Gas struts

Yes Vince there is a company on Parramatta road that sell struts made in germany and are very reasonably priced with a huge range, just cant think of their name... i will get back to you.. Michael

Vince,

I can pass on to you the knowledge I gained when fitting a pair to my Camper storage box.

Each size gas strut provides a given distance of travel and a given "operating" range when filled with gas. (Nitrogen I think)

I searched for a Strut supplier then arranged a visit to him.
The business was "Strut Re-Gas" and they have franchises throughout Australia.

Strut Re-Gas

What I found is that once the travel requirements are worked out, then a strut with a specific diameter to give an operating range is chosen. The struts are fitted to the object being "strutted" and only then are they pumped up with gas. This is done in stages until a correct pressure is obtained whilst still being in the range of the struts specifications.

I assume you already have the struts fitted to your camper and can only assume they are of the correct design. (The strut supplier can confirm this).
Basically, the only thing required is the correct amount of gas pressure to be introduced to your struts to support the weight of the camper roof.

I notice on their web site that they even have a mobile service and can come to you if necessary.

Based on my experience with the local SA franchisee, I would recommend this company to you.

Bill.

Sorry for the delay.. the company is UES International

Sydney Head office Tel: 8745 9045 Michael

I've just been through a similar challenge of calculating the force required to lift my roof rack mounted onto my trailer top. It's hinged at the back so I can access the gear at the front of the trailer.

I found various formulas but they were hard to follow and some not suited to what I was trying to calculate. You might like the spreadsheet I made up tonight and loaded onto the fileswap section of the website under Calculators.

The spreadsheet uses some of the formula given to the forum buy Old Plodder in his post from 2005 AnswerID: 139761

Tim