60 pound lifts under bed. Overkill?

QCMan · 07-18-2020, 11:18 AM

Hello all! New here and new to Keystone. In my former life as a professional nit picker I ran across many cases of overkill by engineers but the one in my 2020 22RBS took the cake!
First trip out after purchase I went into the under bed storage and the lid went off to one side and would not go down. Having the dw stand on the skewed side allowed me to get it closed as the hinge had broken and the strut was way too strong to overcome without her. Not a show stopper and we continued our journey. Seems the designers had used standard rv door hinges and 60 pound struts to hold up 18 pounds of osb.
Replaced the struts with 30 pound units and used four 3" hinges instead of the two lightweight ones it came with and now it only takes one hand to start the board going up and it can be pushed back down with little effort yet stays up with the mattress on it.
I am hoping all the glitches in this trailer are that easy to fix! So far, it has only needed the above work and a realignment of one of the hatch door latches. Way better quality than the Forest River we got rid of after only five years and almost as good as the 2004 Starcraft Aruba we had.
This is not a gripe post as I believe having an rv is continuing education.

xrated · 07-18-2020, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QCMan

Hello all! New here and new to Keystone. In my former life as a professional nit picker I ran across many cases of overkill by engineers but the one in my 2020 22RBS took the cake!
First trip out after purchase I went into the under bed storage and the lid went off to one side and would not go down. Having the dw stand on the skewed side allowed me to get it closed as the hinge had broken and the strut was way too strong to overcome without her. Not a show stopper and we continued our journey. Seems the designers had used standard rv door hinges and 60 pound struts to hold up 18 pounds of osb.
Replaced the struts with 30 pound units and used four 3" hinges instead of the two lightweight ones it came with and now it only takes one hand to start the board going up and it can be pushed back down with little effort yet stays up with the mattress on it.
I am hoping all the glitches in this trailer are that easy to fix! So far, it has only needed the above work and a realignment of one of the hatch door latches. Way better quality than the Forest River we got rid of after only five years and almost as good as the 2004 Starcraft Aruba we had.
This is not a gripe post as I believe having an rv is continuing education.

They probably know that almost everyone will hate the crap mattress that goes in most RVs and that the owner will throw it away and buy something that is closer to a real mattress. So they were just doing you a favor and putting in heavier struts....

**sourdough** · 07-18-2020, 12:04 PM

Just as a note, this trailer came with 80 lb. struts. Installed res queen and had to go to 100lb. struts. They worked but certainly weren't energetic. Went to pick the bed up to get in there the other day and it didn't want to stay up. 120lb. struts to arrive Monday......

Roscommon48 · 07-18-2020, 12:19 PM

LOVE IT

'... I believe having an rv is continuing education'

QCMan · 07-18-2020, 12:46 PM

Don't think that was the thought as the struts were su strong they bent the support brackets. Probably had the struts in the wrong bin.

**JRTJH** · 07-18-2020, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QCMan

Don't think that was the thought as the struts were su strong they bent the support brackets. Probably had the struts in the wrong bin.

That sounds reasonable.... There is an "optional King bed" in the Cougar line. Chances are there's a "bin for hinges/struts for the standard Queen bed" and a "bin with hinges/struts for the optional King bed".... Pick parts for the King option and install on a Queen platform..... Shouldn't happen, but probably easier to do that you'd imagine.....

QCMan · 07-19-2020, 06:21 AM

Thanks for the input. The unit came with the rv king mattress. Being that there is a pass thru compartment under the bed the interior storage under the bed only has a 30" section that lifts up. Even with the vinyl j channel that I put around the perimeter of the panel and the heavy plastic over it so all rough spots would not snag the mattress or our hands it still has plenty to hold up a mattress. The factory probably uses all the same hardware on the 1/3 length lid and the 2/3 lid.
This is exactly the continuing education that we all get even when buying a better grade of unit. It makes life fun as long as it is just silly stuff like this. For some it might be a disaster but for most serious rvers it is just a little bump in the road and a big smile when we fix it. Safe camping!

**sourdough** · 07-19-2020, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QCMan

Thanks for the input. The unit came with the rv king mattress. Being that there is a pass thru compartment under the bed the interior storage under the bed only has a 30" section that lifts up. Even with the vinyl j channel that I put around the perimeter of the panel and the heavy plastic over it so all rough spots would not snag the mattress or our hands it still has plenty to hold up a mattress. The factory probably uses all the same hardware on the 1/3 length lid and the 2/3 lid.
This is exactly the continuing education that we all get even when buying a better grade of unit. It makes life fun as long as it is just silly stuff like this. For some it might be a disaster but for most serious rvers it is just a little bump in the road and a big smile when we fix it. Safe camping!

Ours came with the "rv king" and 2/3 length storage area which would seem to indicate the difference between the 60lb. and my OEM 80lb. I'm wondering if the angle for the strut expansion didn't change dramatically when shortening that bed platform which would also make a big change in the amount of pressure exerted upward on it. As the struts on ours expand they are in a very horizontal position which requires much more force to lift x lbs. Probably just a matter of wrong bin as has been mentioned or one of the assembly guys saying..."hey y'all, watch this".

Krg2383 · 07-25-2020, 12:51 PM

Same thing happened to me last weekend. My struts were 80 lb struts. Couldn't believe it

CWtheMan · 07-26-2020, 05:20 AM

Did anyone determine if OSHA has a hand in bed strut strength and durability? If so, Keystone would have to follow OSHAs instructions.

QCMan · 07-26-2020, 06:15 AM

Hi. I would doubt that OSHA would have a hand in it as rv's are not work environments. NHTSA would not be involved as it is not a safety item involved with the moving vehicle. Consumer product safety Administration would probably shake it off also as being too hard to close is not something dangerous or harmful. Extremely annoying but not a safety issue in my opinion. Just like putting a one foot cord on an iron so it cannot be dropped in the tub.

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