Door shock-absorber

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Hey all,

I saw this on a few of the Heartlands at ExploreUSA dealer in Canton,TX today. Is this a dealer-added option, or is Heartland putting them on rigs? I want one!

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JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
I believe I've seen something like that on the Heartland MPG models, but don't quote me on it.

Jamie
 

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired
I believe sometimes they are used in cases where a slide out or other obstruction prevents the door from opening all the way to the wall. We saw one on a bighorn in NY.

Call customer service and be sure to use your owners club discount Erika!
 

MTPockets

Well-known member
We had one on our MH and it prevented the door from opening into the slide-out. Now with the 5th wheel, I would not want it so we can open the door all the way out and latch it open. Depends on how the door is used.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
We have a 2011 NT-24-RBS. It is used on the front door and prevents it from hitting the awning framework if the awning were opened. They are very nicenand work well but since we almost never use that door which is to the front bedroom, it would have been better utilized on the rear door which is the one we always use. However if it were there you couldn't open the door all the way and latch the screen. Last week we had very bad winds off the ICWW here in FL. It was very difficult to open the door without having it yanked out of your hands by the wind. The piston would have prevented this. There might be a way to install one of these and also modify it so it could be un-latched if you wanted to open the door, latch it and go in and out of the screen. I think one could modify the closer like a regular closer on a screen door. There is a pin that can be removed and the door can be disconnectd from the closer and opened all the way.

TeJay
 

Burtonair01

Member
We have one on our 5er, I'm not liking it too much since we cannot open the door all the way. I agree with TeJay about it being nice if there was a pull pin or something so we could open it all the way if we wanted.
 

dlemair

Member
I have one on the garage door of my 2013 Torque321 5ver. I'm not sure how i feel about it yet, but it does a great job of holding the door open.
 

Bksvo

Well-known member
Our 3800 had on over each door. The rear one will keep the door from hitting the slide. I didn't like the front one, because if it was windy I'd have to close the door when I'd prefer to have it open (I didn't think it was doing the door or frame any good to be fighting the wind). I removed the shock absorber and put on a conventional latch to hold the door open.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
I have seen them mounted on the bottom of the doors as well. They work well but will prevent the door from opening all the way. It will open just past half and that's it. I like the idea but it does prevent the door from opening all the way but one might be able to do as you can with a standard screen door and that is to have a pin to remove the piston on a temporary basis.

TeJay
 

Hastey

Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
Erika

The new BH has it and it Ozone of the things we don't like. I always feel like the wind is gonna whip it around. I'm looking at doing a mod to get it where we can lock it open.

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Hastey

Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
Erika

The new BH has it and it Ozone of the things we don't like. I always feel like the wind is gonna whip it around. I'm looking at doing a mod to get it where we can lock it open.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Dang auto correct. Replace Ozone with "is one" :rolleyes:

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APT

Well-known member
Got one on each door on my NT 28BRS too. Prevent door from hitting awning arms when open. In spite of not being able to open completely, they are nice for the kids who cannot slam them open or shut. Also, provides a slight auto-open feature after opening a few inches.
 

EandJ

Well-known member
We have one on our NT. I like the idea in theory, but so far am not impressed with the execution.

Saw the first one when we looked at a 2013 here at a dealer in the Houston area. On the lot, the screws were already pulling out of where it fastens to the door. Then when we looked at our 2012 up in Canton, it had the same issue - on the lot, the screws were pulling out.

We had the dealer fix it before we took possession. Now we have used our trailer for 3 whole nights. And after coming back this weekend after a quick trip, my wife pointed out that the screws are pulling out again and one has already fallen out.

Since our dealer is 250 miles away, I will now try to figure out how to mount this myself to keep it from pulling out again. Problem is, the screen door is probably already mucked up from the screws pulling out.

Anybody have any good ideas?
 

EandJ

Well-known member
Hey all,

I saw this on a few of the Heartlands at ExploreUSA dealer in Canton,TX today. Is this a dealer-added option, or is Heartland putting them on rigs? I want one!

View attachment 18229

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BTW - do you remember which trailer this shock was on that you took a picture of? It might be mine? Our 2012 came from there and it's build date was in January 2012 - so it's possible.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Sorry EandJ, I don't know what model. They had quite a few at the time. I looked back to my pics of that trip, and sadly, that was the only pic I took of anything at the RV dealer.

Hope you enjoy your NorthTrail!

I have since re-thought this feature... I did not think about the wind working against the shock all the time, and see how it could be an issue.


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pegmikef

Well-known member
Yeah, we have them on both doors on the NT and they can be a real PITA if you have windy conditions (and we live in windy west Texas), I have had to replace and tightened the screws periodically so now it is a check list item. So far neither has been "sprung" by strong winds, but they sure don't stay open when the wind is blowing from the right (doors open from the left when facing the outside).
 

TeJay

Well-known member
We have them and under certain circumstance they do help and prevent the door from being ripped out of the hands of your DW and slamming into something. Are they perfect heck no nothing is perfect but they are of some benefit and for that reason I will continue to use them or install them if my unit does not come from the factory with them.
JMTCW
TeJay
 

dbbls59

Well-known member
When we were shopping for out unit, the dealer had one BC 3450TS with the shock and another without. The two units were identical with this exception. We ended up with the one with it. I have considered removing it and installing the old hardware. I have had to replace one screw and retighten the others numerous times. It also restricts the view out the door.
 

SkyHawk

Member
We have one on our 2012 North Trail rear door, for our purpose it is so the door is not fully open and sitting next to the water heater vent, I have not had to replace the screws yet, however since the door does open and close a lot with my 3 year old, the dealer put caulking around the mounting brackets and screws and it gives it the "free play" that it needs, or just enough to where we have not had it rip out in the last year and a half..
 
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