When I tried to open my Dometic 9100 powered awning it did not lift all the way. I pushed up on the arms and it would go up but the gas struts were too weak to lift it. This is on a 2012 Keystone Passport 280BH I have had for about 3 years. The awning fabric is in rough shape so I planned to replace it so I opened the awning to check numbers and size so as to get the correct fabric. This was when I noticed the weak struts so I started last August looking for replacements. After a bit of research I determined the strut part number from Dometic is 3108392.139. An online search and a call to my local RV dealer showed they were not available so I contacted Dometic directly who told me I would need to buy the complete arms for the awning since the struts were not available and would not be available. More research found the part number was changed to 3310555.010 but still could find none in stock. Not wanting to spend whatever it would cost to replace the arm assemblies I gave up and started looking at free standing shelters, but last month I signed up for the iRV forum and saw a post where an eBay site made their own gas struts, it even crossed over the numbers so I knew they were the same as mine. I ordered 2 from strut-your-stuff-here for $26.99 each (plus $15.99 Shipping). They arrived in about a week. Today I got a chance to install them and I wanted to let everyone know the procedure I used which made the job very easy.
Start by opening the awning fully and tighten the knobs on the lower arms as tight as you can so the arms don’t come down when you remove the struts.
The photo shows the tools I used, small pliers, pick, plastic wedge and I started with the adjustable wrench to pry the strut down to remove the pin but found the plastic wedge worked better.
First I used the pick to remove the spring retainer for the pin at the top of the strut. Don’t bend the legs on the clip just slightly flex one then the adjacent leg then another. Working your way around the clip carefully, it will come off without damaging it.
There are nylon spacers on the pin that will pop off with your fingers, they are split on one side.
Next I slid the wedge between the arm and the top of the strut until the pin was loose enough to remove. After removing the pin just swing the strut toward the wall and unscrew it from the lower pivot. Remove the upper eye from the strut and transfer it to the new strut.
Screw the new strut into the lower pivot, bring the strut into the upper arm and use the plastic wedge to protect the arm while you slide it toward the pin hole. With the wedge positioned correctly you can adjust the upper eye on the strut to align with the pin hole. Slide the pin in the hole and install the retainer clip and the nylon spacers.
This method allowed me to replace the struts in about 10 min each, much easier than I expected it to be. I hope this will help others to try this without too much apprehension.
Sorry photos are sideways, I tried rotating them on my computer but they still uploaded sideways.