tsetsaf
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When we bought our rig the first thing out the door was the cheap mattress. Replaced it with a regular household mattress. Only problem has been its weight and not being able to lift the bed easily and leave it propped up while accessing the storage underneath.
Decided to order some same length and stroke 150lbs struts to replace the original 80lbs units. Just mounted them and they are too strong. Completely bent the strut mounting bolts. Any ideas how to rectify?
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rk911
Wheaton IL
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reinforce the bed frame or bring back the RV mattress and add a pillow top to it.
73,
rich, n9dko
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opnspaces
San Diego Ca
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Put the old struts back on the bed. then move either the top or bottom mount a little bit to make them stand more vertical. This will give them more lifting force. Make sure that they still have enough clearance to allow the bed to fully close.
Is there a 100 pound strut you could try?
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NanciL
Bakersville, NC, USA
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I went through the exact same thing when we bought our new trailer several years ago, except it was with the mattress that came with the trailer.
The dealer finally gave up trying to fix it, and then I did too.
He put on new heavier duty ones, and then moved them until there were so many holes that it was like swiss cheeze.
Luckily there is an outside compartment with a door going under it, so that is how it is used now
Good luck on trying to correct it
Jack L
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bobsinn
Key Largo, Florida
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When my struts got weak and wouldn't hold the bed up I added a folding table leg like on my booth. It holds the bed up real good. I bought one that was adjustable.
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netomh
Far North Dallas
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bobsinn wrote:When my struts got weak and wouldn't hold the bed up I added a folding table leg like on my booth. It holds the bed up real good. I bought one that was adjustable.
Bingo. My original struts were too strong for both the original mattress AND the mounting brackets. Tore everything up. I just took them out...the orig mattress was so light, I really didn't NEED any assistance. When we replaced the mattress, I just started using the broom as a prop. The folding leg sounds like a natural evolution of that idea...good thinking!
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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Are they actually too strong for the load, or just too strong for the brackets?
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FlaCracker
Florida
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I have two folding coil springs on the deck lid of my boat that looks loke a old screen door return spring.(most young people dont even know what that looks like). One end is mounted on the base and the other end is mounted on the underside of the lid. When the lid is in the closed position the spring is folded (doubled over) but when the lid is opened the spring straightens out to hold the lid up. To close the lid you simply bump the spring and it will fold over again. The spring works like your leg when you are standing and will fold like your leg if someone comes up from behind you and bumps you in the back of the knee. Your leg will buckle. The spring is made of stainless and has a mounting bracket a both ends with several nice mounting bolts in each bracket. You can adjust the angle of the spring to get the desired opening of the lid. Try Overtons.com or Boaters World.com or maybe Bass Pro.
Good Luck with your project.
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Jim Shoe
Amelia, OH
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I preferred a low tech solution. I bought a couple of crutch tips and a couple of 4' long dowels of the proper diameter. I just lift the storage lid and put the braces against it. Just lay them flat inside the storage compartment when I'm done.
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mr300ce
Mojave Desert, Ca
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bobsinn wrote:When my struts got weak and wouldn't hold the bed up I added a folding table leg like on my booth. It holds the bed up real good. I bought one that was adjustable.
My bed got too heavy when I added the 4" memory foam on top of the mattress. Got tired of using a piece of broom handle, so I made a little metal bracket, and used 1/2 of one of those 1" dia. spring-loaded shower curtain rods.
I mounted it just outside the storage box, and to hold it up when not being used, I mounted one of those metal brackets used to hold brooms and shovels to the garage wall.
Works great !
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