>> From vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu  Wed Oct 25 17:05:51 1995
>>
>> Or you can drill through the cylinder and plunger (with plunger extended)
>> and use a cotter pin or the like to secure the hatch. Beats buying those
>> doohickeys all the time.
>
>        have you done this or know someone who has such that you
>know it's a reliable solution? The door on a Westy is quite heavy
>and I'm wondering if the holes won't weaken the cylinders too
>much..
>
I haven't done this yet because my struts still work, but when I was
shopping for a Vanagon I saw one with this modification. The owner said
that it worked great. He had them both drilled, but only used the pin in
one of them when he showed it to me. He had the pin tied to the strut so
that it was easily available. The hole was about 1/8".

-Mark McCulley