How to Keep a Pocket Door Closed (RV Pocket Door Strap)
Pocket doors save space. That is one of their most attractive features. Instead of swinging out into the room, you can slide it out of the way into its personal pocket. The drawback to these doors is trying to secure them when you are on the move. Not every solution is foolproof.
Some owners use a bungee cord system. However, those cords can wear out, break or fray and then you are stuck looking for a new solution. Nothing will be perfect and this may be a never-ending battle.
To learn more solutions to help solve this problem just continue to read our article. It explores the topic so you have the right information on hand when you need a better way to secure your pocket door.
Keeping a Pocket Door Closed
How To Keep a Pocket Door Closed
There are, as we said, many options at your disposal. One is the bungee cord option, but you have to make sure that the cord is thick enough to handle the bumps and pressure the pocket door will place on it during travel.
Another option you will see on grand Design and other RV models will be a plastic strap and a snap system. These will work if the plastic strap and snap are strong enough. If they are not then the two items can easily break and let the door slide back and forth.
Slide locks or nylon straps seem to work well and hold up under the pressure that comes during travel. These solutions are just the tip of the iceberg to get you pointed in the right direction.
Your experience with any of these materials may have you looking for better methods and they are out there waiting to be discovered. One better method is putting an eye hook into the ceiling and using a carabiner along with a rope to hold the door in place.
Do Pocket Doors Have Locks?
It depends on the type of lock you are referring to. If you mean a lock on the door for privacy, then the answer is often no they do not. Some double pocket doors do have locks to hold the doors closed when operating but that is about all.
Usually, the RV maker places some type of locking system in their RV but do not expect it to be secure, elaborate, or expensive. It will usually be the least expensive model that is the easiest to install.
As for a key lock system, the answer will be no they are not lockable. You can devise a better locking mechanism and add it to your pocket door. That will make them lockable when they are not needed.
Some people use a simple bolt-type door lock but place it vertically so that the door will not move when slid in its pocket. You can also create a system where the door locks when you close the opening. Most often it will be up to your ingenious methods to solve the issue for your specific model and door location.
Ways To Lock a Pocket Door
One method we like is the sliding bolt lock. Place it on the door in a vertical position and have a corresponding point to slide the bolt into and the door should remain where it is until you unlock it.
Straps of any type are always popular and are easy to install. The difficult part will be adding the snap to the door and the strap. But you can have these straps made from nylon, plastic, or some other material.
Or you can devise a system that uses an eye hook screwed into the ceiling of your RV. Then either tie a knot in a piece of rope and tie it to another eye hook on the other side of the door. The rope should be thick enough to handle the pressure that comes when traveling.
Some doors may also come with magnetic latches that seem to be powerful enough to hold the doors still. If they don’t, you can always upgrade the strength of the magnet.
Pocket Door Lock Ideas
There is an interesting idea where a sliding piece of tough plastic is placed on the door frame and a corresponding plastic opening is placed on the door itself. This locking system can be used to hold the door in its pocket or to lock it when it is in use.
All you have to do is slide the plastic into the opening and it should hold the door in place. The plastic sliding piece needs to be thick enough to handle any movement. Many of the devices we saw were designed to hold the door in the closed position and not in the pocket itself.
Sliding bolt locks will work as would a chain with a slide on the door. Just like you have on many of your exterior doors on your traditional homes. To keep the sliding door in the pocket, you are left with only a few options.
Straps, ropes, or hooks are the most popular items to use. Sometimes a combination of these items will be effective. You can try an old-fashioned method of drilling a hole through the wall of the pocket and the door. Then slide an appropriate-sized nail into the hole.
The nail remains out of the way and can hang by a strong when not needed.
RV Pocket Door Strap
This is the most common solution many RV owners use. The straps can be made of almost any tough material as long as it remains flexible and strong enough to hold the door in place.
These strap solutions usually need a snap on the other end to make sure they can do their job. Plastic, nylon, or even rope will work as the strap, as would a bungee cord. The problem with a bungee cord is that it may be too elastic at times.
That elasticity would allow the door to move too often and cause some banging noise that may get annoying after a while. Some people have placed plastic hooks on the wall of their RV or trailer and one on the door. Then they attach a bungee cord to the hooks.
This works well if you want the door to remain closed for privacy. it also may work when you place a hook on either side of the walls of the pocket and use the bungee cord as the closing strap. A rope would work in this scenario as well.
Security Pocket Door
There are several models for this option. Most are very professionally constructed and installed so that you do not lose any of the look your RV or trailer has. Made from aluminum, for the most part, they are very strong.
Plus, they can be custom-made to make sure they fit any size door opening you need them on. These doors should come with their own built-in locking system so that they will stay in place as you travel or when you need them closed.
With the variety of designs available, you have some choice in how yours will look. They will be made to meet your requirements and security situations. If you are going with a pre-made version, make sure to measure the opening carefully. This is one of those times where accuracy and precision are vital.
The cost of these doors will be up to the retailer or customizing shop you make your purchase.
Can You Put a Lock on a Pocket Door?
Yes, this is possible to do. It will take some minor alteration to your pocket and pocket door but there are some great looking and working key locks that are designed for these specialty doors.
A good lock works best when you have 2 pocket doors coming together. But not every RV owner has that luxury so you may have to do some adapting of the pocket to get these locks to work like they are designed.
The locks come in round and square designs. You need to consider the thickness, age of the door, the mechanism itself, and the finish on the door when you start shopping around.
These locks are designed to keep the door sliding perfectly into the pocket so you should not have any trouble opening and closing the door. Also, check the thickness of the lock to make sure it will fit your pocket door.
How To Put a Lock on a Pocket Door
Every pocket door lock is unique and you should pay close attention to the instructions that come with the lock to make sure you install them correctly. The following are just some general guidelines to follow:
1. Measure accurately and make marks on the door- start from the bottom of the door and go to the middle.
2. Make your cuts- use a jigsaw or a similar saw that will make the right indentation you need. A sharp chisel is the safest tool as you have more control.
3. Install the lock- the hardware should all be included so you do not have to go out to buy screws or look for any in your workshop. Use the right screwdriver to tighten the screws.
4. Attach the side and head jams- these are unique from lock to lock so make sure to measure carefully. The included instructions will guide you for each style of lock.
5. Install the latch- a chisel is the best tool to use to carve out the space needed for the latch.
6. Install the latch plate- use the screws included to get the latch place secure. Then do a test to make sure your installation works. If not make some adaptions until it does.
How To Lock a Pocket Door From Both Sides
This is not very hard to do or find that lock that can be locked from either side of the door. All you really need is a pocket door lock that uses keys on both sides and that is all that is required.
Just follow the included instructions to get the lock installed properly or have a professional do the work for you. After it is installed, you just keep the key with you at all times so you do not lock yourself out of a room or inside one.
That is basically all there is to this topic. It is all a matter of finding the lock that is designed to lock from the inside or the outside of the room. Some bathroom locks have keys on one side and a knob on the other to lock them. The same goes for pocket doors.
How do I Keep My Pocket Door From Sliding?
This too is not a difficult project to do. The actual solution will be up to you and the method you choose should meet wife approval as well. Looks are important so you may want to go with a nice strap and snap solution. The straps are often hard to see so no one will know they are there.
Or you can use a rope, nylon cord, or a combination of materials. These combinations will be up to your imagination and ingenuity. There are a variety of options that will work well for your RV or trailer’s design.
Just take your time and go through the different options to see which one is the best for you.
Some Final Words
Pocket doors save space and still look nice. They are out of the way when you need to frequently enter or exit a room. When closed they look good. Keeping them from sliding is a different issue and you will find that different RV owners have creative ways to handle the problem. You just have to pick the best option for you.
