|
Have some experience with gas struts. Been fighting to get them to work since buying the rig! One of the first things we did was complicate matters by replacing the stock mattress in our 27.1 with a "real" (i.e., much thiker and heavier, but much more comfortable) factory trimmed to fit one. Well worth the cost in comfort, but really added to the problem with the struts. It kept ripping screws out of the pressed paper frame.
First the hinges gave way. Pulled the screws sideways out of the "wood"! Replaced the two little hinges with four larger ones, fastened with nuts, washers and bolts in holes drilled through the lifting portion of the bed deck. That worked a couple of times, until the mounts started pulling out of the underside of the deck.
By that time, the deck was pretty shredded from all the attempts. I replaced the now ripped up deck with a piece of B/C half inch plywood, trimmed to shape, stained to (mostly) match, and polyurethaned. Hinges are screwed into the frame for the stationary section of the frame, as are the stationary shock mounts. Movable section hinges use the nuts, bolts and washers method again, and the plywood blocks for the movable shock mounts are fastened to the deck the same way.
So far, it's worked. We're taking off in it the end of next week for a two week trip, so it should get enough use to say whether or not it's going to keep working.
__________________
|
Thor Forums
