Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I had posted a "Strut Poundage" question in another post, but thought I'd keep this issue separate.

I installed the struts this morning using 100 pound struts, 28 inch length. Took a couple of tries (slightly tweaked locations) to get them to allow the hatch to close
correctly. Had success after moving the lower fixed point out more and the upper fixed point more toward the hinge. These locations also allow the hatch to open
slightly higher. But the poundage on the struts seems to not be strong enough to hold the hatch open. I'm thinking of going to either 125 pound or the next choice is
150 pounds. Any thoughts about which? I know it's probably tough to make a suggestion without seeing it. With the 100 pounders the hatch does not rise on its own.

Thanks for any thoughts.

John

* I'm probably comparing apples to oranges here, since my squareback trailer has a simpler hatch (probably stronger, too, considering that it's made of a single piece of 3/4" plywood). In my case, to achieve the final result I was looking for, I went BIG, and ordered a strut 20% more powerful than my calculations showed I needed, getting 150 lb struts instead of the calculated 125 lb struts.


* My goal was to have the strut (or struts, in case two were required) raise the hatch to a "floating" position level with the trailer roofline, making it a simple task for me to insert and tighten the locking support rods on each side (wind-proof against lifting or shutting, and at my choice of heights above the ground). If I wasn't going to keep the hatch open for long, then I'd simply grab what I needed from the galley/storage area, and pull the hatch down and latch it (overcoming minor resistance of the strut itself).


* I figured that the hatch would spring up higher & faster if I used two struts, but they might be difficult to close, so I tried a single, centrally-mounted strut first. After a placement correction, the single 150 lb strut worked as I had hoped, so I never used the second strut. The original is still working great, as of last week at camp, eight years later. Here's a link to my solution(s): https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=61432&hilit=hatch+strut+calculations
Good luck with your struts!