I was getting beaten to death by a lange cargo door that I have next to my stairwell everytime there's a little bit of a breeze so I wanted to do something to replace the OE lift spring.
I called Garry Neff at Hatchlift and explained what I was trying to do. He had me measure the springs and gave me a quote. A few days later, 2 new springs showed up in a green Hatchlift.com box.
Using a flat blade screwdriver, the old springs were popped off. The springs are attached to the door and sub floor of the rig via a steel ball. After some 9 years, the lower ball appeared to have taken the brunt of draining water and it was rusted.
At this point before the new lift spring are installed, the ball needs to be polished. I thought I had some sand paper aboard however I must have off loaded the storage box that the sand paper was in.
Needing sand paper I went to visit Brent here at the Carolina Camper's campout. Brent said that he had Emery tape and I said that will work! Brent got into the cargo hold of his fifth wheel and came up with a roll and I tore off a short piece.
Once the ball was sanded as smooth as possible, Lyle David provided some silicone grease which is designed for high moisture locations. The socket on the piston was filled with grease and the spring was pushed on over the ball. The cylinder goes up and the piston rod points down.
Looking at the old piston, it was apparent that it had been leaking since the seal area between the piston and the cartridge displayed a coating of oily dirt on the end of the spring cartridge.
With the new spring installed, the door is under a lot more control by the new piston and all is well.
Thanks Hatchlift!
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