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Old 04-25-2019, 09:49 AM   #1
LHaven
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Mattress lift upgrade

We replaced the OEM king mattress in our Cougar with a higher-quality mattress that is significantly heavier. Now the process of getting things in and out of the under-bed compartment is a two-person job, with one being required just to lift and hold the storage lid with both hands, because the gas strut is no longer sized correctly.

The current strut is cleverly designed to hold the original mattress up without assistance once it is up, but not to lift it when it is down. (It did, however, cause merry havoc with the mattress replacement process, as it would not stay down once the old mattress was off, and I didn't have the second person handy. Good times!)

I'm not sure how best to determine the magic value for a new gas strut that would do the same with our new mattress. Or frankly, if that value is likely to be available commercially from somebody. My only past experience in ordering a gas strut was to replace a failed one for a lift window on a pickup cap, and I never did find a source that had one in a size and power to match the original.

I'm soliciting recommendations for a preferred source for these struts, who offers a wide range of sizes and strengths; and also for a good method to determine the needed strength to keep the lid up when up, but not raise it automatically when down.
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Old 04-25-2019, 11:37 AM   #2
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Hopefully this website will help...

https://www.hatchlift.com/rv-hatch-replacement-springs
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Old 04-25-2019, 01:44 PM   #3
tjkarch60
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Simple Fix

I ungraded my Queen mattress and had the same problem.
Now I use a 1"x2" piece of wood propped under the plywood to hold it up.
Simple but effective.
You can also bevel the ends for a "Custom" look.
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Old 04-25-2019, 04:03 PM   #4
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We didn’t like the way ours worked. Our local Napa was kind enough to let us take home several different “stiffness” of struts. We settled on one we liked.
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Old 04-26-2019, 03:12 AM   #5
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Ihaven, give us the info (brand, stock number) from one of your struts and we'll fill in the blank for you.
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Old 05-02-2019, 02:03 PM   #6
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The reference to hatchlift.com was very helpful and put me on the right track.

Ultimately, I chose to deal with the OEM supplier, LaVanture, whose owner wrote me back personally(!) to answer my questions (also, his prices were better). Among other advice, he wrote:

Quote:
I can say that for the bed lift application there are three springs that are used. Either an 80#, 100# or 120#. You should be able to use one of the higher force ones without issues. We don’t make retail sales but I have a sister company that does.
Since the existing springs were 80# and weren't even coming close to helping me lift the bed, I sprung for the 120s off the bat. At $13 per spring, it's not like it's going to bankrupt me if I get it wrong the first time. As long as the foot of the bed doesn't spring up either by itself or from road bouncing, I'll be happy.

Thanks to all who helped.
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Old 05-02-2019, 02:11 PM   #7
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I did the same, replaced my mattress and had a hard time lifting it up. I took a piece of strapping that I had laying around and made a handle that I screwed into the bottom of the plywood and it gave me a good place to grab and lift. I ended up not needing to replace the struts after I did this. Of course my mattress sounds like it's a little lighter than yours since once it's up it stays by itself.
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Old 05-02-2019, 06:20 PM   #8
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Something you may wish to consider if the bed does pop up.

I put some manufacturer-recommended sized gas struts on our 19FBPR (it did not have any originally). Needless to say - they were oversized. The bed would not stay down. To solve this issue I got some gate latches and put one on each side of the box under the foot of the bed to hold it down. It was relatively easy to slide them to unlatch or relatch.

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Old 07-14-2019, 03:57 PM   #9
TinaMBee1
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bed lift kit - after market

I just bought a used 2014 Keystone Passport. It does NOT have a bed lift kit on it. I'm wondering if I can put one on it? One side of the under bed storage is shallow. The other side is deep. Looking at the bed lifts it looks like the strut is mounted at the top of the storage so the shallow side shouldn't make any difference. Then I thought "well, if one would work then why didn't it come that way?" - if that makes sense. Anyone had an experience putting one on a unit that didn't have one?

T
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Old 07-14-2019, 05:03 PM   #10
sourdough
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaMBee1 View Post
I just bought a used 2014 Keystone Passport. It does NOT have a bed lift kit on it. I'm wondering if I can put one on it? One side of the under bed storage is shallow. The other side is deep. Looking at the bed lifts it looks like the strut is mounted at the top of the storage so the shallow side shouldn't make any difference. Then I thought "well, if one would work then why didn't it come that way?" - if that makes sense. Anyone had an experience putting one on a unit that didn't have one?

T
Why didn't it come that way? I imagine cost. I believe others have made that modification and it's not terribly difficult. I do believe you will have to add supports for the struts. You might do a search for bed lift, strut, gas strut etc. and see if you can find further info. I suspect someone will chime in that has done it hopefully.
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Old 07-19-2019, 07:15 PM   #11
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When replacing the useless original mattress or adding a memory foam topper like we did (very heavy and very comfortable) you would likely save yourself some headaches with a proactive fix. I discovered the hard way that the framing material (if you can call it that) of the storage box at the foot of the bed is not up to the task. I had to rebuild one side of it, but reinforced the corners on both sides with some of the metal deck framing gizmos from Home Depot. Much easier to just reinforce that weak link before it gives up. FYI
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Old 07-19-2019, 08:49 PM   #12
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I'll make sure to check that out next time I'm in there. Mostly, it looked to me like all the weight bearing was done by the plywood surface and the vertical walls of the box, so I'm not sure where the weak point is that you're describing. I could easily add some L brackets to the inside of the box corners if that's what you're referring to.
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Old 07-20-2019, 08:04 AM   #13
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This is what I did. The framework of this compartment is a joke. Small dimension rough pine, put together with staples. The skin is not plywood, some kind of veneer Masonite I think, providing no support.

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Old 07-20-2019, 02:12 PM   #14
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I checked it out today, and though I didn't see anything loosening, I guess it wouldn't hurt to strap it.

Ironically, with the new gas struts, the static weight of the new mattress is actually less than the old (it's essentially zero), and whatever weight it's going to see will be from the two of us climbing up and sleeping on it... so if the structure was going to be a problem, it would have failed with the original mattress regardless.
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