For starters this is not my idea. I originally got the idea from a friend of mine Ray. I just put it together, took the pictures, modified the pictures and posted to share with everyone. The tubing was 3/4" pvc I had laying around. If the color bothers you can paint the tubing or use a different color. I got to the point where I was tired of replacing actuators and tired of cabinet doors slamming down, so I decided to put this into action. I think I'm going to do the same with the bed actuators instead of using the 2x4 lumber I am currently using. Going to try to upload the pictures in order. Enjoy!
John M.
Clever idea. Always a way to save a buck or a few minutes. Thanks ^.^d
I wonder if these actuators are dropping in quality. I bought some less expensive Chinese ones a few years ago and they failed almost immediately. The others I've purchased were OK.
jor
That's not OEM John.. :D
Mark,
No it's not, but it works flawlessly.
John M.
That is some great work, there John! I am going to follow suit on all of mine. I had been using "chip clips" on a couple of strategic ones, but this is a much better idea.
Thanks, and happy fourth!
Len
Without the cam over effect with pressure do they rattle going down the road?
Craneman,
No rattle. The pvc does not make any noise. It is around the cylinder body when the door is closed. Works great!
John M
Ingenious John!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wCUlPNlQuA
Use black rubber hose instead of PVC?
I was referring to the doors themselves, the gas spring over cams and holds the door closed.
Craneman,
I can see that possibly happening when a door has one actuator. The door in the picture has one actuator and it does not rattle. The actuator doesn't even hold the door up. The pvc works great to hold the door open without slamming. If any of the doors begin to rattle I will install some type of catch latch to hold the doors closed. I was thinking of installing catch latches on all of my cabinet doors anyways to help keep them closed while traveling.
John M
Lot of 10 Grabber Catch Latch 5lb Factory Replacement Southco C3-805 for RV... (https://www.amazon.com/Grabber-Replacement-C3-805-Motorhome-Cabinets/dp/B012DSB2F8/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1499222288&sr=8-14&keywords=cabinet+latch+rv)
At $55.00 a latch you can buy 5 air springs.
That was a packet of 10 5lb latches. When I bought the actuators 18 months ago at Foretravel they were about $12 each. Many of those have since then failed. Even if there were no issues with the actuators I would still like to latch all of the cabinet doors with some type of latch. This is the type Foretravel used in our coaches.
John M.
Didn't pay attention to the X10 Those would solve the staying closed issue. I replaced all of the bad ones in Nov. 2015 and a few that have failed since but no repeat failures yet. I did reverse them to get the seal on the bottom to get lubed and not dry out. Maybe they fail from more use than we have.
Bought these, I just carry extra's. No issues, well yet. I like your fix.
12 ea Columbia Struts Gas spring, 7.5" ext 2 in. Stroke 20 Lbs Prop Door... (http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-ea-Columbia-Struts-Gas-spring-7-5-ext-2-in-Stroke-20-Lbs-Prop-Door-Lift-/112144590099?hash=item1a1c56a513)
Good idea for cabinets, but seems like an unsafe idea for bed struts. Too easy for the heavy bed to pop the PVC out of place and have the bed crash down.
Stick with the wood stick. Or use our PVC pipe with Tee's on both ends, which we store above the 120v wiring under the bed.