Thor ACE Awning Gas Strut - bent

[sanfordturbo]

While retracting my awning, one of the gas struts that keeps tension on the awning bent. I'm having trouble finding a replacement.

The black tube that houses the strut when retracted measures around 18 inches. Extended it is close to 36".

Does anyone know of a good "upgrade" strut and the link online?

I'll even settle for the same original part if I have to. Of course, I would replace the pair.

I'll keep hunting online, but I'm sure other ACE owners have had this issue already.

[Harlee79]

Sorry I can't help with the replacement. I did notice mine bending some when I was retracting and I stopped. Both were rusty so I hit it with wd40 and no more bending. Just glad I caught mine as it was very close to breaking.

[sanfordturbo]

I looked and looked, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION printed / stamped onto either gas shock/strut. Since the one I removed was so badly bent, I was unable to get it to fully extend.

I ended up getting the dremel and cutting slots to relieve the grip on the shaft. Watch out for escaping gas and oil. (volcano effect)





Once the gas and oil was drained, i was able to fully extend the strut. From "eye to eye" the strut is 36" exactly. 10mm shaft and 20mm housing.

I do not know how many pounds of force these things are rated at. The only thing I can come up with is to remove the other strut and attach a luggage scale on one of the eyes and pull to extend the strut. Ugh.

These things are a pain to find online. I'll keep searching and post any results. Someone has replaced them successfully on this board. (I hope)

[BarryG20]

I recently had an issue on my Jayco unit gas strut on the bed lift. The manufacturer and part number are on it. However obviously not the same part as for your awning but here is a link to their website they have quite a variety
LaVanture Products - Gas Springs & Accessories it may or may not be of help to you.

[sanfordturbo]

I opened up the awning and looked for any signs of who built this awning. Lord knows Thor didn't build it.




So I went to the Carefree of Colorado site and found more confusion.

SERIAL NUMBER :
2101800367 PART NUMBER : 14145858 MANUFACTURE DATE : 08/22/11 DESCRIPTION : SPRGLS RLR-VL,14'B/GR,B/G,UNTB

Their online parts page allowed me to search for Serial Number and it gave me a wacky description.

Springless Patio Awning Roller, ONE-Touch, Eclipse, Travel'r, Pioneer, Pioneer Lite


That pretty much covers all of their models. Even with a Serial and Part number, the website doesn't tell me which model it is.

[sanfordturbo]

I received a response from the awning manufacturer. Even with model and serial numbers, he could not tell me which part numbers were needed until i could identify the ARMS used on the ACE.



According to the picture above (which the tech support dude sent me), I have the Steep Pitch Travel'r arms. I will post part numbers for the replacement struts when I get them from tech support.

It seems that each time something breaks on the ACE, it is a nightmare to figure out how to fix it myself. Makes me wonder if the $500,000 rigs are this much of a pain.

[sanfordturbo]

R001331 Travel'r - Gas Shock
Version: 37" length (clevis to clevis) - Steep Pitch
$29.38 x2 = $58.76

R001576 Travel'r - Shock Hardware Kit
$2.38 x2 = $4.76

Sub Total:
$63.52

Freight (Ground):
$30.00

Tax:
$0.00

Grand Total:
$93.52


The shipping is ridiculous. It better come with 5 lbs of bubble wrap around the struts.