I bought a set of replacement struts from Ron Salmon at Bus Depot back
in 1998. They still work. I did find they were much more stout that the
factory units. Once you got over center when raising the hatch, if you
wern't careful you would be lifted off the ground!! Very Stout indeed.
Over time they mellowed out and have served well since. I was told by
someone - Maybe Ron himself, that I should/could use one old strut with
one new strut and have just the right lifting and holding power. Never
did, but as strong as these new ones were, it sounded feasible.

You can also cut a piece of plastic pipe to length, cut a slot in it to
fit over the rod on the strut, and it will hold the hatch up just fine.
Just don't forget to remove it when you are done.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88GL Driver

Michael Elliott wrote:
> Bent it like a plastic drinking straw.
>
> The driveway is sloped so I have blocks under Mellow Yellow's tail end
> to roughly level the van. Prior to blowing the driveway with the leaf
> blower, I go to close all the doors and windows. The rear hatch is open,
> and out of reach. I'm not real tall. So I grab the lowest part I can
> reach, which is the skinny part of a strut. What can I say? All I can
> say it that it seemed like a good idea at the time. I pulled down a bit
> and the metal rod bent like a Viagra-free organ. I stood there thinking:
>
> 1. Golly -- I hardly pulled on it . . . that thing must be made of
> pretty soft stuff!, and
> 2. There are none of these in town and we're going camping on Tuesday. I
> better fix this or I'll be hoisting the hatch up with all my might and
> propping it open with a stick.
> 3. I have the brain of a peanut.
>
> I roughly straightened it out . . . seems to be working.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> KG6RCR
>
>