Compartment door gas struts........i give up

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
I need help from anyone smarter than me. Have a 07 BH...the compartment door under the BR slide has 2 struts/shocks. The forward shock seems to like to rip the bracket off the door. I am now on my 3rd set of struts and everytime I change to lighter support in the pound rating. Bought new ones last Saturday...put them on.... opened it several times....great no problem. Today I needed to get something out of that compartment.....GUESS WHAT. It ripped off the same one again. I do not want to put bolts through from the outside. So anyone have a idea?? Which way does the does the gas tube go...up or down. Maybe I should make a stick to hold it up. A thought went through my mind to use 40 Ford hood hinges.
 

TedS

Well-known member
I have the 2011 2985 Bighorn. The lift cylinders are tube up. There are, suprised me, seven screws that attach the bracket to the inside face of the door.
 

navyAZ1

Well-known member
We have a 2008 BH and our door under the bedroom slide opens to the side so no struts, however I did install struts on the door side storage door similar to the older Landmarks and after a couple of months they ripped off from the door. So, I reinstalled them using not just the screws but also used Gorilla Glue on the mounting brackets on the door plus the screws. So far this has held up, that plastic interior of the door doesn't seem to hold screws very well so I'm hoping the glue will work it's been about a month now and have not seen any signs of stress. I used the 40lb struts that's what was on the older Landmark that I looked at and got the dimensions from for mounting the brackets. I really like having these struts on that door especially when I have my hands full of stuff to put in storage. Good Luck!

Ron
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
I did receive a PM from an other member and he made a good suggestion. Make a metal plate the size of the bracket and use 3M 5200 epoxy to mount the new plate to the door. Then install the bracket with machine screws. I will give it a whirl and see what happens. His warning was, dont get it on your fingers or you will now have a baseball glove for a hand.
 

TedS

Well-known member
Bob&Patty,
The doubler plate sounds like a good plan. The original screw holes may have been oversized or stipped and no longer hold screws. The doubler plate will give you fresh material to screw to. You might take sandpaper and rough the surface to get a better epoxy bite on the door. The epoxy will ooze into the original screw holes, too.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Ted, thats my thought also. I am thinking about putting the screws and nuts on the plate 1st. That way the epoxy will hold the nuts in place. Then I can remove the screws and the nuts will be buried in the door. There is wood of some kind between the inner and outer door skins. Just one of my brain farts.
 

KENNY COCHRAN

MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS #1
Couple of suggestions. You must replace the gas struts in pairs or they will not last. Google, riv-nut, nutsert and you will find a handy tool. Harbor freight, j.c.whitney and others sell an import version which is all you need. Not sure of the thickness of the door, but that will be critical. Drill the hole, put the nutsert on the rivet like tool and install it. You will not have a nut instead the door that you can not use bolts or screws on to hold the gas strut plate in place. I've used and sold them for years. They really work great. Come in 2 types, thin material or thick material.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Kenny, the problem with the nut-serts are as follows. The inner skin is a thin plastic and behind that is wood of some kind. I have nut-serts and the tool to install them. Maybe I could drill out the wood and epoxy them into the wood. Might work.
 
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