RV How To Tips

Michelle Installs an RV Keyless Entry Remote Lock

Now, let’s join Michelle as she shows us how easy it was to install her new Global Link lock system. Michelle Fontaine: This keyless entry lock is easy to install and it can be opened and locked three different ways: the standard two-lock key entry, your personal four-digit code, or using the Global Lock app, which I’ll talk about a bit later. And now, let’s install.

Remove the existing lock. Simple Phillips-head screwdriver. Okay, four screws. These are tighter. Still, very doable if you don’t have a drill. Pull this in, give it a little… and look at that. Insert the new lock into the same footprint. Add the plate on the end. There’s a few things that have to line up behind here. First of all, this sits down, okay? And, see how this works right here? So by this thing down, it goes over here into this slot. Make sure the slot thing is down so this is over here this way, and it’s gonna fit into that hole. That, and in addition to this flat piece matching up with the round flat piece here and the plug being out of the way. Okay, finally got it. That was tricky. So, again, just make sure this is down and it’s all lined up, and get those screws in there. Literally, this took me about 20 minutes to line it up just right. So have patience.

This new plate is exactly the same as this plate, so I don’t really need to change it, but this one’s a little beat up, so we’re gonna go ahead and put the new one on. It closes.

Now, we want to put the battery in so we can get the Global Link app working. Press and hold any key to wake up the keypad. I’m going to try to add my personal PIN. Press and hold 9-0 for three seconds. Enter the factory default PIN. Enter the new PIN you want. And do it again. Yay, all right.

Now, I’m gonna go finish setting up the app now that I did this part. I downloaded the Global Link Connect app, made sure my Bluetooth was on, and paired it.

All right, we’ve got a keyless entry lock installed. I’ve got the app downloaded.  Let’s say you’re inside your RV. It’s nighttime, you’re settled in into your bed, you’re reading Facebook, whatever, and you decide to go to sleep. And you think, “Oh, is the door locked?” All you need to do is press on your Global Link app. It opens up. It shows you the status of your lock. Did you hear that? Now my door is locked and I can go to sleep.

So this works within a short circumference of your RV too, so if you’re outside at the picnic table, you want to unlock, the kids want to go in or you’re in your car or truck getting ready to leave your RV for a bit and you wonder, “Hm, did I lock it?” Easy peasy, just lock it.

One of the most significant things about RV locks is that over 75% of them use the very same key. Chris Carpenter of Global Link expresses this very well. So, Chris, take it away.

Chris Carpenter: We always like to mention the most popular, the CH751 key. I would guess if you have that 751 key on your keyring, if you’re sitting around a campground with ten other guys having a cold drink, nine of ’em will have that 751 key on their ring as well. And that’s mainly the cam locks, the little round silver locks, and they’re all keyed the same.

We used to– I’m an older guy, as you can tell, but in the old days we only kept beer and firewood in there. We didn’t care. Now, we have $1000 batteries and $1500 satellite dishes and $200 sewer hoses; it’s a lot more important. So what we offer is an option to either take those cylinders– now, on those 751 cam locks, you’ve got to replace the lock, but we’re talking $15. You can replace the lock, and if you happen to have a Global-branded entry door lock with a G300 key code, we can key to that G300 number as well. The whole idea is to get one key on your keyring that fits everything on your RV. The convenience is wild. One of the other issues we have when you have two entry doors, chances are they’re not keyed the same.

Michelle: As Chris mentioned earlier, over 75% of RVs use the CH751 lock. Usually it’s a cam lock, the small silver lock on our cargo bays. Mine used the CH751, so, because I installed a keyless entry Global-branded lock on the door, I was able to get the matching keys on my cargo bays. So I have one key that opens everything.

Earlier, I mentioned that I thought the door opened too hard and shut too hard, so I’ve asked my friend and colleague Jason Ciastko to take a look. It wasn’t the lock, it was the striker key; and Jason took on the challenge.

Jason Ciastko: What I’m gonna be doing here is I’m just using a small center punch to actually put a dimple in there before I drill the hole so the drill doesn’t drift and run out away. We can get it in the center. Now I’m gonna take my drill and I’m gonna put a couple of small pilot holes in here. Now I’m gonna remove one screw at a time, put it in the new hole. I am not gonna tighten these down fully just yet until I have ’em both in line.

Jason: It wasn’t closing quite the way Michelle wanted to, so we need to bring the plate a little farther outboard of it. So right here is a little bit of a lip from when I cut the hole. It’s a good idea to take my take my Moto tool here, my Dremel, and just take a little bit off of here to be able to pull it out. There isn’t a lot of meat left cause I got it close to the edge, but I think just by moving it about 1/16 of an inch, we’ll be able to get it.

Not even a 1/16 of an inch. Just to get a little bit more play coming out, so here we go, we’ll try it again. Michelle: Better. Jason: Just like that. Michelle: Very nice.