bed storage struts too weak

[chasefamily]

I just purchased a 2018 Montana HC 305rl and the included mattress was not comfortable so we added a 3 inch foam topper. now the bed storage is hard to access since the struts do not hold up the new weight. how do I fix this? New struts? is there any way to adjust the strut pressure? adding more struts? suggestions?

[Gegrad]

Yep, the struts are based on a weight rating, so the easiest solution is to get struts of the same length with a higher weight rating and do a simple swap.

[JRTJH]

If you do replace the struts with higher weight rated ones, but sure that once you have them installed, you check the attachment area to be sure it is reinforced enough so it doesn't bent/break. Sometimes the "weight considerations in RV construction" mandate that lightweight materials are used in construction. If the bed frame sidewalls (where the struts are attached) are not strong enough to support the pressure from the heavier struts, you may break the bed frame. You may find that you need to add a 1x3 to the inside of the bed frame to prevent it from bowing under the added pressure of the new struts.

[sourdough]

If you do replace the struts with higher weight rated ones, but sure that once you have them installed, you check the attachment area to be sure it is reinforced enough so it doesn't bent/break. Sometimes the "weight considerations in RV construction" mandate that lightweight materials are used in construction. If the bed frame sidewalls (where the struts are attached) are not strong enough to support the pressure from the heavier struts, you may break the bed frame. You may find that you need to add a 1x3 to the inside of the bed frame to prevent it from bowing under the added pressure of the new struts.



The same goes for the plywood platform for the mattress. We replaced our mattress with a heavier, much more comfortable mattress. The plywood platform began to sag over time requiring it to need reinforcement. I don't think a topper would be that heavy though. Ironically our struts work just fine with the added weight; it's just heavier to lift up.

[bobbecky]

Until we replaced the heavy and miserable RV innerspring mattress with a custom latex foam mattress, we just used a stick to hold up the bed so we could access the storage area underneath. Since we got the new mattress, the stick isn't needed. A stick, old broom handle, or whatever works is much easier and cheaper than messing with new struts.

[Pull Toy]

^^^ +1 for a short broom stick.

Good luck,