king size bed gas struts

[nunya]

has anyone had the unfortunate experience of opening the bed and then NOT having the struts go back down? I had this happen and had to remove the struts to get bed down. I can not push them back down! I called the Man. of the struts and the guy says yeah we have had some bad ones......even knew it was on a Keystone product! says they are not mounted at proper angle and they internally fail! anyhow he will not send me 2 new ones and its a Keystone issue, oh well long out of warranty so there ya go! A trip to home depot!

[jrhaman]

My problem was the struts were so strong they pulled the left side of the bed away from the wall. I just disconnected them and gave my wife a small piece of wood to hold the bed up platform up.

[jackel1959]

The problem we are having with ours is that it will not hold the bed up!! Will have it looked at this month and use the stick method if needed as many others have done.
Jack

[richfaa]

And we have had no problem at all after more than 3 years..They work just fine.

[clutch]

Our trailer is an 03 and the struts work just fine. Now that they have been discussed I am sure that they will be the next thing I need to fix.

[snfexpress]

We ordered some 110# ones from mcmaster.com because we have a sleep number bed that is considerably heavier than the oh so comfortable mattress that Keystone supplies. If I still had the 80 pounders I would give them to you but a friend has already made use of them.

[Art-n-Marge]

The biggest problem will be if they fail with the bed down. Will me or DW be strong enough to be able to lift the bed to prop it up with a stick? In winter we'll make and leave the bed with heavier blankets, but hopefully we can still lift it without removing everything.

I wish these were more reliable.

If mine fail and we are able to muscle the bed upwards, I'll hinge some 1x1's or 1x2's on either side to drop down and hold the bed up. That would be uglier and more crude but probably more reliable.

[Bill-N-Donna]

With the full queen size foam mattress we now have in the camper I find it quite a chore to just lift it up. We hardly ever use that area but do have some things stored there. I removed the struts whenever I installed the full queen platform and then I re-installed them. They worked ok before and seem to work ok now except I don’t think they are quite strong enough now. Perhaps I should put some larger ones on there.

[Tom S.]

I wonder if you couldn't find automotive replacements? Could be a lot cheaper, especially from a wrecking yard.

[Art-n-Marge]

Aren't the struts all the same with the sizes and ratings the only differences. Then they are used for automotive, furniture, cabinetry or anyplace that needs a gas strut.

I think auto stores would be a good place to find replacements since they are pretty common and I hope they come with a lengthy warranty. If not, then getting one from a salvage yard is okay, but then you don't know how old it could be.

[nunya]

all good ideas, I think maybe the 110 lb. ones are next? Not sure about auto stuff weight ratings, I will check that out but for now I will just hold it up while she gets in n out, no big deal.

[snfexpress]

Mcmaster-Carr has them very competitively priced: $14.06 each plus $5 for overnight shipping. At the Auto parts store, they were around $40 each. The part # is 9416K18.

[nunya]

now that is great info..thanks! I will check it out.

[hapcamp]

The bed pulled away from the wall on the left side of headboard and caused the plywood at the foot end of the bed that you lift to protrude from under the mattress. I took the head portion of the bed apart and secured it back to the slide wall and found that the struts wouldn't go down. I found from the manufactures web site that a good lift will release them. It worked and am a happy camper again. I never lifted the mattress that high before!