Gas shock on door

[labren]

On the entrance door for a Cougar 5th wheel, there is a gas shock. Have any of you kept this shock attached? It only opens up to 90 degrees. The 5th wheel is new so I don't want to make any rash decisions, but the door does not open very far. Just wondering about some of you, and what you have done....did you disconnect the shock?

[avvidclif1]

My Cyclone Toy Hauler has gas struts on the basement doors. They are 2 stage. When first opened they go out to abt 90 deg and stop, if you then push down and raise up again they go on up to 15-20 deg off vertical. The first stop keeps it away from the slide and the second is only usable when the slide is in. Look at the length of the gas strut and see if it's extending all the way. It could be 2 stage also.

[milo]

Our has the gas shock. Love it. Keeps the door from whipping if its windy & also from hitting the window that is there. I hate the new style windows though. Have that lever that slides thru to hold the window open, wish they were the old style crank kind.

[RuralAlbertan]

Usually when there's a gas strut that holds the door it's to protect it from the awning arms, slide, or the orifice for a gas appliance. If the door doesn't impede any of these by being all the way open there's no harm in replacing it with some sort of holder.
The strut removes by pulling up on the metal tab on the end with a screwdriver. The tab is clipped to a pivot point mounted to the door, usually with screws so you can remove that too. If you do remember to seal the holes, I usually just put the screws back in.

Holders are cheap, get one from Amazon or eBay. I prefer the ones that have a clip on one end and a ball on the other. With those if you forget about it and try to close the door there's no risk in ripping the holder out of the wall.

[RoyB]

My fifth wheel has a latch that you can hook into the opened door to keep the wind from blowing it around. That comes in handy...

Roy Ken

[consumeratlarge]

Had that on our new MH, but stopped for gas with 50mph winds, opened the door, and POW, it was busted at the end. I unscrewed it, and put some adhesive foam on the outside of the door right where it would smack the awning rail if the wind got it again. Hard to find the replacement, since the ones at CW didn't fit right.

Turns out, we're fine with not having it. The little bits of foam have saved some dings a few times, though.

[goducks10]

We had that on our previous TT. Loved it. Miss it on our 5er. Ours was there because when the door opens it would've covered the WH and probably scorched the door. I wish we had it on our 5er because when the door is fully open it blocks half the kitchen sink window.

[dewey02]

labren wrote:
On the entrance door for a Cougar 5th wheel, there is a gas shock. Have any of you kept this shock attached? It only opens up to 90 degrees. The 5th wheel is new so I don't want to make any rash decisions, but the door does not open very far. Just wondering about some of you, and what you have done....did you disconnect the shock?

We used ours until the gas shock quit working.
Now we just open the door all the way and use a bungi cord to strap it open. I like it all the way over and not out at a 90 degree angle like it was with the air gun. They are easy to disconnect if you want to do so.

[Mile_High]

Usually that is only to keep it from hitting a slide when its extended. Otherwise not sure of the purpose.