I just purchased a horse trailer (new from the manufacturer) with an escape door. There is no locking mechanism on the cam latch on the door. Is this normal? When I ordered the trailer, I assumed the company would install something to ensure the latch didn’t pop up and allow the door to open.
Our steel stock trailers don’t have any but a latch that drops into a slot for the back gate and the escape door.
We drill a hole where we can add a snap or lock or something to insure it won’t jump open if we hit a big bump.
We have brought that up with trailer manufacturers and they always “forget” to do something about that.
Until you get some more secure latch, try to wire or use whatever you can to insure the door won’t come open.
Most here use an old pigging string on the back gate anyway, just as an extra way to be sure the gate was closed and secure.
There are some horror stories of gates in trailers coming open and horses stepping out while going down the road.
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Those parts are easy to find online, and you can either install them yourself or find someone local. Could be as simple as drilling a hole and installing a bolt or welding it on.
We have had to replace some of ours on steel trailers, as the welds gave out over time. No biggie.
Thank you, Bluey and Moving to DC. I am having other issues with this trailer, so when I took the trailer back to the dealer, I asked them to install a hasp so I could lock the escape door. The service manager told me that, because of the configuration of the latch on this door, a hasp will not fit. I found a welder who can custom-make a hasp that will fit the latch, but it is going to be a more costly solution than I was expecting. I’ve never seen a trailer with an escape door that didn’t have a hasp over the latch, so I was wondering if I should ask the manufacturer to pay for having the hasp made. However, since Bluey said this is typical of their steel stock trailers (and mine is a steel, stock combo trailer), I won’t bother fighting with the manufacturer over this.
Does the escape door have a true cam latch? Or is it just a butterfly latch? Most butterflies don’t have a top lock like hasps, they usually have enough tension that a little “lip” on the catch is all that is needed to keep them in place.
Cam latches have a bar that extends the full height of the door, with locks above and below the door that it latches into. Cam handles can bounce around, there isn’t a lot of tension on them… Cams are what are used on semi-trailers, and for good reason. They make the doors MUCH stronger by absorbing more weight and distributing it over a wider area. Cam latches are much less likely to fail. However, I am NOT a fan of the new fangled plastic locking mechanisms on newer horse trailers - just another part to fail when it gets brittle in the sun. I much prefer the “old fashioned” simple metal clasps.
Butterfly latches usually have a 12-18" plate that presses on the door, and the handle drops into a keeper/catch to hold it shut. This Titan stock trailer has a butterfly latch on the back door: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=8LjuE1ne&id=875D9F14D125D0D94ADFD7836C034B096C55B592&thid=OIP.8LjuE1nekYw8HKLFV7m6YgHaEK&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mjtrailers.com%2Fimages%2Ftrailers%2F5630f4c870b4b%2F20151028161638_20151024_152005.jpg&exph=1836&expw=3264&q=stock+trailer+butterfly+latch+images&simid=608045188126869046&selectedIndex=67&ajaxhist=0
Not sure exactly which latch your trailer has, but I have a combo stock trailer with a butterfly latch, for which I use a cotter pin slipped through the latch holes (vertically) to match sure that nothing comes undone. I purchased this cotter pin, which has a"C" spring piece of wire attached at one end, at TSC, although I can’t find it on their website (in store, it was located by the other cotter pins). The pin is dropped in the aligned latch holes, then the free end of the “C” is put over the free end of the pin. Works better, and is easier to insert and fasten, than the snap we used to use.
However, on my trailer, the latch is snug to the point I think it would be unlikely to open on its own, even on a rough road, plus my trailer has a smaller backup latch l(of a different type) ower on the door. But the cotter pin with “C” clip sure buys some piece of mind.
Okay, found a similar clip – it’s called a “Wire Lock Pin;” mine is a round wire lock pin.
Thanks, everyone. The latch is actually a butterfly latch, not a cam latch. It looks very much like the picture in Moving To DC’s post.
I am just really surprised that a trailer manufacturer would install a latch like that, on the escape door, without also installing some sort of locking mechanism.
Who is the manufacturer of the trailer?
Honestly, I really like trailers to have the option for a lock on every door. You never know when you’re going to want to exclude people from going inside or protect stuff that isn’t livestock when it’s parked. Worth the trouble to come up with a solution now and not when you’re in the insecure parking at the county fair etc.
Yep, it happened to me! The two minis managed to shed their halters and tie ropes, walk under the chest bars, pop the door open and hop out. All at about 30mph on a country road. The little buggers were fine. Me? Not so much.
BTW, even heavy solid-brass snaps in a hasp broke from the stress of one-to-two trailer trips for me. I finally decided the trailer was more trouble than it was worth and sold it.
On my trailer, there is always the option of adding a padlock, such as a combination lock, to the latch. On my first trailer, I used a combo lock, but now just use the pin on my current trailer (which also has an extra latch, so the door couldn’t spring open even if the butterfly latch failed).
To put it in perspective, my husband has been hauling a cargo trailer for about a dozen years, including many cross country trips; the doors and ramp, which have a style of butterfly latch, are locked with after-market keyed padlocks which he purchased. He has only just bought new locks – the old ones never failed, even with heavy use.
ETA: My last trailer had in-door keyed locks for the escape doors; I actually prefer the strength of the butterfly latch.
