The Best RV Drawer Latches & Cabinet Locks For RVs
Drawers opening while driving is a common annoyance among RV owners. Motorhome owners may be aware of the problem as they drive and might be able to pull over and close the offending drawers. Those of us who tow aren’t aware of the problem and may reach our destination just to find drawers open with their contents strewn everywhere.
If either of these describes your situation, we have great solutions for you. In this article, we’ll tell you how to keep RV drawers and cabinets closed while driving.
1. Install invisible babyproof RV door latches
These babyproofing latch locks have a hook on the inside edge of the drawer and a buckle stopper to effectively stop drawers from sliding open unless you want them to. They are quite sturdy and can hold up to 25 lbs of weight.
The latches are designed to function easily, so you won’t have to struggle to get the drawers open or closed when you need to.
2. Keep drawers closed with magnetic RV drawer locks
Magnetic drawer locks are another item we can borrow from the babyproofing section of Amazon.com. These drawer locks keep drawers closed while you drive using a powerful magnet system.
They go on the inside of the drawer and are installed with strong adhesives, so you won’t have to drill any holes. The cool part about these RV drawer latches is that they come with a special magnetic key that can be used to deactivate them when you aren’t traveling.
3. Use magnetic drawer catches
Magnetic drawer catches aren’t quite as secure as babyproofing drawer locks. However, their powerful magnets will usually keep drawers safely closed as you travel.
Magnetic drawer catches are fuss-free, requiring no fidgeting when you need to get into a drawer. These are easily installed with their strong adhesive backing and should work well in most applications.
4. Babyproofing cabinet lock straps
If for some reason you can’t use drawer latches or magnetic drawer catches, you can always use babyproofing cabinet lock straps to secure drawers while you travel. These straps are installed on the exterior of drawers and are fairly easy to latch and unlatch.
5. Use a rolled-up rug to keep RV drawers closed during travel
This tip is just for when you need to keep a floor-level drawer closed during travel. Use a rolled-up rug or towel wedged in between the bottom of the drawer and the floor. This simple hack is easy to do and might be all you need to keep floor-level drawers closed.
Get tips from other RVers
One of the best parts about RVing is engaging with the community of traveling enthusiasts. iRV2 forums allow folks to chat with other RVers online, and get other perspectives on everything RVing, including products, destinations, RV mods, and more.
Related articles:
- These 5 Must-Haves Will Keep Things From Moving While Driving
- How To Keep Things From Falling Out Of RV Cabinets
- 10 RV Kitchen Ideas That Cost $50 Or Less
Lynne lives, travels, and works full-time in a Forest-River R-Pod 180 with her 2-pointers, Jolene and Annabelle. Lynne has been an enthusiastic RVer for over 35 years. And then one day in 2019, she began full-time RVing as a lifestyle experiment. She quickly fell in love with the convenience, freedom and minimalist lifestyle offered by full-time RV living. Lynne is a professional writer and has been a professional dog trainer since 1995. You can read about her travel adventures on her R-Pod Adventure blog, R-podyssey at: http://www.rpodaventure.com
I watched the video on the magnetic locks. It appears that you have to use the magnet to disengage the latch, every time you want to get in the drawer and cannot “deactivate” them for when you are not traveling. Did I miss something?
Lots of great tips how to keep drawers and doors closed while on the road here.
We only have one drawer that has heavy pots and pans that used to come open.
We rolled up one of the rugs and placed it in front of drawer.
Problem solved.
Kiss
Keep it simple silly
I make up stout external latches with a 90 degree hasps that holds cabinet doors closed from the outside. Like the security hasps that hold heavy beverage carts in place for take off and landing on airliners, they are easy to inspect prior to moving. They are relatively unobtrusive when they are in the open position and don’t need to be unlatched, every single time you want to open a cabinet. Search YouTube for RV Latches!