Forum Discussion

TKW's avatar
TKW
Explorer
Jan 16, 2018

The Down Comforter That Breaks The Camel's Back

The two 80# gas struts that comes from the factory can barely hold up a bare mattress. It will not keep the underbed storage stay open once bedding are added. I saw the previous owner had a very thin bed spread on it when I was viewing the TT. It was early spring and the TT was just visiting family down here from up north. I thought nothing of it as ppl live up north might withstand cold weather better than us who live at the wet coast.
My options are either to replace these struts with 100# or 120# rated ones. To decide on which one to use, I use a wood post and a bath scale placed at the C.G. of the bed. The scale shows 98.8#. However, with the two 80# fully extended at an angle of approx. 34 deg. from horizontal, it's about 10# overloaded. I therefore decided to order a pair of 100# struts from Amazon. And the result: see photo attached.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5zvt1idehn45p1/WP_000441.jpg?dl=0
  • DocP's avatar
    DocP
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2018
    Thanks for the tip and picture. I upgraded the RV mattress and the current struts cannot support the weight, so new struts are definitely on my to-do list.
  • Lantley's avatar
    Lantley
    Nomad
    Jan 16, 2018
    Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
    I just cut a piece of dowel to length and use it as a support stick. Works for me.

    X2
    I'm not in there enough for it to be a issue.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Jan 16, 2018
    Lantley wrote:
    Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
    I just cut a piece of dowel to length and use it as a support stick. Works for me.

    X2
    I'm not in there enough for it to be a issue.


    X3
    Well don’t even use a support as with slide unit under bed storage is limited usually just a quick grab, although better since I extended the mattress platform.

    The platform was designed for an RV Queen, the PO had either ordered with a res queen, or changed out later. That meant the platform was about 4” to 6” short. I extended by replacing the panel at the head of the bed with one 4” longer, and moved the section at the foot down the 4”, requiring moving all the strut attachments. The result is the struts support the bed better.
  • rbpru's avatar
    rbpru
    Explorer II
    Jan 16, 2018
    Gosh, our struts open hard and close like a guillotine. They are so stout they pulled the bed frame from the wall; of course the fine craftsmanship that used only two small mounting screws did not help. :) :)

    I would suggested new struts.

    Drive safe
  • CarnationSailor's avatar
    CarnationSailor
    Nomad
    Jan 16, 2018
    TKW wrote:
    The two 80# gas struts that comes from the factory can barely hold up a bare mattress. It will not keep the underbed storage stay open once bedding are added. I saw the previous owner had a very thin bed spread on it when I was viewing the TT. It was early spring and the TT was just visiting family down here from up north. I thought nothing of it as ppl live up north might withstand cold weather better than us who live at the wet coast.
    My options are either to replace these struts with 100# or 120# rated ones. To decide on which one to use, I use a wood post and a bath scale placed at the C.G. of the bed. The scale shows 98.8#. However, with the two 80# fully extended at an angle of approx. 34 deg. from horizontal, it's about 10# overloaded. I therefore decided to order a pair of 100# struts from Amazon. And the result: see photo attached.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5zvt1idehn45p1/WP_000441.jpg?dl=0


    I had a similar problem with a previous TT. I moved the "lower" mounting brackets (the brackets that attach to the platform base) a few inches toward the foot of the bed and the problem was solved. The struts had plenty of capacity, but were just installed incorrectly.

    Given you need to support 98.8 #'s and your original struts should have been able to support a total of 160 #'s, maybe yours were just installed incorrectly too.

    I know this suggestion is too late to help you, but maybe it will be useful to others.
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2018
    Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
    I just cut a piece of dowel to length and use it as a support stick. Works for me.


    2x... except I just use a old broom handle stick cut to length.
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2018
    rbpru wrote:
    Gosh, our struts open hard and close like a guillotine. They are so stout they pulled the bed frame from the wall; of course the fine craftsmanship that used only two small mounting screws did not help. :) :)

    I would suggested new struts.

    Drive safe


    After a year, the screws all pulled out of the section that lifts. I tried replacing, and it did the same again. I ended up reinforcing the plywood with heavier 1x4's so the screws had something to actually "bite" into. Then did the same for the part the hinge mounts to on the frame area. Then used longer more stout screws. Of course, this added even more weight. But they've not pulled out since. The stick work very well to hold it open.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Jan 16, 2018
    Talk about a heavy mattress.....

    Going FT we chucked the OEM RV Queen and replaced it with a Full Size Queen TempurPedic mattress.

    Struts held it up no problem.........and 11 yrs later STILL hold up bed platform and new RV Queen mattress.

    Hummmmmmmmmm. Guess NUWA used the right ones from the beginning
  • TKW's avatar
    TKW
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2018
    CarnationSailor wrote:
    TKW wrote:
    The two 80# gas struts that comes from the factory can barely hold up a bare mattress. It will not keep the underbed storage stay open once bedding are added. I saw the previous owner had a very thin bed spread on it when I was viewing the TT. It was early spring and the TT was just visiting family down here from up north. I thought nothing of it as ppl live up north might withstand cold weather better than us who live at the wet coast.
    My options are either to replace these struts with 100# or 120# rated ones. To decide on which one to use, I use a wood post and a bath scale placed at the C.G. of the bed. The scale shows 98.8#. However, with the two 80# fully extended at an angle of approx. 34 deg. from horizontal, it's about 10# overloaded. I therefore decided to order a pair of 100# struts from Amazon. And the result: see photo attached.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5zvt1idehn45p1/WP_000441.jpg?dl=0


    I had a similar problem with a previous TT. I moved the "lower" mounting brackets (the brackets that attach to the platform base) a few inches toward the foot of the bed and the problem was solved. The struts had plenty of capacity, but were just installed incorrectly.

    Given you need to support 98.8 #'s and your original struts should have been able to support a total of 160 #'s, maybe yours were just installed incorrectly too.

    I know this suggestion is too late to help you, but maybe it will be useful to others.


    If you think about it, the 98.8# number I got is a downward force perpendicular to the floor. The 160# rated struts are at 34 deg from horizontal, per factory design, which will only give you an upward resistance of roughly 90#. It is good enough for leaving the dealership with a bare mattress but underdesigned in my book. Moving the pivot point a few inches may help by improving the angle of attack but the distance you can move is limited by the retracted length of the strut. My new struts only costed $20. It saved me from rebuilding the bed frame.

About Travel Trailer Group

44,029 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 13, 2025