Gas springs for my lid (1 Viewer)

[Gary crouch]

I'm now at the that part of my build... I see Mcmaster carr is the place to get them... but can anyone help with exact ones and more imporantly correct placement of these units...
I suspect the lid is 100 to 110 lbs and the RTT is 100lb +- so 250lb springs? I want the lid to open from the side of the trailer versus the end.. Don't know why?? just seems right?

thanks, I appreciate everyone's input on my questions

Gary

 

[Dell]

calculation... http://www.acecontrols.com/PDF/Gas Spring Catalog-Revised 05-2009.pdf

 

[hey you]

Gas struts

I used the 250lb on my build. It's great and the lid can be lifted with minimal effort. Make sure you latch the lid down and secure the latch from accidental openings. I latched the lid down on both sides to keep it from twisting.

 

[Brentbba]

My fab guy called yesterday and said the 250's were way too much. PO of my trailer had purchased four of them - two for each of the two M101's he was doing, one of which I now own. AT Trailers on the Chaser anyway, uses 150's and work this guy has done on one has 150's. It's got a similar lid to what I'm having done, plus a RTT, with extra supports to lift it higher and 150's work just fine.

 

[swampman]

my lid is somewhere around 100# the tent is 160# i use 2 150# struts and they work fine .. 2 x 250 ,, i think you will have a hard time closing your lid

i guess it would also depend on where you mount them so yeah they might work

 

[SWITAWI]

So what I'm reading from everyone's comments is that a pair of 150lb springs should work fine due to their combined lifting force. A single 150lb spring is rated to lift just that much, but a pair of them is a different matter altogether. Likewise a pair of 250lb springs would be considerable overkill unless you had +400lbs on top of your lid.

 

[kilo]

So what I'm reading from everyone's comments is that a pair of 150lb springs should work fine due to their combined lifting force. A single 150lb spring is rated to lift just that much, but a pair of them is a different matter altogether. Likewise a pair of 250lb springs would be considerable overkill unless you had +400lbs on top of your lid.

It's going to depend on where you mount them i think? I have a pair of 150# and worked well at first. A few months later it has become harder to open and will not stay open. I will be switching to 200 here soon. With a portion of the lid, RTT and myself it shouldn't be too difficult to close. I would rather have it easy to open, stay open and a little hard to close than smashing fingers when it decides to come down on it's own.

 

[Vitesse_6]

This may not apply to you, Because you are opening from the side, But I used 2 130# struts.

 

[Brentbba]

Just got my trailer back last night with the 2 150 lb struts. W/O a RTT I've got to give it a good push to close it. 250's would be way overkill. No wonder the fab shop called me and said no way on the 250's! Anyone want a cheap pair of 250 lb struts?

 

[Gary crouch]

good comments guys!! Sounds like the 150's might be just enough... If I can figure out how to post pics I'll be putting them up on my progress...
Gary

 

[CO_Hunter]

Definitely depends on the mounting locations and the amount of opening and closing force you want to have along with open height. I built an Excel calculator you can use if you want it. Knowledge of Excel Solver and trigonometry helpful.

 

[Gary crouch]

thanks for th eoffer Co_Hunter... but I probably woulden't know how to use it! It might take a bit of trial and error for me...