Today when I closed our main storage bay door I heard an odd "bang." On inspection I found that the nut securing the bottom of the larger door strut to the door had come off and so had the strut. I was able to clean up the treads enough to get a nut on the bolt securing the strut, but compressing it was another matter. But I was able to find good advice on this forum!
Storage bay springlift tip (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=8145.msg35675#msg35675)
I went out and bought a Quickgrip clamp and was able to get it compressed enough to reattach it to the door. I had to make a small spacer to get the clamp far away enough from the top attachment point, but that was not a big deal. Thank you Steve and Michelle!