Home made hatch supports

[Steve_Cox]

Steve, I like your idea. It's very original. What happens if the wind lifts your hatch? Will the springs stay straight and keep supporting your hatch?

Tom sorry about the delay in answering. Wind seems not to be a factor, as a mater of fact, when opening the hatch I over-extend the supports a little to get them perfectly aligned before putting the weight of the hatch onto the supports. It takes very little misalignment for them to start to fold. I think larger diameter springs might be better. Also think any close wound, easy to flex spring would work.

Steve

[Steve_Cox]

Steve, I like your idea. It's very original. What happens if the wind lifts your hatch? Will the springs stay straight and keep supporting your hatch?

Tom sorry about the delay in answering. Wind seems not to be a factor, as a mater of fact, when opening the hatch I over-extend the supports a little to get them perfectly aligned before putting the weight of the hatch onto the supports. It takes very little misalignment for them to start to fold. I think larger diameter springs might be better. Also think any close wound, easy to flex spring would work.

Steve

I'm pretty sure no one built hatch supports like in this sticky. If you had, I'd probably heard about it by now.... After accidentally tripping the hatch supports and having the hatch fall on my head a few times, I decided it was time to "beef" them up a little. I went up to 1" diameter springs, about $6 at Mcmaster.com. I used stainless bimini top fittings from the boat surplus store. It works great!
Link to new hatch support photo

[surveytech]

steve,
do you by chance remember the part number for those?
I think they may be perfect for my tear.

thanks,
walter

[Steve_Cox]

steve,
do you by chance remember the part number for those?
I think they may be perfect for my tear.

thanks,
walter

Part Number: 9664K33 $5.89 Each
Type
Continuous-Length Extension Springs 36" long


Steve

[Ken A Hood]

ANOTHER SUPPLIER

[Steve_Cox]

ANOTHER SUPPLIER

I believe you will find those hatch assists to be about 8" to 10" too short for a tear drop hatch. Just my opinion.

Steve

[surveytech]

Steve,
thanks for the info!

what a great idea.

[halfpastsix]

I made these.



They also latch, so they won't come down unless you want them to.

[Cliffmeister2000]

Can you un-latch both and lower the hatch by yourself, or does it take 2 people?

[halfpastsix]

Can you un-latch both and lower the hatch by yourself, or does it take 2 people?

It can be done by one person. I took the spring out of the latch on the one side so it will latch automatically on one side and manually on the other. When you lift the hatch up to release the sprung catch, the other one unlatches with gravity.

[Steve_Cox]

Hey !!! Start your own hatch support thread

This one died of old age 4 years ago.

BTW, the old hatch supports are still working and the plastic hinge is still together too. The trailer is on it's 2nd owner.

[Paradiseteardrop]

I made use of the holes in the trunk lid ribs where I had the ribs bolted together to shape and sand. A long 3/8 rod there to a 1/2" conduit pipe down to the table top . A 3/8 rod in the end goes into the table top through a finger pull with a 3/8 hole in it . The rod that goes in to the table has a hole in it to put in a pin if the wind is blowing.

[Steve_Cox]

Some old threads never die February 2006 was when this one was started. If I was to build another tear, I would use the close-wound springs and boat Bimini top hardware again, they put no load on the hatch when it was closed. They automatically supported the hatch when raising.

[clamlamp]

just discovered this! So I'm guessing the spring bends when closed and supports while open? When you want to close it you have to push the spring? How does it not pop out of the mounts? I wish I could see a video

[S. Heisley]

just discovered this! So I'm guessing the spring bends when closed and supports while open? When you want to close it you have to push the spring? How does it not pop out of the mounts? I wish I could see a video

Hi, clamlamp:
That TD was sold to someone in Michigan? or Minnesota? years ago. This fellow, Steve, doesn't get on this website anymore. He hasn't been on this website in a year or two (or more?). However, the Bimini Top hardware where the spring is inserted has a set screw to hold the spring in. That's all I know. Sorry that I can't help more.