[stereoman405]

I got my fancy new bracket made for my electric hitch motor and now I need a replacement strut for the other side.

Most of the threads I found out there talk about heavy duty replacements that allow you to ditch the motor, but I just need a close to OEM replacement. Do I just measure the max open length, then try to estimate the closed length? I know I'll need to know the 'lbs' rating.

Does anyone have any info on this?

Thanks!

[Billyclub]

I replaced my two gas springs recently. You need to measure the over all length and the closed length and know the the pressure pounds. I ordered mine from discount marine. I received them in about 2-3 three days from the time I ordered them. here is the website discountmarinesupplies.com
Good Luck

[stereoman405]

Originally Posted by Billyclub

I replaced my two gas springs recently. You need to measure the over all length and the closed length and know the the pressure pounds. I ordered mine from discount marine. I received them in about 2-3 three days from the time I ordered them. here is the website discountmarinesupplies.com
Good Luck

Thanks man. Now I just need to find out what pound rating these came with stock...

[stereoman405]

Bump to the top!

Anyone with ANY ideas on how heavy to go on the one strut? I really want this to open evenly

What happens if I got too heavy or too light?

[WetWilly]

Hi stereoman405,

IMHO, I doubt you’re going to achieve an even opening top with one side electric and one side gas. Because the gas strut is constantly pushing on the hatch and the brackets are typically mounted in a different location as compared to the electric lift, the pressure and leverage on the hatch will be different for each side and thus causing the hatch to twist going up or down regardless of what pressure strut you use.

The only way I can see to eliminate the twisting is to balance the pressure on both sides whether going up or down by using two gas struts, one on each side along with the one electric lift. Mount the struts brackets in the same places on both sides and in a way that exerts pressure on the hatch even when it’s closed, this way, the electric lift only assists the struts in the beginning instead of twisting the hatch trying to dead lift it while waiting for the struts to kick in.

I've seen the electric lift with a single gas strut on the other side setup on several boats and all of them had the twisted hatch syndrome even when fully opened.

Hopefully one of our other members will chime in with a setup without the twisting issue or some other ideas to eliminate it.

Good luck,
WetWilly

[ShabahZ280]

I've got dual 60lbs struts on mine. I'm assuming with the addition of the electric lift you could probably use dual 30's, but as WetWilly said, think about doing a dual setup. Adding another gas strut is reasonably cheap, and takes minimal effort to install. Better safe than sorry.

[stereoman405]

Thanks guys. My biggest concern is the continual torsion that the hinges go through. (You can already see a couple stripped out bolts.) No too worried about aesthetics. It would take creating a custom mount block and holes through the side vinyl so I think I'll start with a 30-40lb and see how it handles, then get the bracket fabbed up if I don't like it and add the second.

Just curious, is there a disadvantage to getting a piston that can got longer than the lift motor limits it? I'm thinking it would be nice to be able to open the hatch further when doing maintenance work when the lift is disconnected. As long as the compressed length fits I should be fine right? I just don't know if the pressure varies so that if my 30lb strut is 25% compressed its actually a 22lb strut.

[WetWilly]

Hi stereoman405,

I see no "disadvantage to getting a piston that is longer than the lift motor limits" as long as it can close without bottoming out. Now if you're planning on using the struts to hold the hatch open without the lift (for working back there), I think the 30lb will be a bit too lightweight. I suggest at least 60lb struts.

From what I can gather, the pressure is relatively constant, though there may be a bit of a reduction in pressure as the strut reaches full extension. I think the main factor here is the placement of the brackets and the mechanical leverage the struts have on the hatch.

If you look at the pictures of how our struts are mounted (5th post), you'll see there is little leverage due to the shallow mounting angles of the brackets and combined with the fact that the hatch feels like it weighs over a hundred pounds, we had to use 120lb struts (although I have been contemplating the 150 pounders ). However, as I stated, it works pretty well and when the hatch is closed, the struts actually apply downward pressure, helping to prevent it from popping open while underway. Another thing, although it doesn't look it from the last picture, the hatch is more than high enough for any work back there.

Well there you go, now you have enough info to make a real mess back there so go for it!

Good luck,
WetWilly

[stereoman405]

** SIGH **

Got my fancy new bracket installed, got the motor all lubed up, installed a new 30lb gas lift, and it worked for about 4 lifts, and now it sounds like something sheared off on the motor itself....

For the record the 30lb was waaaay to light, I'm sure the shallow mount angle had something to do with it. I just ordered a 90lb in the hopes that it will work while I decide to rebuild the motor or shell out even more $$$ for a new one...

[karmann]

Hello
My 95 Barchetta 272 Z was missing the power hatch acuators????
I ordered new ones with brkts & 24" travel from REXMARINE, They have a weight limit of 500 lbs.
My original brkts were missing, So I was in the dark a bit, However the brkts from REX marine will work fine. I'm going to attach an alum plate on the engine covers to cover the old holes, then mount the new brkts to the alum, and the motor end to the rear floor.
Thanks.