I've got dual ladders on my rear hatch. I don't know if it's becuz the OEM ones are weak or its because they were old, but the hatch wouldn't stay up at all. I replaced them with StrongArm struts which seemed to have good reviews, and were working great at first. Now that it's cold outside, I found out the hard way that they don't stay up AT ALL in the cold weather for whatever reason. I had a full cart from Costco when I noticed, that was fun to load. Has anyone used rear struts besides StrongArm that are good and can hold the weight of ladders plus work in the cold weather? I know that Gobi makes some but I'm never ordering from them again nor do I want to wait 10 months for them to be shipped. Anyone? Thanks in advance.

 

Gobi just sticks their label on some brand of them, they do not make them. They intentionally obscure and remove the original branding and part number so you will not just buy them from the source for half the price. There are a lot of brands. Stabilus is probably one the biggest. For ambulances (business) I have ordered replacements from Lift Supports Depot and been happy with theirs. They also lifetime warranty theirs.

One of their FAQ's is this "Most supports thrive in the summer heat, and fail when the temperature begins to drop. The majority of the pressure ratings that we publish are determined at a temperature of 20 C or 68 degrees. For every 10 degrees C output force either increases or decreases by 3.4%."

On finding a suitable replacement that can also deal with the extra weight you need to determine multiple factors. Their site lets youi order by spec too which is nice. Min and max length, stroke, min and max force, and end types.

https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/

 

Unfortunately Lift Supports Depot is where I ordered mine and they were by Strong Arm, I got them from Amazon though and not their website. I just searched their site for H2 and the only option is the struts I already have that don't stay up in cold weather. Have you ever heard of or tried Monroe Max Lift, Tuff Support, or Sachs? Is there any website that still sells the H2 Stabilus struts?

 

Not sure on that. I think the key will be matching the spec on the sizes but increasing the minimum force. The suggested Strong Arm ones do not account for having to lift two ladders so those were bound to not work well, particularly at very low temperatures. Whatever ones Gobi sells are using a higher force spec to account for the additional weight. What I'd reccomend is pulling up the Strong Arm ones on their site and then use those specifications to select a different one based on the specs but with a higher force rating.

Lift Supports Depot also mentions more about how temperatures affect them on this page https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ho...lift-supports/
They note a brand AVM who claims they have better seals to better help deal with temperature fluctuations. https://www.avmind.com/ My guess is AVM probably wrote that question and answer.

The Stabilus "Lift O Mat" ones are a hybrid design made to help negate the affects that temperatures have. https://www.stabilus.com/products/no...-spring-strut/

Its going to be a matter of finding the right specs though. What I found when getting some for ambulances was that some variation in certain specs would still work fine. For example a shorter compressed size was fine when combined with a longer stroke. A longer maximum extended size is also fine as the door or hatch will stop opening once it is at its maximum point regardless of whether the lift might be able to extend even more. Another good option might be to find one that has a locking function. It locks automatically and is super simple to release. My forklift has one with a lock on it for the engine lid. Stabilus makes one https://www.stabilus.com/products/no...position-lock/
Normont also makes one with a lock Normont / NMT SystemsNMT Systems

So that might also be a good option. You would only want the lock on one though as it would be very awkward to try to release two at the same time. You would also want to be sure that anyone else who might try to close the hatch is aware of the lock or they will break it. A locking style would also need to be the correct maximum extended length to work as it has to fully extend to lock. I've noticed locking ones are becoming more and more common. I've seen them on a couple of regular vehicles now too like factory on a pickup truck. I've seen locking ones much more on commercial vehicles and equipment though like buses, and whatnot.

 

I spoke with tech support from Lift Supports Depot, they said the Strong Arm struts I have are 160 pounds. They recommended that I try their universal ones (LIFT SUPPORTS DEPOT ST263M1-180 GAS CHARGED MULTI PURPOSE LIFT SUPPORT) that are 180 pounds. They said the extra 20 should help in the cold weather. But they were worried they might be too strong in the summer. I think with the dual ladders i should be okay. I ordered them and will report back if it makes any difference after they arrive and I install them.

 

I bought these
to replace my old weak ones and a week later found a set of Gobi ladders local. The lift supports have been getting the job done for about six months now, with the two ladders, even when it's cold.

Good Luck!

 

Any clue on how many pounds of pressure they are?

 

No idea, they are getting the job done for now. They are slower with the two ladders but lift it and hold it up just fine.

 

The GOBI struts I have are insanely strong. I have no clue what the rating is since as mentioned they just remove all the markings and slap their own sticker on them. BUT I have to hold the hatch to prevent it from slamming upward when I open the thing. I mean its a good thing since I added a second ladder since the stockers I had to push up with only one ladder.

 

do they open the same even when the temperature is freezing outside?