Hydraulic lifters on bay doors

[Ron Morgan]

The hydraulic lifters on some of our bay doors are failing to keep the doors up and open.  I can see that it is probably simple to remove the old ones, but I have not found any new ones that look like they would fit. Any suggestions? We have a 98 Beaver Patriot 40 ft. How difficult is it to put on the new lifts?

Ron Morgan

[Gerald Farris]

Ron,
The gas supports are easy to change. There is a ball stud that mounts to the coach and door side, with a socket made into both ends of the cylinder. Some support cylinders come equipped with the studs that you just unbolt and discard with the old cylinder, but on most cylinders you just remove a "C" clip at the socket that will allow the cylinder to slide off the stud.  Remember to install them with the door fully open, because they are very hard to compress.

It is important to replace them with the right length and strength (support capacity) cylinder, because one that is too long will open the door to far and possibly cause damage, and one to short will not let the door open wide enough.  Also a cylinder that is to weak will not hold the door open, and one that is to strong will overstress the mounts and hinges.

Gerald

[Larry Fritz]

Ron, we have a 98 Patriot 37'. I think your parts are the same as mine but not sure. Officially, these are called "gas springs".

Our original part numbers were GS-5300-60. The replacement number is GSNI-5300-60. The original distributor SPD can be reached at (800)720-2633.

Our doors had the same problem so I have replaced many of them with a GSNI-5300-80. The 80 is 80 lbs vs the factory original of 60 lbs. I have used 80's on the wider doors after nearly being killed a couple of times when under there and a wind gust came by and slammed the door on me.

My records say they are made by: Associated Spring, 6180 Valley View Ave, Buena Park, CA 90620.  I ordered from a Pete Busse at (714) 523-5125. They are infinitely cheaper than purchasing from Monaco (like 20% of the price if you order a bunch)

Hope this helps.

Gerald is absolutely correct in that they are easy to replace. Get a small flat blade screwdriver and you are set. Have someone hold the door when you remove them for safety.

Larry Fritz

[Ron Morgan]

Thanks, guys.  You gave me the information I needed.

Ron

[Richard And Babs Ames]

We found replacemment struts at Auto Zone. I have a client with a Vogue that works at one.

Best to take one off so they can get the correct PSI spring, length open, and length closed. The new ones had the correct ends but if they do not you can unscrew the ends and swap. Cost is usually in the $42 to $45 range per strut.

We were able to use the old weakened struts on our rear engine access opening as they required about half the PSI rating as the bay doors and are the same length.