# Queen Bed Lift



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

Well i did the support rod lift for my front queen bed on the 23rs. my support rods are 60lb lifts and there way to strong it stays up all the time.it was real interesting trying to get the matress back on by myself while standing on the lid so it would stay down.now that would of made a good picture. anyway i,m on my way out to order some 30lb ones.


----------



## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

bcdude said:


> Well i did the support rod lift for my front queen bed on the 23rs. my support rods are 60lb lifts and there way to strong it stays up all the time.it was real interesting trying to get the matress back on by myself while standing on the lid so it would stay down.now that would of made a good picture. anyway i,m on my way out to order some 30lb ones.










I would have paid money to see a video of that one....


----------



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

OREGONCAMPIN said:


> Well i did the support rod lift for my front queen bed on the 23rs. my support rods are 60lb lifts and there way to strong it stays up all the time.it was real interesting trying to get the matress back on by myself while standing on the lid so it would stay down.now that would of made a good picture. anyway i,m on my way out to order some 30lb ones.










I would have paid money to see a video of that one....
[/quote] 
I,m 6,4" 280lbs it was interesting to say the least.


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I used 40lb er's and they worked great. A few others used 40 ones too. I was just monkey see, monkey do.


----------



## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

now that is funny! thanks for the laugh


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Sounds like something I'd do. Nothing ever seems to go as easily as it would appear. SNAFU is the by-word at my house!

(But the mental image of you wrestling with the mattress, or trying to sleep on the bed, brought a good good belly-laugh. I kept thinking, "Hey Moe! Hey Larry!")









Mike


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

where do you buy the lifts?


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

advancedtel said:


> where do you buy the lifts?


Here is one place that I know of Boaters World

I worked here for over 3 years...
They have lots of stores, so check their locations before you order online...unless of course, they are offering free shipping


----------



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

i ordered my lifts from my local rv shop (danbies rv and solar). ijust ordered 30lb lifts. hopefully this will work better.


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

bcdude said:


> i ordered my lifts from my local rv shop (danbies rv and solar). ijust ordered 30lb lifts. hopefully this will work better.


Can you get some photos before you take the 60#'ers back??


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

Is there any special way to figure out the length you need?


----------



## tlasseig (Feb 7, 2008)

OREGONCAMPIN said:


> Well i did the support rod lift for my front queen bed on the 23rs. my support rods are 60lb lifts and there way to strong it stays up all the time.it was real interesting trying to get the matress back on by myself while standing on the lid so it would stay down.now that would of made a good picture. anyway i,m on my way out to order some 30lb ones.










I would have paid money to see a video of that one....
sick around and you may see it--anyway, i insisted that the DH do this mod and so i tee-taa'ed on down and bought the shocks..now







you tell me they will be too strong?!?..quick get the camera's as this is going to be a hoot!! hehehehe
guess i outa tell him, huh....well, i DID have good intentions................
[/quote]


----------



## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

tlasseig said:


> I would have paid money to see a video of that one....
> sick around and you may see it--anyway, i insisted that the DH do this mod and so i tee-taa'ed on down and bought the shocks..now
> 
> 
> ...


Please don't tell him....


----------



## jtbmoore (Apr 29, 2008)

I got 60lb because they were out of 40lb. I have not installed them yet, I guess I better take them back and wait for the 40lbs to be in stock. Thanks for the heads up.


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Ummmm, I'm installing 80 pounders this weekend


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

California Jim said:


> Ummmm, I'm installing 80 pounders this weekend


Ask Martha to stand by with the video camera...we'll show it at the Dunes rally on Saturday night


----------



## Chasn'Racin (Mar 12, 2007)

California Jim said:


> Ummmm, I'm installing 80 pounders this weekend


80 pounders work for a Sydney queen bunk with a comfort topper. That is what I had to use.


----------



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

advancedtel said:


> Is there any special way to figure out the length you need?


Mine are19 3/4'' long which work fine with alot of guess work and even more trial and error.


----------



## jitch388 (Apr 19, 2008)

Well your humility is great info for me. I'm picking up a couple from camping world tomorrow...........Guess I'll get the 30 pounders huh? HAHAHAHA
Thanks


----------



## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

bcdude -

I did the 80# install on my 23RS queen bed lift and it works fine. My was 17.5 length. See pick below of install.


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

daslobo777 said:


> bcdude -
> 
> I did the 80# install on my 23RS queen bed lift and it works fine. My was 17.5 length. See pick below of install.


This is good news







I'll have a report next week as well.


----------



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

daslobo777 said:


> bcdude -
> 
> I did the 80# install on my 23RS queen bed lift and it works fine. My was 17.5 length. See pick below of install.


It was your pictures that got me doing this. i,m wondering if the extra length has anything to do with it. Of course i,m canadian maybe there 60 kg








i do have some pictures but i,m having troble posting them.


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

Has anyone done this on the 31RQS? It has the front part as storage and then the rear part is the access to the underneath storage. the reason I'm wondering is that the hinges are further back (about 2/3's from the foot to the head) which leaves a pretty large section to be lifted. Plus I have a memory foam mattress for the camper and it is alot heavier than the standard mattress. Was wondering if anyone had that setup and was capacity and length you used?


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

advancedtel said:


> Has anyone done this on the 31RQS? It has the front part as storage and then the rear part is the access to the underneath storage. the reason I'm wondering is that the hinges are further back (about 2/3's from the foot to the head) which leaves a pretty large section to be lifted. Plus I have a memory foam mattress for the camper and it is alot heavier than the standard mattress. Was wondering if anyone had that setup and was capacity and length you used?


Your bed is the same as our 28BHS's and several have already done it without trouble. We do have a fairly large section to lift and because of this 60# shocks are recommended if you are lifting the stock mattress, and 80# pounders are recommended if you have a memory foam topper as well.

Your results may vary


----------



## Chasn'Racin (Mar 12, 2007)

Remember to read the instructions for the supports. Most require them to be installed rod portion down. FYI


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Chasn said:


> Remember to read the instructions for the supports. Most require them to be installed rod portion down. FYI


Hmmm. Never thought of that. Thanks!


----------



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

Chasn said:


> Remember to read the instructions for the supports. Most require them to be installed rod portion down. FYI


Are you saying the ones in the pictures are upside down? that is how i installed them. instructions what instructions.


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

California Jim said:


> Has anyone done this on the 31RQS? It has the front part as storage and then the rear part is the access to the underneath storage. the reason I'm wondering is that the hinges are further back (about 2/3's from the foot to the head) which leaves a pretty large section to be lifted. Plus I have a memory foam mattress for the camper and it is alot heavier than the standard mattress. Was wondering if anyone had that setup and was capacity and length you used?


Your bed is the same as our 28BHS's and several have already done it without trouble. We do have a fairly large section to lift and because of this 60# shocks are recommended if you are lifting the stock mattress, and 80# pounders are recommended if you have a memory foam topper as well.

Your results may vary








[/quote]

I bought the 80 pounders at Camping World today. I started to get the 120's but decided that may be a little much. The mattress I have is not the topper - it is an actual 9" thick memory foam mattress - and its heavy! Thats the reason I was looking hard at the 120's but thought those might keep the bed in the air when I'm not in it - lol. Do you install one on each side of the bed or just 1 for the whole bed?


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Mine didnt come with any instructions. The ones on the cap of my truck are "upside" down too. I checked to see if they had an arrow or something saying "this side up" but didnt see any. They still work and the ones on my truck are 13 years old, they are weak now but still work. Im not sure it makes a big difference.


----------



## Chasn'Racin (Mar 12, 2007)

battalionchief3 said:


> Mine didnt come with any instructions. The ones on the cap of my truck are "upside" down too. I checked to see if they had an arrow or something saying "this side up" but didnt see any. They still work and the ones on my truck are 13 years old, they are weak now but still work. Im not sure it makes a big difference.


I'm not saying they won't work, mine on my camper top are the same way and I'm not changing them. However, when I bought the ones for my bed, they specifically said to mount them rod side down. I have heard that about many that people buy. The "instructions" were printed on the plastic sleeve they were shipped in. Just My $.02.
Ken


----------



## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

[/quote]
Do you install one on each side of the bed or just 1 for the whole bed?
[/quote]

You should install one on each side of the bed storage lid. Make sure that you know what the compressed length will be and that the rods will not bottom out when you attempt to close the lid. Also make sure you use all five fastener holes in each attachment bracket as the 80#'ers put a good force on the attachment hardware.

As with the up-side-down / right-side-up discussion, these are gas shocks and I do not belive the gas knows which way is up or down - should work equally fine in either mode.


----------



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Real Modders don t read instructions


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

I installed the 80#'ers today. There were no instructions but my old camper had them installed from the factory so I just installed them the same way. Looks like I need the 120's after all. The 80's won't quite hold up the storage door with the mattress. Its close but I still have to use a prop rod to hold it up. The mattress is really heavy!. It sure is easier to lift the lid and mattress now though.


----------



## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

advancedtel said:


> I installed the 80#'ers today. There were no instructions but my old camper had them installed from the factory so I just installed them the same way. Looks like I need the 120's after all. The 80's won't quite hold up the storage door with the mattress. Its close but I still have to use a prop rod to hold it up. The mattress is really heavy!. It sure is easier to lift the lid and mattress now though.


Be very careful with the 120's. The storage aluminum tubing structure may not handle that kind of load stress. Even with my 80's, I attached the gas prop attachment hardware to a 12" piece of 1/4" thick steel bar and then attached the steel bar in about 5 points to the aluminum tubing to distribute the stress. If you go this route checkout my pics earlier in this thread and you can see what I did.

Another idea is to look and the attachment/movement angles of the gas props - by moving your attachments points around you may get enough lift force to do the job with your current hardware - can you send pics??


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

daslobo777 said:


> I installed the 80#'ers today. There were no instructions but my old camper had them installed from the factory so I just installed them the same way. Looks like I need the 120's after all. The 80's won't quite hold up the storage door with the mattress. Its close but I still have to use a prop rod to hold it up. The mattress is really heavy!. It sure is easier to lift the lid and mattress now though.


Be very careful with the 120's. The storage aluminum tubing structure may not handle that kind of load stress. Even with my 80's, I attached the gas prop attachment hardware to a 12" piece of 1/4" thick steel bar and then attached the steel bar in about 5 points to the aluminum tubing to distribute the stress. If you go this route checkout my pics earlier in this thread and you can see what I did.

Another idea is to look and the attachment/movement angles of the gas props - by moving your attachments points around you may get enough lift force to do the job with your current hardware - can you send pics??
[/quote]

Thanks, that is good to know.


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

I installed my 80 pounders today too. They lift the bed & memory foam topper easily, and are PLENTY to do the job. Actually I will still need to reinforce the hinge side with an extra hinge at each corner to help carry the strees. 60's probably would have worked too.

This mod is soooooo long overdue that the wife will likely cry when she sees it tomorrow


----------



## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

_"Another idea is to look and the attachment/movement angles of the gas props - by moving your attachments points around you may get enough lift force to do the job with your current hardware - can you send pics??"_

advancedtel -

To expand on my previous post (noted above) you may want to try this with your 80#'s:

1) Move the storage structure attachment point down by 2-3 inches from the top,
2) Move the lid attachment hardware a far as you can toward the front of the lid

This will give you the best moment arm and the greatest lift on the lid. *Note that you need to know the compressed length of the gas prop before you do this. In the 'closed' state, the gas prop should be about 1/2" longer than the fully compressed state.*

Good luck.


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

California Jim said:


> I installed my 80 pounders today too. They lift the bed & memory foam topper easily, and are PLENTY to do the job. Actually I will still need to reinforce the hinge side with an extra hinge at each corner to help carry the strees. 60's probably would have worked too.
> 
> This mod is soooooo long overdue that the wife will likely cry when she sees it tomorrow


Jim - I don't have the topper. Mine is the full 9" thick memory foam mattress. It is very heavy and the storage door hinges are located so you are lifting about 2/3's of the full bed so you can access the storage and also the underbeath storage. The 80's make the load lighter but are still not strong enough to hold it up


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

daslobo777 said:


> _"Another idea is to look and the attachment/movement angles of the gas props - by moving your attachments points around you may get enough lift force to do the job with your current hardware - can you send pics??"_
> 
> advancedtel -
> 
> ...


Still trying to figure out the picture and the link features - lol. The compressed length is 11.8 inches and fully extended are 20 inches. I attached the bracket to the aluminum frame under the bed and placed it pretty close to the head of the bed end of the frame. The part that attaches to the top wooded part is placed back toward the foot of the bed as far as I could get it. This is the way the factory installed ones are done on my other camper, so I did this one the same way.


----------



## Empty_Nesters (May 15, 2008)

Now thats funny right there, I don't care who you are!!!!


----------



## jtbmoore (Apr 29, 2008)

Finally did this mod. 60lb on each side, works like a champ. It was a little hard to install but that is probably because I did not take the mattress off. I used 2x4 do hold the bed up while I worked, once I got the first one on it was a little easier. 60lb works great for me, the bed will stay open while we put stuff in or take stuff out. I am really suprised Keystone does not do this mod at the factory. My parents have a Jayco and the struts were already installed.


----------



## Cari (Jun 23, 2007)

Where can I find these? They aren't coming up when I search at camping world


----------



## fspieg (Jul 31, 2006)

Chasn said:


> Ummmm, I'm installing 80 pounders this weekend


80 pounders work for a Sydney queen bunk with a comfort topper. That is what I had to use.
[/quote]

Same trailer and also used 80#. Barely enough with a 3 inch topper.


----------



## advancedtel (May 7, 2008)

I had to use the 120 lb struts for my queen memory foam mattress an they are just barely enough. If I hold up the bed for about 30 secs it will stay. If I just lift it up and turn loose it won't stay. I guess holding it up allows the struts to fully extend which is just barely enough


----------



## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

What length and pound should be used on the 23RS queen bed? Has anyone done this? Any pics?
We dont want to end up with our feet up in the air.









Thanks
Brian


----------



## Cari (Jun 23, 2007)

I assume these because this is all that Camping World has for sale

Gas Prop (60 Force lb, extended 18", compressed 10.8")
Gas Prop (80 Force lb, extended 20", compressed 11.8")

I'm buying the 60 force lb, I do have a memory foam topper but I think 60 lbs will suffice...fingers crossed

*edit*
I just read the description on these, the mounting brackets are sold seperately...where/what should I get for those? I'm sorry, I'm just really not handy and neither is my dh, we need very specific instructions or we'll have a big disaster.


----------



## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Cari said:


> I assume these because this is all that Camping World has for sale
> 
> Gas Prop (60 Force lb, extended 18", compressed 10.8")
> Gas Prop (80 Force lb, extended 20", compressed 11.8")
> ...


Cari

Thanks for your reply

I did read in a tread that the 60-80's will be to strong if you have a 23 rs. Your feet might be in the air.

There are pics of different ways to mount these. I am hoping someone with a 23rs has done this mod and could recommend the proper #'s and length

Brian


----------



## hazmat456 (Jul 26, 2007)

use this method to figure out lift supports click here you can get the weight buy closing the lid on a bathroom scale.


----------



## rubenhank (Jun 30, 2008)

hazmat456 said:


> use this method to figure out lift supports click here you can get the weight buy closing the lid on a bathroom scale.


Fantastic link! I get it!

I will definitly go with stronger struts to get shorter ones that will be more out of the way... Thanks!


----------



## 153Syr (May 9, 2007)

I bought a pair of 15 inch 24-lb struts off eBay but found they won't keep the bed up. The length is ok, and they do help lift, but that's all. Sounds like 40-lb is about right. Can't get the seller to reply, even tho he has 40s listed. Was hoping to swap. Oh well...


----------



## MiamiFamily4 (Sep 3, 2007)

Where can we get the mounting brackets?


----------



## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

I got mine from Camping World. In fact I made an error and ordered 1 set to many. Oh well, to small of an item to try and ship back. I figure my refund would cover the shipping. Sounds like a no win thing so I'll have to hang on to them.

Brian


----------

