holding it.  I bet it comes with the new lock

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Reply #9 – October 02, 2018, 10:35:29 am

The door stop, that is no longer functional, is part of the hinge connected to the top of the door. It is a steel dog that springs into a locked position to hold the door open, and the cable that routes down the door and snaps into the handle. When the door is opened the cable pulls the steel dog to release the door. The catch is part of the hinge on the top of the door. As of today, I removed the steel catch and the door functions normal, minus the hold open function. I have not had time to research replacement parts yet. Thanks Gary

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Re: U295 front door

Reply #10 – October 02, 2018, 07:40:14 pm

ilakva, I would like you to give me a call at 214-762-6290 in regards to the door.

Thanks, Jimmy

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