I just finished installing a brushed nickel Kwikset lever handle lockset on the entry door just below the deadbolt that was there when I bought the bus. Up until now there was only the deadbolt, so every time we would park the bus at a campground for instance, you would have to lock the deadbolt just to keep the door shut. Very inconvenient. So, I picked up a $50.00 Kwikset. The problem was that the lockset would not work on a door that is 2 1/4"+ thick. So I picked up a flush mount lockset that typically mounts on a large tool box, like the ones that mount on the sides of a pickup. I gutted out the parts and utilized only the rectangular body that is shaped like a 3/4" deep rectangular 3"x5" "pan" (if you will) with a flange. I cut a rectangular hole in the door (inside), mounted the pan shaped part in the hole, essentially creating an area that is 1 1/2" thick for mounting the new lockset. Then after drilling the 2 1/8" and 1" holes for the lockset assembly, I filled the entire area around the lockset and bolt hole with Simpson Strong Tie epoxy (comes in a caulking gun tube with a long mixer tip), essentially creating a solid door so that the bolt wont jiggle in the edge of the door. Then I re-drilled it all again after the epoxy set up. Now the bolt assembly has something to grip to, like it would in a solid core wood door, nice and tight. I even created additional dimples in the door edge piece (the 1" metal piece that goes inside the edge of the door), so that it fits nice and snug against the epoxy. It came out really slick. Now I have the deadbolt for the main lock, and the lever handle for when we're parked. I wouldn't trust the new lockset for a sole source of security (or while driving), but it will work great next time we're at the beach!
Glennman
