Entry Door Swing Arm or Gas Strut

[moisheh]

I sure wouldn't put that gas strut on the outside of our unit. Looks like an afterthought. When I was @ Monaco this fall they were still installing the same old ill designed swing arm on all the DP's.

[sgtfn2]

Years ago i replaced the swing arm on my ambassador with the country coach brackets that bolt through the the wall and door #15068 and the 20# strut #09294. It has worked perfect for 8 years so far. This is not a cheap fix, but it is a great answer.

[James Wehren]

I have a 99 Windsor with the swing arm door. Take the arm off, take a punch and punch the heck out of the rivet on the top, turn it over, punch the rivet on the bottom until the arms are real tight when they swing. If they're not real tight, punch them again. I have two of those swing arms. When the rivets get bad, take them down to a machine shop and have them replace the rivets. I would advise you to use stainless steel rivets on the door if they have to be drilled out. Aluminum will work. Its very inexpensive. I don't know what Monaco wants for the arms any more but the last time I bought one it was $65. The way to tighten them is just to punch the rivets. Saves a lot of time and money. Try it and see if works for you. Hope this helps. Good luck. Let me know if it works for you. Jim

[slickest1]

You may laugh, but I drilled out the rivet in mine with a 1/4 in drill, and used a stainless steel 1/4 inch bolt and nut. I tightened it up and ground down the bolt head and the nut so they clear when you close the door and so far it works like a champ. I also ground the nut so it can't back off. I think the rivets are just to weak to last.

[drnitrous]

I did something similar to slickest1, I used a stainless buttonhead fastener you can get at Ace Hardware or any number of places. The buttonhead has the same angle as the rivet on the top. I then cut the fastener flush on the bottom side and TIG welded it in with stainless rod, then ground the top of the fastener flush with the bracket which allows it to swivel freely. A permanent solution, I realize not everyone has a TIG welder, but you should be able to get any welder to do it for you especially if you used a black oxide type bolt and a MIG welder. Good luck!