Super-HD liftgate struts?

[GrantK]

I've got the after-market HD struts from "Mr. Lou's Stuff" on my lift-gate and they just aren't strong enough. After 6months they are starting to fail.

Anyone know of any that are stronger?

 

[limamike]

I've got the after-market HD struts from "Mr. Lou's Stuff" on my lift-gate and they just aren't strong enough. After 6months they are starting to fail.

Anyone know of any that are stronger?

The ones I got from Gobi (when they were selling them for something like $79 for the pair) are holding-up well after a couple of years of daily use.

 

[OBW2011]

Check out this thread post #119.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/115918-socaltrails-2011-trail-edition-beast-build-thread-3.html

 

[mace.]

[MENTION=13878]GrantK[/MENTION] Have you tried contacting them to see if they will replace them? It looks like there is a limited lifetime warranty on them. I was just about to order a set as on the colder days the original struts are getting lazy.

 

[mace.]

[MENTION=70355]OBW2011[/MENTION] Those are the ones he already has.

 

[diverscale]

Check out this thread post #119.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/115918-socaltrails-2011-trail-edition-beast-build-thread-3.html

as far as I could read, my understanding is that this is for trucks equipped with the goby ladder on the rear door. Those are 244LBS force, I guess it would be too hard to close for a stock truck.

Mine on my 2013 are already starting to fail, any cheap option for a stock truck??

 

[OBW2011]

[MENTION=70355]OBW2011[/MENTION] Those are the ones he already has.

My bad, I missed that. :dammit:

as far as I could read, my understanding is that this is for trucks equipped with the goby ladder on the rear door. Those are 244LBS force, I guess it would be too hard to close for a stock truck.

I don't think they would cause much of an issue if any. Those with Gobi ladders were buying them as replacement because their stock struts were prematurely sagging over time with the ladder. If anything I think they would just last longer without the added wait of the ladder.

 

[phillyd2]

The ones I got from Gobi (when they were selling them for something like $79 for the pair) are holding-up well after a couple of years of daily use.

As are mine :first:

 

[GrantK]

I don't think the struts I installed are defective. I think I'm asking them to handle too much weight. I've got 2 - 8" subs in the lift-gate plus sound deadening. That's 15-20lbs over stock and the weight is low in the lift-gate (subs are where the stock speakers were). Even when new I had to assist the lift-gate up and control how fast it would close.

If I can find stronger struts, I'd also like to add a ladder and ham radio screwdriver antenna (another ~8lbs) mounted on the ladder.

BTW - Can someone guestimate the weight of the ladder?

 

[Ducmonsta]

I would call Mr Lou's. I'm betting they can recommend a stronger strut with the correct ends.

 

[MeBe4running]

A little sidetrack...

Its funny I took my GOBI ladder of months ago, just because I stop using. I never changed back to the factory struts though. Well, low and behold about three days ago I go to close the hatch and BOOOOMMM, I mean gun shot boom, completely shat myself not mention the poor old lady next to me in the car park at the time. I turned and said something stupid like "Its my struts" she looked at me in a gaze of horro, she probably thought I was some terroist trying to blow something up. Anywhays point here is dont go to crazy with the struts otherwise you'll find yourself scaring old ladies in car parks.

I now have to replace my "Heavy Duty" struts because the weight of the ladder is no longer there.

 

[kenski]

BTW - Can someone guestimate the weight of the ladder?

Dug through my inbox. I knew I filed this stuff for a reason... the email I got from FedEx tracking says it's 13 #s:

 

[pwrtrain]

The ones I got from Gobi (when they were selling them for something like $79 for the pair) are holding-up well after a couple of years of daily use.

I just installed the Gobi struts on my stock liftgate and they work great. I was worried that they would be too strong, but they work just fine and much cheaper than OEM. Ordered from EOD. Took a few weeks to ship, might want to check stock first. The guys at EOD were great at keeping me updated and great to work with.

 

[GrantK]

Its funny I took my GOBI ladder of months ago, just because I stop using. I never changed back to the factory struts though. Well, low and behold about three days ago I go to close the hatch and BOOOOMMM, I mean gun shot boom, completely shat myself not mention the poor old lady next to me in the car park at the time. I turned and said something stupid like "Its my struts" she looked at me in a gaze of horro, she probably thought I was some terroist trying to blow something up. Anywhays point here is dont go to crazy with the struts otherwise you'll find yourself scaring old ladies in car parks.

I now have to replace my "Heavy Duty" struts because the weight of the ladder is no longer there.

I don't understand why having HD struts on without extra weight would cause a problem. It would seem to me that the struts are going to provide a certain amount of pressure against the mounts regardless of the weight of the lift-gate. The only issue should be, do they provide enough to at least handle the weight and can the mount points handle the stress.

 

[GrantK]

I would call Mr Lou's. I'm betting they can recommend a stronger strut with the correct ends.

That's what I'm going to have to do. I was hoping someone had already been there, done that.

 

[diverscale]

thanks guys, just ordered the two struts that were on the SoCALtrail Thread.

As I said, the struts on my 2013 are already soft from everyday use, the door won't open 100%, so I will change them instead of waiting for complete failure thank you again.

edit: this will be used on a stock truck, I'll let you know how hard it feels to close the door compared to stock

 

[MeBe4running]

I don't understand why having HD struts on without extra weight would cause a problem. It would seem to me that the struts are going to provide a certain amount of pressure against the mounts regardless of the weight of the lift-gate. The only issue should be, do they provide enough to at least handle the weight and can the mount points handle the stress.

I see, you actually answered your own question and that is the "mount points" can't handle the added pressure i.e the heavier duty struts which literally "pop" off with no ladder. The other problem is the force you then have to use to close the rear hatch puts additional pressure on those points. I think what i said makes sense, been a LONG day at the farm. Peace

 

[GrantK]

I see, you actually answered your own question and that is the "mount points" can't handle the added pressure i.e the heavier duty struts which literally "pop" off with no ladder. The other problem is the force you then have to use to close the rear hatch puts additional pressure on those points. I think what i said makes sense, been a LONG day at the farm. Peace

Sorry, I still don't get it. The pressure on the mounts should be the same with or with-out a ladder.

 

[limamike]

Sorry, I still don't get it. The pressure on the mounts should be the same with or with-out a ladder.

You guys are both using imprecise terms. I believe what [MENTION=51868]MeBe4running[/MENTION] is saying is that the same force is required to open and close the hatch with the HD struts. Without the weight of the ladder (thus reducing the mass of the hatch), the kinetic energy increases because of the increased velocity of the hatch with the HD struts.

HD struts + ladder = normal open/close
HD struts - ladder = violent open/close

I'll figure-out how to graph it using ASCII shortly. :gun6:

 

[Ducmonsta]

Funny this came up.

I had HD aftermarket struts on my 3rd gen. That hatch would upper cut you if you weren't paying attention. The rear shocks would almost cycle because the hatch opened so fast. I actually disclosed that to the buyer when she came to buy it.