The entry door gets all the security attention, but think about what actually lives in your camper's exterior bays: tools, recovery gear, a generator, camp kitchen equipment. Thousands of dollars of gear, behind compartment locks most owners have never once inspected. Here's a tour of the locks that matter and how to keep them honest.
Storage bay locks
Exterior storage doors — propane bays, kitchen compartments — use compact cam-style locks that take constant weather exposure. Two things kill them: corrosion in the cylinder and a cam that's drifted out of adjustment so the door rattles. If a bay lock is seized or the key is long gone, replacement is cheap: Black Series OEM external storage door locks run $30–$35 in keyed and non-keyed versions for both the propane and kitchen bays.
Toy hauler compartment locks
TH19 and TH22 toy haulers carry the most valuable cargo — bikes, quads, tools — so their compartments use heavier hardware. The OEM compartment locks for TH19 & TH22 ($40) use a hardened steel shackle with a corrosion-resistant powder-coat finish, and drop in as direct replacements with no modification.
Cam bar locks
On TH19/TH22 hybrids, the cam bar lock ($150) holds the pop-top lid down for travel. Treat this one as safety equipment, not just security: a failed cam bar on the highway is a lid trying to open at 65 mph. Inspect it seasonally and replace at the first sign of a bent bar or a cam that won't fully seat.
The keyed-alike trick
The single best quality-of-life upgrade: put every compartment on the same key. The TH compartment locks offer a keyed-alike cylinder option, so multiple locks open with one key — one for the carabiner instead of a jingling ring of near-identical bay keys you sort in the dark. When replacing several locks at once, order them keyed alike from the start.
Pre-departure lock checklist
- Every bay door locked — and pushed to confirm, not just turned; a cam that didn't rotate fully feels locked until the first washboard road opens it
- Cam bar lock fully seated before towing (TH models)
- Keys accounted for — primary set plus a spare stashed somewhere that isn't inside the locked camper
- Once a season: dry-lube every cylinder, same as the entry door lock
Not sure which lock your model uses? The door lock, latch & key fitment guide covers the full Black Series lineup, and everything above ships from our Upland, CA warehouse.