Hatch Gas Spring/Strut Calculator

[Tony Latham]

I installed my hatch struts 3 times before I found your Gas Strut Calculator.

I'm pleased to hear things worked out, but Dan Lott put the calculator together--not me. I even stole (with his permission) his graphic for my book.

Tony

 

[Steve E-TNT]

Used calculator and after getting dead weight of 50 lbs. is each strut 50 lbs. or is dead weight divided by two
for 25 lbs. each strut because I need two. Thanks

 

[Tony Latham]

Used calculator and after getting dead weight of 50 lbs. is each strut 50 lbs. or is dead weight divided by two
for 25 lbs. each strut because I need two. Thanks

Each strut is 50 pounds. But that sounds low. My hatch is 54 pounds, and I have two 90-pounders.

Tony

 

[Steve E-TNT]

Thanks for your info. just something that was brought to my attention.
Have had my trailer for 20 yrs. and am going to make it easier to open hatch..
Thanks Again

 

[italianub]

Can someone tell me if this seems correct? My hatch length is 56 inches, the dead weight is 58lbs, so I chose these gas springs:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

from there I input the data. Are two 90lb gas springs too much?

My hatch looks like the attached image.

@Tony Latham maybe you can take a gander for me?

 

[italianub]

Tony helped me offline, got my struts installed, here are some pics of my placement with his help!

They don't stay closed completely, this is due to the "squaredrop" kind of build I have, but when I shut it, I am able to lock it up with my clamps easily since they ALMOST stay closed on their own.

~60lb hatch, two 100lb struts

 

[Aurorus2014]

I have made a calculator to help determine the proper gas spring length, placement and force required to properly open and support my galley hatch. I searched the internet for formulas and recommendations for the proper placement of gas springs. This is what I came up with to use. I have not actually used it on my own trailer yet, but I figured I would throw it out there and hopefully it will help someone.

If you do use the calculator please post your results on this thread to help determine if it is accurate and useful.

Here is a picture that goes along with the spreadsheet below.

View attachment 1122349

Hope it helps.

Dan

Hello There from Sydney!
After so many years since this post - it still works and used it for my DIY tear drop build! I had to readjust my mind from imperial to metric, but that was easy.

Thank you Dan

 

[Melvin-TNT]

Used the spreadsheet on my phone with the excel viewer; worked fine. IIRC it specified something like 56lbs and 29 inches with a hatch weight of 46lbs and 48" length. Ended up buying 67lb and 28 inch springs on the theory stronger is better than weaker and my other choice was 50lbs. Plus I still had to add a coat of epoxy and some miscellaneous hardware.

Seems to work fine, doesn't fly up or anything. Mounting was a bit tricky because of my hatch design so they are at a slight inward angle and the closed position vector is a little shallow IE: it just barely points under the hinge point. My camper body is currently off the frame so exact open height is still tbd but is in the ballpark.

Thanks Dan for making this tool. Took me a bit to wrap my head around it but eventually got good results with my first spring order.