20' Series 20Ft bunk window struts

[Andrewm02]

Has anyone had problems with the small struts that hold the bunk windows open on the 20 or 21 foot van? All 4 on ours are buggered and van is out of warranty.

Quoted $65 each for new ones. I reckon I could just about get a whole new window for that.

 

[Kevin]

All 6 of ours are stuffed. Awaiting service to get fixed. Our are just out of warranty. We'll see what they come up with. Are they trying to charge $65 per strut? Ours jamed open and had to be unscrewed to close. Same with yours?

 

[Smirke]

Yes. We have one in the bottom bunk that jams open. (Our van is new, and it did it the first time we opened it). They seem flimsy, and I don't like them. (They are nothing like the other windows). I had to hold the crappy one and 'assist it' in closing. Our van is going in for a first service next Tuesday,so I'll let you know how it all goes.

 

[Andrewm02]

All 6 of ours are stuffed. Awaiting service to get fixed. Our are just out of warranty. We'll see what they come up with. Are they trying to charge $65 per strut? Ours jamed open and had to be unscrewed to close. Same with yours?

Yep @Kevin, $ 65 per strut.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Ours don't work all that well, usually we have trouble getting them to click into open position.

Pretty crap design

 

[skippy]

I had my 4 struts replaced under warranty twice. On the third set I pulled them apart and added silicone grease to the ball bearing/spring and the plastic strut rods, now they work better than new.

Quite easy to do.
Undo the screw that holds the strut to the window frame and then unclip strut from the window.
Then take the strut off and place on a table to work on.
Then pull the metal clip off (in the shape of a U) that retains the spring, pull the spring and ball bearing out then apply a light application of silicone grease to the strut, rod, spring and ball bearing.
Reassembled and enjoy a smooth sliding strut as it should have been from Dometic!

See below grease that we used>>>
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/120...2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107&chn=ps

Hope this helps:encouragement:

 

[Melon2155]

We have had same issue. Similar fix , although mine was probably not as permanant a fix as @skippy , but i sprayed some silicone spray onto the sliding strut which helped out for quite a while . I did notice them on our last trip getting a bit sticky again , so might try skips option.

 

[Smirke]

Ours don't work all that well, usually we have trouble getting them to click into open position.

Pretty crap design

Does that mean yours open up in the same manner as the rest of the windows? Our need to be pushed hard to open then they seem to stop in a certain spot, you then push hard again and they stop fully open. I'd prefer they opened like the other ones did.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Does that mean yours open up in the same manner as the rest of the windows? Our need to be pushed hard to open then they seem to stop in a certain spot, you then push hard again and they stop fully open. I'd prefer they opened like the other ones did.

I was almost certain they operated the same, but now reading these posts I'm going to go and check the bunk windows to double check.

 

[skippy]

We have had same issue. Similar fix , although mine was probably not as permanant a fix as @skippy , but i sprayed some silicone spray onto the sliding strut which helped out for quite a while . I did notice them on our last trip getting a bit sticky again , so might try skips option.

Yeh.... I tried the same quick fix as you @Melon2155 with the same outcome. I then had a brain wave and thought I would try the silicone grease and its been great so far, just over a year and still sliding like new.

 

[skippy]

Ours don't work all that well, usually we have trouble getting them to click into open position.

Pretty crap design

Try taking the struts off @Bellbirdweb and greasing them up and if the strut rod is not damaged then I would assume after a grease up they will work fine.

 

[skippy]

Does that mean yours open up in the same manner as the rest of the windows? Our need to be pushed hard to open then they seem to stop in a certain spot, you then push hard again and they stop fully open. I'd prefer they opened like the other ones did.

@Smirke I was like you and when we started haveing problems with the struts and we were very disappointed. After a few trips to the warranty agent with not a fix except for just replacing the struts and then back to square one again with them sticking and bending under load because they getting stuck again.
After the third set I tried some different lubes with a great outcome with the silicon lube.
We were not happy either with them at first but after a bit of grease were satisfied now.

Cheers

 

[Simon]

Yep, small window on the kitchen side (17.56-1), one of the struts is stuck open, had to unscrew it, the other one is hit and miss re opening. Both are on the list of things to fix under warranty.

I think replacing them will not solve the problem as they appear to be poorly designed - too small for starters and the entire thing seems to be made of plastic (even the strut rod from memory). The outer housing seems to shrink (as plastic does) on hot days affecting the movement of the inner rod and bearing is my guess. Unlike metal, once plastic shrinks it doesn't come back to shape easily when cool.

When I get the replacement, I think I'll try @skippy suggestions and pump some silcon grease in on all of them to help with lubrication and possibly the heat.

 

[skippy]

Yep, small window on the kitchen side (17.56-1), one of the struts is stuck open, had to unscrew it, the other one is hit and miss re opening. Both are on the list of things to fix under warranty.

I think replacing them will not solve the problem as they appear to be poorly designed - too small for starters and the entire thing seems to be made of plastic (even the strut rod from memory). The outer housing seems to shrink (as plastic does) on hot days affecting the movement of the inner rod and bearing is my guess. Unlike metal, once plastic shrinks it doesn't come back to shape easily when cool.

When I get the replacement, I think I'll try @skippy suggestions and pump some silcon grease in on all of them to help with lubrication and possibly the heat.

@Simon it was 49 a couple of weeks ago in Canarvan and my struts had no problems at all with the heat but don't worry I struggled with it though

 

[Simon]

There goes my theory then!

 

[Crusty181]

My strutts on the bunk windows are knackered to .... plus we have no gap at the bottom of the large lounge window acrylic panel, and when it gets hot the panel expands; if the windows closed, it can be opened .... and if its open, it cant be shut until the sun and temperture go down

i add the Skippy grease after i get them replaced

 

[JOBSWAN]

Yep, small window on the kitchen side (17.56-1), one of the struts is stuck open, had to unscrew it, the other one is hit and miss re opening. Both are on the list of things to fix under warranty.

I think replacing them will not solve the problem as they appear to be poorly designed - too small for starters and the entire thing seems to be made of plastic (even the strut rod from memory). The outer housing seems to shrink (as plastic does) on hot days affecting the movement of the inner rod and bearing is my guess. Unlike metal, once plastic shrinks it doesn't come back to shape easily when cool.

When I get the replacement, I think I'll try @skippy suggestions and pump some silcon grease in on all of them to help with lubrication and possibly the heat.

We also have the same van and this happened to our kitchen window. Was very annoyed hubby had to pull the strut apart as we could not close the window.
We only picked our van up first week of November.

 

[twscoot]

I had my 4 struts replaced under warranty twice. On the third set I pulled them apart and added silicone grease to the ball bearing/spring and the plastic strut rods, now they work better than new.

Quite easy to do.
Undo the screw that holds the strut to the window frame and then unclip strut from the window.
Then take the strut off and place on a table to work on.
Then pull the metal clip off (in the shape of a U) that retains the spring, pull the spring and ball bearing out then apply a light application of silicone grease to the strut, rod, spring and ball bearing.
Reassembled and enjoy a smooth sliding strut as it should have been from Dometic!

See below grease that we used>>>
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/120...2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107&chn=ps

Hope this helps:encouragement:

This is exactly what I did however with one additional step....
The cause of the sticking in our case was slight surface rust on the tiny ball bearing which is held (very) tight against the plastic strut which slides inside the casing. The ball slides against the strut until it hits a small indentation into which it sits for the various opening points. It effectively gets stuck in the hole and can't slide out as the spring is too tight.

Using side cutters, snip off two rings from the spring and then refit. Being such small windows making the spring effectively weaker and in turn means it all runs with less tension. You can stretch the spring a mm or two if you find it too weak.

Had no problem since.

 

[Kevin]

Used the silicon grease and worked well. Took caravan into Jayco for service this week and mentioned the problem. Was told that it is a common problem and is due to the ball in them corroding and has been fixed now. They replaced all the struts for nothing. Van is well out of warranty. Might be worth chasing up with them if anyone is having problems

 

[Broc Wright]

I have just had to order 4 new ones for our November 2014 20.63.1
To say they are flimsy and not suitable for use is an understatement, especially on kids bunk bed windows!