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Stuck drawer conundrum


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I am posting this not really expecting some miracle answer I’m just frustrated. The drawer in front of the copilot’s seat is stuck shut. My wife uses the drawer to keep odds and ends in and it has always worked smoothly. We got back from a trip just after Christmas and It was emptied out except a pen and magic marker I know this because I emptied it. A week or so later I was working on something and needed to mark something and remembered the magic marker so I went to open the door and it’s like welded shut. I have tried everything to pry it open without destroying it. It’s like someone put JB weld on the draw slides and shut it. I can’t even begin to understand how this could have happened. I have taken a rubber mallet and hit it from all sides and tried to pry it open till it almost cracks the wood. It has granite type lid inside but nothing could have caused it to stay up. Granted it’s not a huge problem and we can live without it but it’s bugging the *%$# out of me. 

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If it's possible to pop the heater vent faux drawer front off that's underneath the drawer, you might be able to get your hand underneath and behind the drawer and somehow get it to release.

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The only thing I can think of is it’s tweaked maybe try to move the motor home a little bit. Sometimes a door doesn’t want to open because it’s tweaked a little just a guess.  Let us know what you find out?

Don

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I’m guessing you have a Southco Grabber Latch or similar that broke or is jammed and is holding the drawer.  I’d be inclined to slip a putty knife behind the top center of the drawer face, and with a hammer blow to the putty knife, attempt to break the latch “finger” to release the drawer.

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Since yours is stuck closed it must be the latch in the back and/or something else holding it closed.  The latches are fairly easy to break so I'd be surprised if was the latch holding it closed.  I'd remove the vent and see if you see if something else causing the problem underneath.  If nothing there you may have to take the radio console apart to see if you can see something from the top.  

 

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@Georgia Mike

Mike,

I opened up that same drawer to get a closer look. There are no "latches" like others have spoke about. The side tracks actually have somewhat of a detente which keeps the drawer closed. It operates like the rest of the drawers in the coach. The granite cover will not even raise up unless the drawer is completely out.

I don't see anything mechanically that would restrict the drawer from sliding open. If something had fallen out and gotten caught I would think it would move at least a little.

One suggestion is to remove the air vent on the right side of the dash, remove the air hose and push it aside to get a look at the inside at least on the right. The only way to see the left side is to remove the center dash and there are lots of air hoses back there.

Sorry, I can't be of more help.

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Just checked mine...no plastic cabinet latches, the side slides do have kind a friction detent when fully opened or closed. 

Good news... the wood strip on top is wide enough that the Corian lid can not be popped up and jammed.

Bad news... there is zero access from the radio side, or the bottom.  The drawer slides in like an envelope of wood.

I have a very thin small crowbar, about 6' long.  Looks like if you had one on each side about three inches in to avoid the slides a good pop would get it open.  Don't worry about the coming off, the drawer is put together with several of those pocket screws on the sides and underneath.  One of the slides must be jammed somehow.

Good Luck

 

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Well, I got the drawer out and I figured out why it was stuck. It was my own doing 😫 Traveling up to North Carolina for Christmas I felt a cold draft coming in from the dash so I bought some black expanding foam and found all the voids up under the dash in the generator compartment and filled them up. Well, some of the foam made its way through and got to the bottom of the drawer. I guess that stuff is a strong adhesive as well. I used a small crowbar to pry the drawer out and didn’t do any damage thank God. It took a lot of force. Just goes to show you when something strange like this happens you really need to think about everything you did in that area.

 

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