I found it increasingly difficult to lift the drop-down bed in my Hymer motorhome. When traveling, we store two Lafuma chairs and a small table on the bed, which adds considerable weight. It was time to replace the gas struts.
Text and photos: Rob Zeijen, October 2020
With help from instructions found on a German forum, I replaced the gas struts for the bed. Here is a clear, step-by-step guide.
1.
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Lower the bed completely and remove the mattress.
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The bed base is only a thin piece of plywood, with a hole made for ventilation under the mattress.
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Place a sturdy piece of plywood on top of the bed base before climbing onto it.
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Remove the side curtains:
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Unscrew them at the bottom (note how the front attachment is fixed at the top).
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Slide the curtain out of the rail at the top.
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2.
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With the bed down and curtains removed, the rear attachment points of the gas struts become visible.
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Remove the split pin and washer from the struts on both sides.
Right-hand side lift mechanism
3.
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The trick: push the bed all the way up—use your shoulder or head if needed—and support it in the highest position using a prop.
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Use an extra board to distribute the force, and a wedge or similar to lift the last bit if needed. I used a simple adjustable support.
Sliding the rear attachment of the gas strut off on the right side
4.
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With the bed fully raised, the gas strut is now visible and can be removed.
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Push the rear part of the bed up (easy with the mattress removed).
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The gas strut is now not under tension (bed is at maximum height). You can easily slide the rear end of the strut off the mounting pin (the split pin should already be removed).
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I used a bent-nose pliers as a small lever to slide the strut off the rear mounting point.
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Repeat for the left strut.
5.
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Lower the bed about one-third of the way.
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For support, place two seat backs upright and put a board on them to spread the force, then climb onto the bed.
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The front pivot point of the strut is now visible. Remove the split pin and washer, and pull the strut off completely.
Note: This only works in this position. If the bed is too far down, there’s not enough space between the mounting bolt and the sidewall bracket to remove the strut.
6.
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Both gas struts are now removed.
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Check the dimensions of the new struts against the old ones.
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If everything matches, you can start installation.
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Attach the new gas strut—after greasing the eye—to the frame, secure with washer and split pin (split pin: 30 mm long, 3.5 mm diameter).
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For my new struts, it was easiest to first attach the threaded eye to the bed frame and secure it with the split pin, then screw the strut onto the eye. The front is now done!
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Raise the bed again. Lift the rear of the bed and slide the strut onto the rear bolt.
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If your new strut is slightly shorter than the original, you may need to adjust the bed height in the raised position to align the eye with the mounting point. This can be awkward and is the most difficult bit - you have to really push the bed up.
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Lower the bed, attach the washer and split pin to the rear bolt with the new strut (now under tension). Done!
: Removing and refitting both struts takes about 1 hour. It is doable for one person.
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Eye: 10 mm on both ends
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Total extended length: 380 mm (slightly shorter is okay, longer is not)
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Stroke: 100 mm
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I used 1700 N instead of the original 1300 N
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If you are replacing the struts yourself, carefully measure all dimensions in your situation: length and eye diameter. If you have time, dismantle, measure, order, and install the following week.
Online tools for gas struts are often very technical. You can also call and specify that you need gas struts for a drop-down bed in an older Hymer.
SUPPLIERS
In EU
https://www.hinscha.com/en/p/gas-spring-stabilus-3571iy-1700n-eyes-o10-lift-bed-hymer
In UK SGS
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/nl5008-motorhome-bed-gas-strut
Good luck!
This translation and rewrite provide a clear, step-by-step guide to replacing gas struts on a Hymer drop-down bed, along with the extracted photo captions for reference.
