Gas struts

[alpinos1]

Hi everybody!
This is my first time on a forum , the wife and i have overhaulin and customizing an
Old travel trailer we installed a 48" by 70" door in the back for our outdoor kitchen.
My problem is i can't find what gas struts to install ( length and load ).
Thanks for your help.

[alpinos1]

Thanks Fred the website is great!
And thanks Steve for your input on selecting the right struts.

[subcamper]

I have designed a bunch of fixtures at work that had gas struts to hold doors and covers open.

There are basically three important specs:
1) Strut travel (difference between fully open and fully closed)
2) Strut pressure
3) Distance the strut is mounted from the pivot point (hinge). The closer to the pivot point the higher pressure strut you need (the "leverage" principle).

Mounting the ball mount plate close to the pivot point is advantageous in that the strut is out of the way when the door is open. This is how minivan and SUV struts are usually designed.

The further the strut mount is from the pivot point, the longer the travel needed (assuming the other end stays in one spot), but the lower the pressure needed. As you can see, the three specs mentioned above all affect each other.

If you install struts and find that the door either is too hard to shut or doesn't stay open, you may be able to fix that by moving the ball mount plate location on the door further or closer to the pivot point (assuming the strut has enough travel).

Steve

[alpinos1]

Here is a picture of my door project . Finishing touches are not done yet .
Thanks for your help.

[Golden_HVAC]

Have you considered the weight that you need to support?

How long when it is open and how short while closed?

Once you have these three things answered, you can order the struts from this place.

AutoPartsByLou.com

You can also look at their list of struts by length, and then look to see if they have the foot pounds that you might require.

You did not post a picture, so I can only guess at the pressure that you might need.

I had to replace the strut on my door of a handicap van. It is 14" open and 11" closed, I picked a 30# rated strut, and it works great, holding the door open, (even in light winds) and then when I close it, it does not require to much pressure to shut it. This is a door with a hinge on the side, so it is not supporting any weight at all, but prevents the door from closing due to wind.

If you are looking to support a 70" wide door that is hinged at the top, that will take a LOT of pressure. Think about 120 pound struts, probably 40" long closed, and whatever length they are while open.

They sell brackets too, and the ends that are bolts with a 5/16" nut on them, and 3/8" OD ball joint end to attach the strut to it. Click on hardware once you are at the site, and it will direct you to the brackets and ball joints.

I had to replace the struts for my under the bed storage once I replaced the factory mattress with a pillow top version. I think I went from 100# to 140# rated struts.

Good luck,

Fred.

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