Hymer drop down bed

[Figaro]

A nut has come off the bed mechanism and I'm finding it difficult to align things to get it back on.
The gas strut seems to be working against me.
Any ideas on how to fix this please.
Needless to say access is very restricted.
TIA
Chris

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Take the gas strut off from the other end closest to you. Fit the rear end with the bolt and nut. You will then be able to compress the gas strut to fit onto the lug nearest to you then. Its a bit fiddly but it can be done quite easily

Kev

 

[Figaro]

Is the strut easy to compress, is it likely to be under pressure and spring open when unfastened ?
Thanks for your help

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

I would not undo the gas strut, they are high pressure 2200nm. This is why you cant line up the bolt. The gas strut would need to be undone in the fully extended position otherwise it could be very dangerous.
I believe you have to have the bed in the closed up position for this to be the case and would probably be true for replacing the bolt with the least pressure on the joint.
Getting at it will be the biggest problem.

 

[CazPaul]

I would not undo the gas strut, they are high pressure 2200nm. This is why you cant line up the bolt. The gas strut would need to be undone in the fully extended position otherwise it could be very dangerous.
I believe you have to have the bed in the closed up position for this to be the case and would probably be true for replacing the bolt with the least pressure on the joint.
Getting at it will be the biggest problem.

Yes I agree, bed fully pushed up and supported if taking a gas strut off, if not your windscreen could be a gonner

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[tonyidle]

Gas strut is impossible to compress by hand. Remove all bedding and curtains. Push bed up fully then further using a jack & length of wood from the floor. Use a spreader and cloth padding so you don't damage the underside. Attempting to replace the bolt without doing all of the above will not be possible - especially if you want to avoid cross-threading it. In this position the gas strut is not under load and can, if necessary, be removed /replaced.

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Looking at the picture it shows the gas strut open at full length? If so ..The strut can be taken off and with huge respect to those of you who have said it cannot be done....It can with ease. We had to fit these things regularly on rather large engine doors for generating sets on ships for caterpillar . The doors they were lifting were a tad heavier than your average bed frame on an A class trust me.
And to those of you who have stated that you cannot compress one? It is all dependant on its capacity and its size. If its fully gas filled and none assisted without the built in recoil spring..yes you can. If its the type with the spring..then it can be a bugger but....it can be done.
I am using personal experience and I am only saying what it is that we have had to do and what we have sorted out .
Personal opinion but a tried and tested one frequently.

Kev

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

Looking at the picture it shows the gas strut open at full length? If so ..The strut can be taken off and with huge respect to those of you who have said it cannot be done....It can with ease. We had to fit these things regularly on rather large engine doors for generating sets on ships for caterpillar . The doors they were lifting were a tad heavier than your average bed frame on an A class trust me.
And to those of you who have stated that you cannot compress one? It is all dependant on its capacity and its size. If its fully gas filled and none assisted without the built in recoil spring..yes you can. If its the type with the spring..then it can be a bugger but....it can be done.
I am using personal experience and I am only saying what it is that we have had to do and what we have sorted out .
Personal opinion but a tried and tested one frequently.

Kev

Personally, I think the strut shaft is just longer than the pressure chamber so IMO it is probably not fully extended, certainly according to the position of the drop down bed. I would proceed with caution.

 

[Figaro]

Push bed up fully then further using a jack & length of wood from the floor. Use a spreader and cloth padding so you don't damage the underside.

Thanks, should doing that line up the two holes to insert the bolt into ?
I guess access is from the underside of the bed, working blind reaching between bed and side window ?
Oh the joys of owning a motorhome

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

Working blind whilst lying on the dashboard most probably, sounds like fun. ?
Best to make sure that the nut you use is a Nylock nut. It strikes me that if the nut came off in the first place, it probably wasn't a Nylock one.

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[Capitanjohn]

my german neighbour had the same problem and it took three of us to align the bolt.

 

[Neil Bedwin]

Can you get a ratchet strap around the gas strut? Use it to compress the strut enough to get the bolt in.

 

[tonyidle]

The safe way is the way I suggested. Despite other opinions the gas strut cannot be compressed BY HAND. The weight of the bed that the gas strut is supporting is not what determines the pressure required - it is the bed weight multiplied by the lever ratio of the lifting mechanism. Obvious when you note how far the bed moves from down to up then look at gas strut travel. It is only fully extended, with no weight on its mounting bolts, once the bed is above it's normal parked position - the weight of the bed in its normal up position is being taken by the struts so whilst they might be fully extended the fasteners cannot be undone. Please do not try a short-cut method: the weight involved and the pressure exerted by the strut, and the position you need to adopt to solve the problem, will cause either trapped fingers, a nasty blow on the head, or at best a twisted bed frame. If you jack it up and support it you can decide at leisure how to proceed. Raised the small amount necessary will take all weight off the lift arms and their fasteners so you can check all of them for tightness.

 

[Figaro]

The safe way is the way I suggested. Despite other opinions the gas strut cannot be compressed BY HAND. The weight of the bed that the gas strut is supporting is not what determines the pressure required - it is the bed weight multiplied by the lever ratio of the lifting mechanism. Obvious when you note how far the bed moves from down to up then look at gas strut travel. It is only fully extended, with no weight on its mounting bolts, once the bed is above it's normal parked position - the weight of the bed in its normal up position is being taken by the struts so whilst they might be fully extended the fasteners cannot be undone. Please do not try a short-cut method: the weight involved and the pressure exerted by the strut, and the position you need to adopt to solve the problem, will cause either trapped fingers, a nasty blow on the head, or at best a twisted bed frame. If you jack it up and support it you can decide at leisure how to proceed. Raised the small amount necessary will take all weight off the lift arms and their fasteners so you can check all of them for tightness.

Thanks for your input. I spent much of he afternoon lying across the dashboard, I lifted and propped the bed up as much as I could but this still left the the two holes out of allignment.
No amount of effort seems to align them sufficiently.
My last hope is tomorrow I will try and drop the bed a little, climb up and try and compress the strut with a ratchet strap, then push it back up and see where it is then from below.
Failing that I`ll have to remove the strut, do you think a ratchet strap will be man enough to compress the strut ?
TIA

 

[DavidG58]

No chance of compressing the gas strut in situ

I think you will have to remove the gas strut then do bolt then reattach gas strut ?

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[Figaro]

No chance of compressing the gas strut in situ

I think you will have to remove the gas strut then do bolt then reattach gas strut ?

Would I not still need to compress the strut once it was off, so I could re-attach it ?

 

[Stanbrook]

To remove strut, bed will have to be fully UP.. (gas struts then fully extended.. ie not compressed)

remove mattress to get the base to max height.. then prop up base with a piece of timber..

the struts should now be fully extended, ie no pressure on them, and easy to remove ..they should feel slack on the bolts.

remove bolt for strut closest to windscreen first .. the rear bolt..

replace in reverse order

Good luck

 

[Andy1954]

Gas strut is impossible to compress by hand. Remove all bedding and curtains. Push bed up fully then further using a jack & length of wood from the floor. Use a spreader and cloth padding so you don't damage the underside. Attempting to replace the bolt without doing all of the above will not be possible - especially if you want to avoid cross-threading it. In this position the gas strut is not under load and can, if necessary, be removed /replaced.

That’s similar to how we did ours, it took 2 of us we used a piece of 17mm threaded bar eventually managed to get into place, put a nut on back, then put nut on front, added a second nut to tighten.

The threaded bar we used was about 300mm which allowed us to use it as a leaver as well as the bolt, once in place and fixed we cut of the surplus.
Good luck

 

[Figaro]

To remove strut, bed will have to be fully UP.. (gas struts then fully extended.. ie not compressed)

remove mattress to get the base to max height.. then prop up base with a piece of timber..

the struts should now be fully extended, ie no pressure on them, and easy to remove ..they should feel slack on the bolts.

remove bolt for strut closest to windscreen first .. the rear bolt..

replace in reverse order

Why would I need to remove the rear bolt on the strut ?
If I remove the one near the windscreen, won`t that alow me to put the bolt in then reattach the strut ?
Or am I missunderstanding ?

That’s similar to how we did ours, it took 2 of us we used a piece of 17mm threaded bar eventually managed to get into place, put a nut on back, then put nut on front, added a second nut to tighten.

The threaded bar we used was about 300mm which allowed us to use it as a leaver as well as the bolt, once in place and fixed we cut of the surplus.

Was that with strut disconnected ?

 

[Andy1954]

No we did not consider doing that, years ago I worked in the coach building industry and know how awkward they can be to get back in place

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[Manic]

I would remove the star lock washer or other type fixing from both ends, lift bed up and suppor and then remove the strut end furthest from the windscreen and then lower bed.

 

[Andy1954]

Did you manage to sort it ?

 

[rrowe]

Having just replaced the gas struts on our Hymer Starline may I add a few tips and tricks?
Tools required:
Lightweight friend with strong hands and mechanical ability
Hydraulic bottle jack, wooden blocks and padding
Step for larger person to stand on in order to raise the bed on shoulders when small friend in inside the bed
Method
Remove bedding and place a sheet of ply on the slats for friend to lie on
Raise bed to 7/8 up position, held by the retaining strap and buckle at max length, see pic but bedding in place here
Insert friend, tests have shown that the strap takes the weight
Raise bed a far as possible and tighten the strap
This is not enough to extend the gas strut fully so that it can be removed so now apply a padded jack to the front of the bed first having made a wooden wedge to fit between the plastic below the bed and the steel structure at the windscreen end of the bed,
See pic: red X marks the wooden wedge, S steel frame, P plastic sheet, M mirror support
Raising the jack slightly raises the front of the bed and makes a firm fulcrum so that the last final adjustments can be made by the larger person pushing up fractionally at the rear of the bed instructed by the small friend in the bed who is feeling for the exact position when the strut is not pushing or pulling
This system reduces arguments and preserves fingers but it is best if the small friend is a potholer, caver or has recently had an MRI scan

 

[hymersRbest]

Good work, do you hire out the small lightweight squishable friend?

 

[BusyBuilder]

These fittings should be checked annually for correct torque or at least being tight. This happened to me whilst driving and the bed dropped on my head, luckily I was already in a carpark at the time.
It took two of us to replace the bolt in the carpark, which I later totally replaced at home. The Nyloc nuts were replaced and new bolts were ordered from Hymer.
After this, I now check the whole lot once a year.

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[Figaro]

I hadn't realised I'd never updated this thread.
To get the bolt holes at the front of the bed aligned, I removed the gas strut completely.
This allowed for alignment with some manipulation and effort.
At this stage the gas strut was about 10mm too long to get back on the fixings
I tried compressing it with a ratchet strap but it didn't work, the strap too bulky and ended up obscuring the holes needed to go on the fixing studs. After further research, I found a funster who'd compressed the strut with large jubilee clips. I found I needed to join two together but it worked well to compress by the 10mm needed. This allowed me to slip the gas strut back into place, fix and the job was done.
Not a job I'd like to do again

Edit : good point about checking tightness of nuts, I'll do mine annually now too. Much better than trying to fix if the bolt falls out

 

[hymersRbest]

I am looking for a Hymer drop down bed assembly.

Will the bolt holes be on the van ?
I am hoping to swop someone for our front cupboard array.

 

[Figaro]

I am looking for a Hymer drop down bed assembly.

Will the bolt holes be on the van ?
I am hoping to swop someone for our front cupboard array.

That's a heck of an undertaking
In the factory I think the drop-down bed is installed and the walls and roof added afterwards.
Others may be able to confirm that ?
That's if you can find someone wanting to get rid of theirs.
It might be more straight forward to change you van ?
In answer to your question, the frame the bed fixes to is almost certainly there on yours even though you don't have the bed. I think the seat belts fix to the same frame structure.

 

[BusyBuilder]

I am looking for a Hymer drop down bed assembly.

Will the bolt holes be on the van ?
I am hoping to swop someone for our front cupboard array.

Think thats going to be some job, the beds/supports frames do differ so you'll be very lucky to find someone with exactly the right kit.