Bedlift Kit problem

[jps]

I purchased the HatchLift BedLift kit from Camping World. I have installed following the instructions for the short platform. The struts would not compress or move at all. I then moved the wood blocks that came with it to a new location following the instructions. Still no movement. From my days of working in an auto assembly factory and working with struts to hold up liftgates, I expect movement from the struts. Has anyone else had any similar problems with this kit? Could the struts be bad? That's my Thought. Any input would be appreciated.

James

[f6bits]

Struts for the bed are a real bear to compress. When shopping for mine, my 160 lbs of body weight was nearly inadequate to compress the strut in the store. The trunk struts and rear glass struts on our family cars are *much* easier to compress.

That said, when I installed mine, I had to *really* anchor both ends with sturdy screws through sturdy wood for it to stand up to the pressure.

[jps]

Thanks for your input. I just now took one and put one end against a deck board that was over a joist on the back deck of our house. I put all my weight on it to see if it would compress. There was absolutely no movement in the length of the strut. Am I missing something? The strut should compress, shouldn't it? I can't pull it out any either. I haven't been able to get any movement from either of the struts. They hold the bed up fine, you just can't lower them at all. I'll probably have to contact the maker of the kit. Hate to have to make a run back to Camping World since it is about an hour plus each way.

James

[jps]

I've just downloaded instructions from Hatchlift's website. These instructions are totally different from the ones that were included with the kit. I'm planning to try the new instructions tomorrow. Hopefully I will have better results.

James

[BirchyBoy]

The Forest River camper I look at had struts on the bed and it was really nice. I looked at some yesterday at a camping store to try and determine if I wanted to give it a try or not. I'm thinking that might be just as good to use a prop rod in the middle. Less stress on the bed frame and a lot less hassle.

[B&T]

Bought a set of the standard bed lifts at cw, could not compress them without leverage. Since we are camping and the bed frame is quite light duty, i did not have the tools here to beef up the frame, took them back to cw.

[jps]

I finished the install today. The new instructions I downloaded worked great. The instructions that I downloaded were totally opposite to the instructions that came with the kit. I installed some more support in the new install location. f6bits, your were right on about the struts being a real bear to compress. Thanks to all for your input about this.

James

[audio1der]

Has anyone seen their bed flip up during travel due to the pressure these struts put out? I added a locking clasp at the foot of the bed after realizing how difficult it is to push the bed back down LOL

[jps]

audio1der. I've thought the same thing and told my DW that I would probably add a hasp of some kind just in case it opened during travel.

James

[lspajm]

can you folks post some photos of what your final framing/support looked like for the hatchlift mod? I am concerned that the platform my bed sites on is really thin plywood - so i think i need to build a heavier framework around the edge to support the brackets -- any photos would be appreicated!

thank you!
andy