New FWC with gas strut - not enough

[Oregonsurfer]

I picked up my Fleet last weekend and had it outfitted with the Yakima bars and solar panel. I shifted the solar panel to the front and the front bar towards the back so I could add my Yakima rocket box to the roof as the inside really has limited storage.

Unfortunately adding the rocket box to the top has limited my ability to lift the back. It has the stock gas struts on it. I sent a mail off to FWC asking for advice or product information to replace the struts and hope to hear back, but thought I'd discuss it here.

I have seen the speaker stand solution and may go with it. We hope to pop it up quicker than that though as we got the cassette toilet in there for our special needs daughter and when its time to go, we'd like to get in there and get to the potty pronto!

I assume I can buy a stronger shock, however could use a recommendation on the strut to choose.

I also considered adding another set of shocks along the side, double the struts in the back. Anyone ever done this?

I plan to keep this box (currently empty even) on the roof year round. I will be putting stuff in there when I go camping obviously.

I don't have plans to go the gym to address this issue.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Jason

 

[Bill D]

I would just add stronger gas struts. You probably have 40# struts. There have been other posts where someone mentioned the got the perfect strut setup that even a small 8 year old girl could raise the roof with minimal effort.

It's going to be tough to get it perfect being your weight up top could vary.
I have the speaker stand and us it all the time. I'm way more than strong enough to raise the roof, but I have tweeted my back muscles a few times, so I always use the speaker stand when raising the rear of the pop up. It does take a bit of time and patience. Many have added drill attachments, but in your situation getting stronger gas struts is your ideal starting point. They aren't that expensive.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Jason, if you go with stronger struts, you may struggle a bit bringing the top down when not loaded. The speaker lift works quite well, not to mention, probably less expensive than 4 new struts.

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

It may be worth considering what you carry in the box and imagine another way to stow it .....access cab pickup...behind the seats ?

Remember the weight you carry up there has to be raised AND lowered over and over again..........

Many folks make good use of various plastic tote boxes in the aisle and then move them when you need to.

Enjoy the new camper !

DavidGraves

 

[Oregonsurfer]

Thanks for those who have already posted. We expect some bins in the back, but need access to the potty and a wheelchair goes back there too. So I'll look for the larger struts. The ones I have list 15/36 on them and the closest Ive found so far are 19/36. They are only $25 so I might give a pair a try. The front doesn't have any weight on it, so I think I'll still be able to get those up with the existing. I'll probably try the 100lb ones. But will also keep looking for that post with the 8yr old girl comment to see which they added.

 

[strayDog]

I was told by FWC if you put too strong of struts on you can damage the roof this was a couple years ago, they may have learned more since then. Also heavier gear on top should be taken off to raise and lower.

I use one of these for storage and really like it.
https://www.stowaway2.com/max-cargo-carrier-black

You can use a dual hitch with the carrier, however, it does reduce the towing capacity.

 

[buckland]

Note also... when lifting ...don't push the strut...meaning don't try to lift the roof... go slow for the shocks to work....I learnt the hard way when mine wasn't lifting as I thought it should ... I was the problem...I was pushing up before the lifter was ready to extend... it is a matter of timing. I also carry the speaker stand Though haven't used it...as I have panels, yakima tracks/bars as well as a rack with three 2 gallon diesel cans. my 4 gas struts are 30 pound each.

 

[norcalhawk]

At the time I wasn't able to add struts above the rear entry door due to the layout (curved door and lights) of my 2012 Hawk....Soon after FWC introduced connecting studs in which the strut connected to. Anyway, I installed my struts to the rear sides of my camper, works very well. If you go with heavier struts, you may consider leaving something in the box (that you would normally carry) to counteract the power of the struts. Otherwise, you may struggle getting the roof down when the box isn't fully loaded. Or, can you install the box onto the truck cab?

 

[whwv]

I'm in the same boat. 2016 Eagle with exterior struts. Works great with the solar panel, works fine with an empty cargo box, feels useless with solar + cargo box + snow.

Anyone have tips for dealing with the snow? I think the snow would be too much the speaker lifts, and I can't get to the roof to remove the snow when the top is up...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I'm in the same boat. 2016 Eagle with exterior struts. Works great with the solar panel, works fine with an empty cargo box, feels useless with solar + cargo box + snow.

Anyone have tips for dealing with the snow? I think the snow would be too much the speaker lifts, and I can't get to the roof to remove the snow when the top is up...

You might think about an extending ladder, then use a snow rake.

 

[buckland]

Out and shovel it off .... there is a thread on the snow removal gizmos.

 

[Bill D]

I've had about 3/4" of solid melt ice on top of mine with a bit of snow pack on top of that as well, and I had absolutely no issues lifting it up with the speaker stand. I also have Yakima racks and a factory solar panel. you could tell it was heavy, but there was absolutely no issues.

I'm not sure what the factory one is rated for but similar ones can lift 500 to 800 lbs.

BTW I only have 2 internal struts.

 

[Advmoto18]

I read somewhere (my apologies in advance for being unable to give credit where due), if your struts are too powerful and having a difficult time lowering the roof, step inside, close the door, ensure are windows are sealed/closed and turn on the Fantastic fan in exhaust mode.

I have never tried the technique so I have no idea if it actually works. My roof collapses by itself with no effort on my part. But I only have the two interior gas struts, no exterior struts.

 

[jccat]

I also have a 2016 Fleet with yakima tracks, bars, 100w panel and a skybox on top. It was near impossible to lift with the 30# struts that came with the camper. I spent a long time trying to figure out what route to go (speaker stand vs. stronger struts) and I decided to go for struts. Fyi, the Fleet struts are hard to source as they are 40" extended, instead of 35" which is the longest available by many companies. I ended up finding a Canadian company called LS Technologies that makes a 40" strut. Even better, you can have the struts valved to any force you'd like. Mine are 50#. The front lowers on its own at that weight, and the back still requires a good deal of support to bring it down safely (I currently have two pairs of skis, fly fishing gear, and an aluminum camp table in the box). The roof is quite a bit easier to raise, unless there's snow. With my setup, I need to remove all of the snow to lift the roof. I may have my struts valved to 60# at some point.

Any way, the LS Technologies part number I got is C9-10-485-1040-225N Gas Spring ( 50 lb Force - 40.9" EXT / 21.9 " Compressed ) with metal 10mm ball sockets. It was 175$ shipped for 4 of them to Utah.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Wander The West mobile app

 

[super doody]

Here are the recommendations from FWC from another post:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/9219-roof-lift-gas-struts/?p=102773


Remember the strut length is different by model

 

[super doody]

I also have a 2016 Fleet with yakima tracks, bars, 100w panel and a skybox on top. It was near impossible to lift with the 30# struts that came with the camper. I spent a long time trying to figure out what route to go (speaker stand vs. stronger struts) and I decided to go for struts. Fyi, the Fleet struts are hard to source as they are 40" extended, instead of 35" which is the longest available by many companies. I ended up finding a Canadian company called LS Technologies that makes a 40" strut. Even better, you can have the struts valved to any force you'd like. Mine are 50#. The front lowers on its own at that weight, and the back still requires a good deal of support to bring it down safely (I currently have two pairs of skis, fly fishing gear, and an aluminum camp table in the box). The roof is quite a bit easier to raise, unless there's snow. With my setup, I need to remove all of the snow to lift the roof. I may have my struts valved to 60# at some point.

Any way, the LS Technologies part number I got is C9-10-485-1040-225N Gas Spring ( 50 lb Force - 40.9" EXT / 21.9 " Compressed ) with metal 10mm ball sockets. It was 175$ shipped for 4 of them to Utah.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Wander The West mobile app

Have you tried distributing the weight towards the middle?

 

[whwv]

You might think about an extending ladder, then use a snow rake.

Thanks, that's the leading idea from the responses I got from a thread on Expo. I actually hadn't seen those telescoping ladders before...

 

[jccat]

Have you tried distributing the weight towards the middle?

Yep, I've got the box pretty much centered length-wise and it's better than it was set back toward the rear, but still heavy (I'll bet everything on the roof adds up to 80-100lbs). The new struts do work well when the roof is dry, but add a layer of ice and a few inches of snow, and there's no way to get the roof up by myself.

 

[dharte]

I have a 2015 Hawk with a solar panel, Yakima racks with bike and kayak attachments, and a cargo basket. I can't lift the roof, even with the factory struts. My solution is to use a ratcheting cargo bar (used normally to secure cargo in the back of a pickup truck), which is very compact when stored. It fits neatly next to the rear awning bag on the bunk pull out section. It takes just a couple of minutes to use this-the only thing that slows me down is I have to move the table (front dinette) to get perpendicular to the front lift panel.

 

[whwv]

I have a 2015 Hawk with a solar panel, Yakima racks with bike and kayak attachments, and a cargo basket. I can't lift the roof, even with the factory struts. My solution is to use a ratcheting cargo bar (used normally to secure cargo in the back of a pickup truck), which is very compact when stored. It fits neatly next to the rear awning bag on the bunk pull out section. It takes just a couple of minutes to use this-the only thing that slows me down is I have to move the table (front dinette) to get perpendicular to the front lift panel.

Does that ratchet down as well?