Bedlift Kit?

[Chromag]

Has anyone used one of these? My TT has no type of support for lifting the bed. I'm a "fairly" young guy and a few months ago I put a serious hurting on my back during a week long trip. I tore a ton of muscles and I'm pretty sure it was caused by lifting the bed. Because there wasn't much leg room between the bed and the front wall I couldn't lift with my legs. I have the stock short queen that came with the TT and a longer memory foam on top.

I'm trying to find something to help me lift it without killing my back again. Can anyone recommend this product? Is there something more "heavy duty" I can use to accomplish this?

Thanks.

[kckettridge]

I agree with Eldir and daveor. You have to "fit" them in the right place in order to get the proper amount of tension. You found out from your broken bed frame what happens when there not in the proper place. I too had to make a couple of dry runs before getting them right and once I figured that out, they have worked flawlessly. Might I suggest installing small corner "L" brackets on the corners (top and bottom) of your bed frame so that it doesn't tend to pull out again. I'm of the opinion that "I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." Good luck to you!

[daveor]

I just installed a set in our trailer from hatchlift, standard bed size,, they work GREAT, had to do some testing though to get them right,, at first they were too strong to be able to close the bed, moved the attachment and now they work right,, I did have to add a piano hinge to the bed though,, the originals were just cheapys and the screws pulled right out.

[EldIr]

Mine has them. I assume original as the PO wasn't much for adding things. They help with the lifting and holding it up. If you're adding them on, remember that where they are added relative to the hinge affects how much help they will be to lifting (leverage) and also the length they need to be.

[hddecker]

path1 wrote:
We had a trailer like the pic in advertisment. I really can't say if it helped with lifting but helped holding bed up when you dig something out.

X3

Unless you went with ridiculously strong struts, they do not help that much in the lifting of the bed. If you go with over rated struts the platform will become harder to close and you would most likely have to put some sort of catch on it to keep it closed. (I had this problem with the tonneau cover on my old truck. I parts guy sold me the wrong struts, you needed two men and a boy to close it and if you weren't careful opening it you could do yourself a grievous injury).

You still have to over come the weight of the mattress, this has a lot to with the hinge in the bed platform and having to over come the friction of the mattress as it slides along the edge of the platform.

Not saying don't install a set, just don't expect them to be total solution.

Perhaps a better solution for you would be an electric motor. About 10-12 years ago I was looking at motors and worm drives for the tonneau cover. Not cheap, but effective.

[BigDaddyHfx]

martipr wrote:
My trailer came with the lift kit standard but the gas springs were way too strong. The bed would lift with one finger but you almost had to climb up and sit on the bed to close it. They put so much pressure on the lower attach brackets that the bed frame on one side broke. I did a repair job and replaced the springs with ones half as strong.

Brought the TT home from the storage yard this afternoon. I was doing a few things and just when I was heading into the house I noticed that the bed frame was broken.

When I looked at the bed framing I saw it was attached by a single staple at both ends. One end had pulled out of the frame and this board supported the gas spring (bed lifter). I fixed the frame and really strengthened it on both sides.

When I went to put the bed back down it wouldn't go. It always closed with not too much force. Finally I decided to take off the gas spring. With it removed it was nearly impossible to compress the spring. There was so much pressure trying to extend itself that I figure that's what broke the bed frame.

According to the manufacturer's website the springs I have are rated at 80 lbs. each. 160 lbs. seems excessive t hold up the mattress & plywood.

The company that makes them says they are warranted for 2 years. Only problem is that they came with the trailer which has a 1 year warranty. I've written to the company to see if they'll do anything for me since the trailer is only 17 months old. The other problem is that I'm in Canada and if I have to pay for shipping each way I may as while buy a replacement myself.

[kckettridge]

That is one of the first things I did to our TT. Our first two TT came with the bed lift's already but apparently Dutchmen doesn't believe in installing them on their units. I can now use both hands to take items out from under the bed instead of using one to hold the door up.

[jrichard]

In preparation to install gas springs, I attached a +/-2'x3' piece of plywood covering the entire bedframe in the area of the lower attachment point for the spring. The bottom edge of the plywood rests on the floor and is attached to multiple points on the bedframe. I definitely would not attach the bottom of the spring directly to the bedframe as I'd be afraid of breaking it.

[scottykrug]

I agree with the above statements. The shocks help a little bit with the lifting, but more importantly, they support the weight of the mattress allowing you to use both hands to do what you need in the storage area. Our camper came with these on it. My only change, the little screws stripped out of the wood (mentioned above). I drilled the holes out and put flat head screws with the nuts facing underneath. Sturdy and never will strip out.

[martipr]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Make sure you mount those somewhere really solid. You may need to add more wood to the mounting location because the screws will rip out of thin wood.

X2 I reinforced the attach bracket mounting points when I changed the springs. As is typical the original was pretty marginal.

[beemerphile1]

Make sure you mount those somewhere really solid. You may need to add more wood to the mounting location because the screws will rip out of thin wood.

[Chromag]

martipr wrote:
My trailer came with the lift kit standard but the gas springs were way too strong. The bed would lift with one finger but you almost had to climb up and sit on the bed to close it. They put so much pressure on the lower attach brackets that the bed frame on one side broke. I did a repair job and replaced the springs with ones half as strong. I googled "automotive gas springs" and found more information and suppliers than I could read. One thing I found is that when you don't have to pay for the"RV" name things are much cheaper.

I'll definitely check this out. Thanks so much. After ordering and installing I'll update this thread with the results.

[martipr]

My trailer came with the lift kit standard but the gas springs were way too strong. The bed would lift with one finger but you almost had to climb up and sit on the bed to close it. They put so much pressure on the lower attach brackets that the bed frame on one side broke. I did a repair job and replaced the springs with ones half as strong. I googled "automotive gas springs" and found more information and suppliers than I could read. One thing I found is that when you don't have to pay for the"RV" name things are much cheaper.

[Trackrig]

See Bill & Diana's post on 2/11/13 at 7:05AM in the General RVing Issues forum. He was ordering from Hatchlift.com. They are the same as CW becasue they have the same picture. They appear to have a good selection of various lenghtes and weight capacities. Bill was going to post the results after he had them mounted, but that was only two weeks ago. I need to do the same thing, I want to see how his 20" X 120 pound units work before I order.

[sbowman871]

Try this site. Looks like they have a good selection of struts and mounting hardware.
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