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Tool for replacing struts in 14

paszekj

Member
I’ve gained a lot from this forum but never really felt like I had anything new to offer. Maybe this will be helpful to someone:

Like a few others, the struts in my 14 have become inadequate to hold the canopy up. I remember reading somewhere that the original ones used were less force than the new ones you order from Vans. Turns out after your build is finished with the panel in place, they are very difficult to get to. I’m actually only able to get to one of them without having to remove my VPX mounted under the panel.

It seemed nearly impossible to get the new strut into place while trying to be able to apply any force to compress it to get it into place so I came up with a tool that helped me a lot. I used a 5/16” threaded rod from Home Depot along with some nuts and fender washers. I cut a groove with a Dremel cutting wheel to slip over the strut and compress it and the nuts can be adjusted to set it to just the right length to slip the bolts in place. Shaving one side of the washer allowed me to get the bolt in place without the washer getting in the way. Total cost: about $4.50.
 

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John, great idea.:D

This can be used by any tipper, so I moved it to the maintenance forum.
 
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