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Replacement Door Strut

Auburntsts

Well Known Member
Well I finally need to replace my door struts but for the life of me I cant find a current thread with a source and part number -- can someone help a brother out?
 
What I ordered

This is what I ordered from Bansbach Easylift. www.bansbach.com They are just a little bit stronger and I think they are perfect.

B0N0F50-100-247/XXXN Gas Spring 4"(100mm) Stroke 10"(247mm) Extended Length Customer Selected Force (120 Pounds), (SKU IAF041-006), Quantity 2.

B1 M8 Hinge Eye Endfitting (SKU I96350), Quantity 4. Note you will have to modify two of these to fit between the brackets. It can be done with a sander or a file.

I hope this helps.
 
Unfortunately my paperwork is at the hangar. But I was able to find a replacement (I forget where) that not only fit without modification, but also incorporated a small amount of dampening for the final inch or so. Now I can just push them up and let them go, and they come to a smooth stop at the full open position. With the OEM struts they would have hit a hard stop, shook and vibrated. Nothing ever broke, but it didn’t sound good....These are a definite improvement.
 
I've got a set I can sell you Todd. Give me a call at 720-933-3352. I have the stock Vans ones (500 newtons) and also the heavy duty Vans ones (600 newtons). Both sets were test fitted, but not used.
 
This is what I ordered from Bansbach Easylift. www.bansbach.com They are just a little bit stronger and I think they are perfect.

B0N0F50-100-247/XXXN Gas Spring 4"(100mm) Stroke 10"(247mm) Extended Length Customer Selected Force (120 Pounds), (SKU IAF041-006), Quantity 2.

B1 M8 Hinge Eye Endfitting (SKU I96350), Quantity 4. Note you will have to modify two of these to fit between the brackets. It can be done with a sander or a file.

The last time I upgraded my lift struts I used Bansbach AF051-77*. The description from Bansbach was A1A1F50-100-287/600N. There was a little futzing with the mounts but it wasn't too bad. Is there a different part number that works better now?

-Marc
 
I found replacement @600N from gasspringsshop.com $30/ea. I also ordered the M8 eye (27 mm). I had to mill both sides of the eye to fit the Vans supplied bushing/washer in the arm bracket.
 

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For folk in Oz, (and others) I replaced my RV10 door struts in 2016 with upgraded ones from Strut Specialists WA in Western Australia. The struts are still performing very well. Maybe the part number shown can be cross referenced elsewhere. Also the cost of $30 AU each will no doubt have increased since 2016 ! Part # Gas Struts U2958@600N A8 A8........ This part number was a direct replacement for the originals from Vans
 
What is the experience others have had with this heavy duty strut? I'm hoping to place a finish kit order soon and am making a list of deletions/substitutions...

What aspect do you want to hear about?
Not flying yet, but I have mine installed and it works:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uKtJVk7yANKiNLcr9
It's too strong to close by hand by itself, but the door itself gives enough leverage that it can be closed. I can't say about how it does over time though.
 
What aspect do you want to hear about?
Not flying yet, but I have mine installed and it works:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uKtJVk7yANKiNLcr9
It's too strong to close by hand by itself, but the door itself gives enough leverage that it can be closed. I can't say about how it does over time though.

I guess I'm looking for experiences with strength (which, from your reply, seems good), longevity, and comparisons to the other 3rd party options.

Do you think it's too stiff--meaning it's so strong that it causes the door to flex excessively when being pulled closed? I'd mainly be concerned with flexing the door-to-window joint and having it become damaged or weak over time...I'm thinking of using the Silpruf window attach method.
 
I guess I'm looking for experiences with strength (which, from your reply, seems good), longevity, and comparisons to the other 3rd party options.

Do you think it's too stiff--meaning it's so strong that it causes the door to flex excessively when being pulled closed? I'd mainly be concerned with flexing the door-to-window joint and having it become damaged or weak over time...I'm thinking of using the Silpruf window attach method.

Strength is good indeed, but it's too early for me to comment on the rest.
 
The perfect strut barely opens the door. Too strong and you get more twist in the door as you close it, leading to a higher chance that the rear door pins won't seat. Too weak and the door won't stay open.

Point is, stronger isn't necessarily better. Nor is it necessarily worse, particularly depending on how much add-on stuff you have attached to your door(s).
 
What am I missing. What's wrong with the standard vans strut, are people having problems with it not holding the door up?
 
The perfect strut barely opens the door. Too strong and you get more twist in the door as you close it, leading to a higher chance that the rear door pins won't seat.

The solution to this is to not use the latch handle to close the door. Install a pull strap vertically in line with the strut so there's no twisting moment when you pull the door closed.
 
What am I missing. What's wrong with the standard vans strut, are people having problems with it not holding the door up?

It's a problem I've heard of from a number of RV-10 owners. Van's sells a "Heavy Duty" strut, presumably in response to owners/builders who have had poor experiences with the original standard strut, which Van's still includes as standard equipment in the finishing kit.
 
The perfect strut barely opens the door. Too strong and you get more twist in the door as you close it, leading to a higher chance that the rear door pins won't seat. Too weak and the door won't stay open.

Point is, stronger isn't necessarily better. Nor is it necessarily worse, particularly depending on how much add-on stuff you have attached to your door(s).

Right, so I'm looking to see if the HD strut Van's sells is an appropriate compromise between these extremes. I'm hoping others here have had some flight experience with them.

p.s. is "perfect" the brand name of the standard strut, or an Autocorrect casualty?
 
Right, so I'm looking to see if the HD strut Van's sells is an appropriate compromise between these extremes. I'm hoping others here have had some flight experience with them.

p.s. is "perfect" the brand name of the standard strut, or an Autocorrect casualty?

Here's my experience: I had the standard Vans struts (500N) and they would not lift the doors to full open status, right out of the box. I figured this is because 1) I was careful to get a good bond of my door halves, so maybe used more epoxy flox than some others, and 2) I have the weight of the Plane Around 3rd latch system.

I ordered the Heavy Duty struts from Vans (600N) and they also were not up to the task. After talking with another builder who has doors upholstered, I ordered a set of 800N struts from gassprings.com. They were excellent, strong and opened the doors with no problems. I feel like they would easily handle the added weight of a pull strap and upholstery. However, I have recently decided not to upholster the door interiors.

At this point, my plan is to order some 700N struts and use them. I feel that, as others have said, 600N struts are "just enough." However, I have also heard from some that the struts lose their strength over time, so I think 700N will be perfect for my bird.

So..... Anyone want to buy a set of unused 800N struts for their RV-10?? If you're going to have heavy doors, I feel like they'd be perfect! If interested in buying my 800N struts, PM me with contact info, address and offer. Thanks.
 
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