yup... with 240 lbs strut on one side and 140 lbs on the other side I can
*barely* able to pull the hatch down...
btw I heard that they make even stronger hatch struts but I don't know who
make them because I am not interested.
it would be nice if someone design hatch struts that can be adjusted on the
fly...
:-)

On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 9:31 AM Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:

> I’ll chime in. While I haven’t tried my hatch with the new 250 lbs struts
> on, and the spare tire off, I can tell you about how it feels on my friends
> van who has a pair of German sourced struts, 1250N force ( yeah Newtons for
> the SI win).
>
> Without any load on the hatch, opening is ok until the hatch is about 45
> degrees or so from vertical then the added strut force is strong. It
> doesn’t fly up and give you an uppercut, but it’s a force.
>
> Closing the unladen hatch is difficult for him. He’s a lightweight at only
> around 160 lbs.
>
> I’d say having the 240-250lbs struts, a pair, on an unladen hatch is not a
> workable day to day set up. Would be cool to have variable force struts,
> but that ain’t gonna happen easily. It’s not to much of a chore to swap in
> the stock struts when needed.
>
> As for additional wear and tear on the hinges and strut mounts, well we
> haven’t seen any on his van and he has been running those struts for four
> or five years.
>
> Oh and the mcmaster Carr sourced struts I bought, hardware purchased at
> same time ( part numbers in original post), the ball socket and the eyelet
> are stouter than the stock strut versions.
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Alistair
>
>
> > On Jun 23, 2019, at 8:52 AM, Dan N <dn92610@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > also... they very heavy... without anything on the hatch, I have hard
> time
> > to pull it down... I have to back down using one 240 lbs and one regular
> > 140 lbs
> >
> >> On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 8:49 AM Dan N <dn92610@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Steve,
> >>
> >> it's 240 lbs. each
> >>
> >> On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 8:10 AM Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Also waiting for the answer. My hatch stays up with the Saris Bones
> rack
> >>> on it but not if there's a bike on that rack. I currently have two of
> the
> >>> "strong" BD struts on it but they're more than a decade old.
> >>>
> >>> Stephen
> >>>
> >>> Mobile
> >>>
> >>>> On Jun 23, 2019, at 10:27 AM, Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> This is useful info!  Questions:
> >>>>
> >>>> Regarding the 240-pound struts you mention, is that 240 pounds each,
> or
> >>>> 240 pounds total for the pair?  I wouldn't want one stock strut and
> one
> >>>> strong strut.
> >>>>
> >>>> I rarely have two or three bikes on the hatch.  Most of the time, I
> have
> >>>> no bikes.  Often, I have one bike.  The bikes weigh, oh, 20-40 pounds
> >>>> each.  I have the stronger GoWesty struts, which holds the hatch open
> >>>> with just the rack, but I can't easily open the hatch or expect it to
> >>>> stay open with a bike on the rack.
> >>>>
> >>>> So, when I open the hatch with no bikes, will these struts throw the
> >>>> hatch into orbit?
> >>>>
> >>>> With no bikes, is it hard to close?
> >>>>
> >>>> Fully loaded, the bolt fitting and the ball fitting handle a lot of
> >>>> force.  Are they up to it?  Are they heavier than the stock struts?
> >>>>
> >>>>> On 6/22/2019 10:31 AM, Dan N wrote:
> >>>>> FYI... I use LiftSupport Depot.com
> >>>>> on this link, #3 at bottom of the page, they add 100 lbs (sku
> PM3645W)
> >>> -
> >>>>> meaning on top of the regular ones (140 lbs) you will have a 240 lbs
> >>>>> struts, complete ready to install. I am very happy with it.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>
> https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/year-model-search/?#?Customfieldincludeinmmtysearch=Yes&Year=1989&Make=VOLKSWAGEN&Model=VANAGON&Trim=SYNCRO%20STANDARD%20PASSENGER%20VAN%203-DOOR
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 12:42 PM Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>>>>> I finally installed a pair of 250lb struts on my van back hatch.
> I’ve
> >>>>>>> installed similar on a couple of other vans, but never did get
> >>> around to
> >>>>>>> doing mine.
> >>>
> >>
>
>