Forum Discussion

stevewise's avatar
stevewise
Explorer
Oct 03, 2015

Upgrade gas shock support for under bed storage

Has anyone upgraded there gas shock for the under bed storage? My 5er has the king size bed and I think the extra weight of the mattress is why the storage will not stay up.
I would like to know how you would figure out what size gas strut I would need to alleviate this problem.

Thanks in advance for any help.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    I would yust add two longer ones at 50 lbs assuming it almost stays open. The mounting brackets are bad about pulling out so going with stronger ones is asking for trouble.
  • My bed lift supports went bad while I was in myrtle beach. Took one off and went to camping world there and told them i needed two and it was for a short queen bed. Guy came back with two new ones rated for 120 pounds each. They were actually on sale for $11.39 each. Put them on and bed works fine.
  • Check out this website. You can click on 'search by size' and also look on the home page for 'brackets' and eyelets. I bought some for my minivan rear door, as well as my motorhome and my bed supports too!

    The minivan I also needed new eyelets because the drivers side then the passenger side eyelets both broke a year apart.

    http://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/

    I also saw pictures posted by a guy who also installed a pillow top mattress like mine, and he installed a extra aluminum brace across the bed platform, and under the top, then ran 4 new struts from one level to the other.

    You can buy them say 20" long and with anything from 12 pounds of pressure (I installed 20# for my small access doors or 35# for the wider and heavier doors) all the way up to 140 pound ones for my minivan! Beyond 100 pounds, then it is more likely that the strut can break the eyelets.

    Good luck,

    Fred.
  • WARNING! WARNING. If you relocate the shocks position, measure carefully. I did this without realizing how important this was, only to have the head board of the bed rip from the wall when I put it down and got on it. My bad.
  • The solution could be as simple as re-positioning the bracket on the bed base to allow more leverage for the existing gas spring. But this will reduce the compressed length of the spring, check carefully that you don't bottom it out.
  • You might checkout hatchlift.com. They have several options and offer great service.
  • mbopp wrote:
    The solution could be as simple as re-positioning the bracket on the bed base to allow more leverage for the existing gas spring. But this will reduce the compressed length of the spring, check carefully that you don't bottom it out.


    This is what I did, works great now.
  • mbopp wrote:
    The solution could be as simple as re-positioning the bracket on the bed base to allow more leverage for the existing gas spring. But this will reduce the compressed length of the spring, check carefully that you don't bottom it out.


    Exactly. Increased leverage will hold more weight. Probably no need to purchase stronger support shocks.
  • Just moved my lower shock mount a couple of inches.....bed goes up with ease.

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