Struts to hold up bed

Does anyone know how difficult it is to install struts that will hold up the bed while accessing the storage area below the bed? I thought they would be standard equipment on our North Trail but was mistaken.

Hi Keyra,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

Please let us know which North Trail you have. I do not know if they are standard or not, but I do not think they would be hard to install. Hopefully after you post what trailer you have, someone that has the same unit will jump in and let us know about theirs.

Enjoy the forum and your new North Trail.

Jim M

Keyra, Welcome to the Heartland Forum. The struts should be easy enough to mount. You'll need to find a kit that will raise or hold the bed up where you need it and then mount the struts as specified in the instructions. Also they will need to be rated for at least the weight of the mattress or more. Talk to your dealer.

Thanks for the replies. We have the 22FBS. I have another question. I'm not sure if I have to post it someplace else. But, we have the bike rack that slides out from the bumper. We have not been able to slide it out all of the way to put the pins in. It stops about halfway out. Is there a trick to this or should we take it back to the dealer?

I'm not too familiar with the sliding bike racks but my guess would be it's binding up somewhere or there may be a "safety" release? Does it stop abruptly or does it feel like it's binding. It might be time to get down on the ground and see what's making it tick. Does it require both sides to be pulled out equally?

My husband and I both looked underneath and couldn't find anything to release. We had to pull two pins out to get it started. On one side there is some foam insulation but my husband doesn't think that is holding it up.

Keyra:
This might be a question to ask Heartland service. There is contact data including an e-mail address on the portal page.

Keyra,
I will try to answer both your questions. First the struts, they are not included on the NT units, I have seen them on other brands. They would not be difficult to install, I think there is a post under North Trail Modifications section of the forum that someone did this. Search there. The bike rack/rear bumper. Ours pulls out very easily once you remove the two pins. There are stops on the slide rail underneath to prevent you from pulling it all the way out, yours may be out of adjustment. Have your dealer look it over, that is what your warranty is for.
Good luck and enjoy your NT.

The first time I tried to pull out the bike rack it got stuck. Worked it in and out and got it free. There was a lot of small gravel/coarse sand in there. Cleaned it out and no more problems.