The original mattress is very light and doesn't provide enough weight to keep the lid closed. A couple of blankets placed on top is enough extra weight to keep it closed when stationary. When travelling down the road it would still pop open so I added a latch to keep it closed. The following season I bought a regular residential queen mattress and it is heavy enough to keep it closed, even when travelling, so I no longer use blankets or the latch.
Might be too late at I just saw this, if you make the anchor point on the lid at the same or lower level than the anchor point on the box at closed position, the gas struts actually helps to hold the lid down. It seems the anchor hardware on the box should be flipped upside down. Great work by the way!
Excellent video showing the installation steps. I had already purchased 125lbs struts to replace the existing weaker struts. The original struts were installed at the opening vs your method moving 16” away from the opening with the added 2 x 4 support. My bed at the opening has a heat vent so can’t add a 2 x 4 there. Will reverse the original bracket location and instead use the method you used.
I have a smaller trailer, 18 foot Jayco and I really need the space. Your video was exactly what I needed to tackle the lift bed. One item I'm going to have to change is the plywood thickness for the base and I'll probably need to reinforce the base for the bracket stays. Thank you!
Great job. The only thing that was painful was switching the bits to drill what you needed to drill. I'm going to use your video to install ours, but I'm going to use a couple of drills, so I don't have to keep switching. I'll get ours installed ASAP. Thanks again!
Great video, thank you! I drill and install one screw before marking or drilling the others, so the bracket doesn't drift or shift on me. Having a small vacuum or bench broom + dustpan usually comes in handy
amazon has lots of various kits and gas springs - seems the issue is (after size) knowing what the "pounds" are you need to lift it - but not keep it popping open. we have the mattress and a small topper.
You're right. As you could see in our video, with just the original mattress it wasn't enough to hold the lid closed. I put a couple of blankets on it and that was enough to keep it closed. When driving down the road it would pop open so I installed a little latch on it to keep it closed. The following year we replaced the original mattress with a residential queen mattress and now it stays closed without the latch, even when travelling down bumpy roads.
The stock mattress isn't heavy enough to keep it closed unless you put a blanket or two at the bottom of the bed but it will pop open during travel. I added a buckle clip to it to keep it closed when traveling. Recently I replaced the stock mattress with a residential mattress and its heavy enough to keep it closed even when traveling.
So Julian, where’s your tumbler full or ice and rye whiskey? Is Mr Lahey going to let you, Ricky and Bubbles grow weed in your trailer? You are so Canadian to boot!
Maybe to get the visor out of the way? Or, it was probably originally intended by teens to piss off parents or be different, as part of separating from parents. Then those teens grew up, and now they are the parents.
Do you have a hinge on the top?? Do you think now in hindsight that you got springs that were too powerful? Supposed to stay down when the top is down. Like your car hood. Also, if I may ask, how thick of plywood is your bed top please?
There are two hinges at the top that were already there. The bed stays down fine now that I have a residential mattress on it. I think the plywood is 1/2" thick.
This is the second video I've watched where the placement was determined by measuring to the floor. What if the top of the platform is higher than the required measurement? Makes no sense. Should be the angle of the lid to place the top block.
I bought the same size kit for my Coachmen Apex Ultra Lite 293RLDS, and my instructions did not say anything about the mattress platform being 35" from the floor. But, when I installed it as per the instructions (new ones being included), it wouldn't come close to closing. In fact, the instructions said that the mattress platform should be 20" from the top of the frame, and between 60-70 degrees at angle. But, mine ended up to be about 45 degrees following their instructions and measurements for the lower bracket installation. I have the right kit, as per the mfg. directions, and have moved the bottom brackets back about an inch, but it is still WAY TOO hard to close, and I am afraid it will break at the hinges. I have emailed the mfg. due to their not providing telephone support, and their basic reply has been to move the back bracket back more, and with the weight of my light weight camper mattress it should work, and have never explained why their instructions refer to the 20" measurement as well as the 60-70 degree angle desired. I'll move it back several inches and see if that works. Too bad they don't provide telephone support. VERY disappointing!
It is quite hard to close and with the cheap light weight mattress that comes with the trailer it won't stay down unless you put some weight on the bottom of the bed. A couple of folded blankets is enough to keep it closed. If you upgrade to a residential mattress it will stay down fine. I have the original mattress and I added a latch to lock it down so it doesn't pop open when traveling.
@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks, I noticed them in your video, and wondered whether or not they were there for that purpose. I plan on moving the lower brackets back about 3" and see what happens. Sure hope that helps.
I did an easy fix by putting in a sliding bolt bracket. Not only keeps it closed but it will also eliminate in vibration from the bed top moving slightly up and down when travelling.
@@jimbrenner882 I installed a latch from a purse that I modified, and when the top is lowered, it slips into the clip, and all you have to do is push the button to release it.
The original mattress is very light and doesn't provide enough weight to keep it closed. A couple of blankets placed on top is enough extra weight to keep it closed when stationary. When travelling down the road it would still pop open so I added a latch to keep it closed. The following season I bought a regular residential queen mattress and it is heavy enough to keep it closed, even when travelling, so I no longer use blankets or the latch.
@@CampingwiththeColes Awesome. Thanks for the info, I have a similar project for my airbnb setup for changeover storage. ... your video was priceless. Hopefully I don't need to add weight or a latch.... but I know that it is very hard to get the proper strut size/weight for the mattress.
The original mattress is very light and doesn't provide enough weight to keep the lid closed. A couple of blankets placed on top is enough extra weight to keep it closed when stationary. When travelling down the road it would still pop open so I added a latch to keep it closed. The following season I bought a regular residential queen mattress and it is heavy enough to keep it closed, even when travelling, so I no longer use blankets or the latch.
As additional options, could:
- shift one end of the gas shock farther away, so it has less leverage.
- get a lower capacity 17"(?) gas shock
I have watched a lot of these and I think your the first person to get it right the first time .....nice job and thanks for sharing
Might be too late at I just saw this, if you make the anchor point on the lid at the same or lower level than the anchor point on the box at closed position, the gas struts actually helps to hold the lid down. It seems the anchor hardware on the box should be flipped upside down. Great work by the way!
Thanks for the tip!
Excellent video showing the installation steps. I had already purchased 125lbs struts to replace the existing weaker struts. The original struts were installed at the opening vs your method moving 16” away from the opening with the added 2 x 4 support.
My bed at the opening has a heat vent so can’t add a 2 x 4 there. Will reverse the original bracket location and instead use the method you used.
I have a smaller trailer, 18 foot Jayco and I really need the space. Your video was exactly what I needed to tackle the lift bed. One item I'm going to have to change is the plywood thickness for the base and I'll probably need to reinforce the base for the bracket stays. Thank you!
I'm glad you found this helpful. Good luck and happy camping!
One thought is (at first) screwing them gluing on a reinforcement strip, the idea being to keep the weight down.
Great job. The only thing that was painful was switching the bits to drill what you needed to drill. I'm going to use your video to install ours, but I'm going to use a couple of drills, so I don't have to keep switching. I'll get ours installed ASAP. Thanks again!
That's a good idea. It'll save time. Good luck with the install. Happy Camping!
There are drill quick-change setups, including chucks on 1/4” hex shanks.
Thanks for the video....i realized that i am very bad to install things, but your video helped me (took me 3.5 hrs 😱) but finally works ✌🏻
Enjoyed your video. Straight forward. Will follow your example to install mystruts
Great video, thank you!
I drill and install one screw before marking or drilling the others, so the bracket doesn't drift or shift on me.
Having a small vacuum or bench broom + dustpan usually comes in handy
Great tips. Thanks.
WITHOUT A DOUBT, BEST ON RUclips FOR THIS INSTALL. PLEASE SAY HI TO LOVELY ASSISTANT! CHEERS!
Thanks for the support. Cheryl says "hi" back.
Nicely demonstrated and completed.
Thanks.
Very helpful thanks. I'm watching a few so I can get confident to have a go.
Nice video! Installed mine after your video. Had to move lower bracket back another inch and a half to keep bed down. Pretty happy with install.
Yeah, sometimes the placement of the bracket takes some trial and error. Glad it worked out. Happy camping!
This detailed installation helped me ace this install. Thank you!
Best video I have seen so far. easy to follow. thks.
Thanks
Nice clear video
Best one I’ve seen done😉
I second that. Just did mine and it's great. Thank you for sharing video.
Great video !
Thank you
Thanks, I wonder if the 3.5 inched hold true on my Coachman RV with the same bed? I measured the 16 inches from the inside.
I love it. I’m doing it.
Good for you!
amazon has lots of various kits and gas springs - seems the issue is (after size) knowing what the "pounds" are you need to lift it - but not keep it popping open. we have the mattress and a small topper.
You're right. As you could see in our video, with just the original mattress it wasn't enough to hold the lid closed. I put a couple of blankets on it and that was enough to keep it closed. When driving down the road it would pop open so I installed a little latch on it to keep it closed. The following year we replaced the original mattress with a residential queen mattress and now it stays closed without the latch, even when travelling down bumpy roads.
Nice video. Does the mattress keep it closed? Nice video. I'm going to order a set. Thanks!
The stock mattress isn't heavy enough to keep it closed unless you put a blanket or two at the bottom of the bed but it will pop open during travel. I added a buckle clip to it to keep it closed when traveling. Recently I replaced the stock mattress with a residential mattress and its heavy enough to keep it closed even when traveling.
So Julian, where’s your tumbler full or ice and rye whiskey? Is Mr Lahey going to let you, Ricky and Bubbles grow weed in your trailer? You are so Canadian to boot!
I'm more of a Letterkenny guy than Trailer Park Boys. Thanks for watching eh.
Great video....
I’ll go to the grave and never understand the backward ball cap thing. The video however was very informative.
There's nothing to understand, it's just a fashion trend.
Maybe to get the visor out of the way?
Or, it was probably originally intended by teens to piss off parents or be different, as part of separating from parents.
Then those teens grew up, and now they are the parents.
You look like you can arm wrestle really well
The magic of video LOL.
@@CampingwiththeColes I meant you look just like the arm wrestling champion Devon Laratt!
What size drill bits did you use? Great video!
Sorry, I don't remember. I just used the bit that fit the included screws.
Do you have a hinge on the top?? Do you think now in hindsight that you got springs that were too powerful? Supposed to stay down when the top is down. Like your car hood. Also, if I may ask, how thick of plywood is your bed top please?
There are two hinges at the top that were already there. The bed stays down fine now that I have a residential mattress on it. I think the plywood is 1/2" thick.
When you installed the first bracket how far down did you go from the top of the storage box?
I'm sorry, I don't recall and I don't have the trailer here to measure it as it's in storage.
This is the second video I've watched where the placement was determined by measuring to the floor. What if the top of the platform is higher than the required measurement? Makes no sense. Should be the angle of the lid to place the top block.
I bought the same size kit for my Coachmen Apex Ultra Lite 293RLDS, and my instructions did not say anything about the mattress platform being 35" from the floor. But, when I installed it as per the instructions (new ones being included), it wouldn't come close to closing.
In fact, the instructions said that the mattress platform should be 20" from the top of the frame, and between 60-70 degrees at angle. But, mine ended up to be about 45 degrees following their instructions and measurements for the lower bracket installation.
I have the right kit, as per the mfg. directions, and have moved the bottom brackets back about an inch, but it is still WAY TOO hard to close, and I am afraid it will break at the hinges.
I have emailed the mfg. due to their not providing telephone support, and their basic reply has been to move the back bracket back more, and with the weight of my light weight camper mattress it should work, and have never explained why their instructions refer to the 20" measurement as well as the 60-70 degree angle desired.
I'll move it back several inches and see if that works.
Too bad they don't provide telephone support. VERY disappointing!
It is quite hard to close and with the cheap light weight mattress that comes with the trailer it won't stay down unless you put some weight on the bottom of the bed. A couple of folded blankets is enough to keep it closed. If you upgrade to a residential mattress it will stay down fine. I have the original mattress and I added a latch to lock it down so it doesn't pop open when traveling.
@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks, I noticed them in your video, and wondered whether or not they were there for that purpose.
I plan on moving the lower brackets back about 3" and see what happens. Sure hope that helps.
@@CampingwiththeColes can you take a Allen key and release some of the air out of the strut so it will close?
I did an easy fix by putting in a sliding bolt bracket. Not only keeps it closed but it will also eliminate in vibration from the bed top moving slightly up and down when travelling.
@@jimbrenner882 I installed a latch from a purse that I modified, and when the top is lowered, it slips into the clip, and all you have to do is push the button to release it.
nice
Are the folded blankets to add weight? Is it possible to add a catch/latch?
The original mattress is very light and doesn't provide enough weight to keep it closed. A couple of blankets placed on top is enough extra weight to keep it closed when stationary. When travelling down the road it would still pop open so I added a latch to keep it closed. The following season I bought a regular residential queen mattress and it is heavy enough to keep it closed, even when travelling, so I no longer use blankets or the latch.
@@CampingwiththeColes Awesome. Thanks for the info, I have a similar project for my airbnb setup for changeover storage. ... your video was priceless. Hopefully I don't need to add weight or a latch.... but I know that it is very hard to get the proper strut size/weight for the mattress.
Oh Dear!!😂🤣