There are two of those gas springs (little shock absorbers) on each door. If one or more are failing or failed how do i know which one or should I replace both.
Thanks
Welcome to the forum!
If it were me, I'd replace them in pairs.....easier to keep up with.
Both and Foretravel parts had the cheapest price by a long shot a while back. Not sure if still the best.
Just looked Fot has them at $9.75 each
And they'll have the correct force.
A number of years ago folks had found a source that was similarly priced, but the force was off (too high). Those struts (spring lifts) caused some damage when the mounting pieces were being pulled out of the cabinet frame.
You can get a good idea of how bad they are by comparing the force needed to compress the old ones to that needed to compress a new one. Just compress by hand after removing to test. Usually if one is bad both are. I tried these fro Amazon about six months ago. The force seems comparable to the ones from FOT and so far they have held up well:
Amazon.com: Apexstone 80N/18lb 8 Inch Gas Strut 4 Count 80N Gas Strut 8 Inch... (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3J4GTSG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
The Forum has postings on a very good alternative to keeping the cabinet doors open by using a short piece of PVC that slides over the piston rod and keep door up.
That doesn't work well for the U320's as they don't have latches the struts over camber and keep the door from opening.
Good point on the fact that the air piston also keeps door closed. That is way it works on all models with this design as there are no latches. Worn air pistons still work although not good enough to make a positive keep-open, but they have enough pressure to keep the doors closed. Also, it is a good idea to be sure all doors have two struts. Always nice to have new working struts and they are not that expensive from some places, like MOT. But the PVC mod can work pretty well, too.
The PVC would be fine as an interim solution, but if and when you go to sell the coach, it's best to have those "little things" that you kludged around fixed, lest a buyer wonder what else (in particular the more costly, but not obvious, things) you didn't take care of.
Not only do the springs keep the cabinet doors open, they keep them closed as well, if one is going the other will follow, the lesser spring will overwork the good spring, replace in pairs.
Foretravels price was excellent when we replaced all of our overhead cabinet springs/ struts.
I just ordered a few from FOT, I prefer to replace them in pairs, because I found I was going back after a month or two to replace the one I left behind. :o
Beware of ones that are too strong for our application, they can create bigger problems. A previous owner used a couple of them in our coach, and it twisted the cabinet door and opened a joint, which ended with me reassembling and re-gluing the whole door! Really glad they built them so well in the first place, so it was possible to reassemble.
They are also affected by cold weather, so sometimes can look a bit sad but work fine once it warms up again.