Hi we have just purchased our first caravan a 16.49.1 expanda. We have recently taken it out for the second time and when we were packing it up to return home from holidays we started to close down the front bed hard lid when we heard a pop and discovered both gas struts had come off their hinge brackets at the top of the hard lid and brackets had also come away from the hard lid and were no where to be seen? In effect we were left with a hard lid that had nothing to hold it up. This has left us concerned as if we were sleeping and the gas struts gave way the hard lid would have fallen on us. Wondering if anyone else has had problems with the gas struts becoming dislodged from the hard lid? Cheers
Hard lid gas struts
- Thread starter summer01
- Start date
yes we did think of that inside bar, however with the weight of that hard lid it really concerns us, especially with our young children sleeping under 
Has really put a dampner on our purchase now. Will wait and see what Jayco have to say. Van has been dropped in for numerous other warranty issues.
Has really put a dampner on our purchase now. Will wait and see what Jayco have to say. Van has been dropped in for numerous other warranty issues.
Welcome to the forum Summer but that's a shame. I gather the van is a new one if it has been in for warranty issues so I am sure Jayco will repair it. I have never heard of it happening but as Andrea says, the internal bar will keep it off the bed but I would not like it if the wind got up. I hope you get it sorted out quickly. Keep us posted on progress.
Welcome summer. That's bad news.
What did you do after that to close the lid?
I am assuming once the brackets snapped that there was no way to retract the gas struts.
What did you do after that to close the lid?
I am assuming once the brackets snapped that there was no way to retract the gas struts.
That seems odd I also have never heard of this happening.
Is it the brackets that went missing after they came off? Did you close the lid from the middle to apply even pressure on the lid?
Is it the brackets that went missing after they came off? Did you close the lid from the middle to apply even pressure on the lid?
Yes Jayco were good in that they told us to bring the van straight in, luckily we were heading home from holidays. Howevever it had only been at Jayco a week prior to our holiday for the other bed end. When lowering that bed the bed was getting caught on a gas strut... they realigned bed however it is now getting caught on the latch on the opposite side.... so this bed is also going to have to be looked at again. (In addition to our problem with the other bed end). We had to pack the van up in this rain so the canvas is still damp (I did towel dry it as much as I could). We had planned to open it up and air dry it out when we got home, however as we ended up having to take it straight in to Jayco it is sitting there all closed up until thursday. We asked if they could put it in there huge service shed and open it up whilst they were closed over this long week, however they refused saying they were too busy and there was not enough room. However we could see quite a few empty bays - very disappointed.
We had to pack the van up in this rain so the canvas is still damp (I did towel dry it as much as I could). We had planned to open it up and air dry it out when we got home, however as we ended up having to take it straight in to Jayco it is sitting there all closed up until thursday. We asked if they could put it in there huge service shed and open it up whilst they were closed over this long week, however they refused saying they were too busy and there was not enough room. However we could see quite a few empty bays - very disappointed.Yes the top brackets of both struts went missing , we have since found one of them in a bag that had been on the ground in the vicinity of the hard lid at the time. They are totally fine only the two screws are missing?? Havnt found the other bracket. Yes only slight pressure was applied in the middle like we have always done with no problem. Mind you we have only been away in the van twice.
Something sounds seriously wrong with your bed ends summer.
I think I would be doing a trip to the Jayco sales yard and finding another model of your van and comparing the set up of your bed ends to the one in the yard. I am wondering if it is something stupid like Jayco putting the brackets in the wrong place to begin with.
I think I would be doing a trip to the Jayco sales yard and finding another model of your van and comparing the set up of your bed ends to the one in the yard. I am wondering if it is something stupid like Jayco putting the brackets in the wrong place to begin with.
chalk that one up - never heard of that happening must be their fine pre delivery hiccup again !!!
Heh Summer,
We keep popping gas struts out as well at the draw bar end..
It's been fixed at jayco once but just happened again this long weekend gone.
Jayco Brisbane said the assembly in Melbourne didn't mount the screws into the right part of the lid..
It has a section in the lid where the screws are meant to be screwed to the timber inside the fibreglass, but ours was too close to the edge..
The repair guy fixed it whilst I was there, but now it's happened again, we are worried the timber is too soft and not holding the pressure of the strut and the weight of the lid.
I'm asking for a new lid once in for service/warranty.. See how we go.
To fix it temporarily I propped some aluminium tarp poles on both corners to support the weight. It worked ok for the time being.
We keep popping gas struts out as well at the draw bar end..
It's been fixed at jayco once but just happened again this long weekend gone.
Jayco Brisbane said the assembly in Melbourne didn't mount the screws into the right part of the lid..
It has a section in the lid where the screws are meant to be screwed to the timber inside the fibreglass, but ours was too close to the edge..
The repair guy fixed it whilst I was there, but now it's happened again, we are worried the timber is too soft and not holding the pressure of the strut and the weight of the lid.
I'm asking for a new lid once in for service/warranty.. See how we go.
To fix it temporarily I propped some aluminium tarp poles on both corners to support the weight. It worked ok for the time being.
Yes spot on Brad - have been told Jayco put brackets to close to edge of hard lid and gas strut too strong for the bracket. They say brackets have been relocated and tested. Am yet to pick van up and inspect. Have to say very disappointed in quality control - first brake recall, then water leaks and then problems with both bed ends along with other minor issues
Thanks so much Dean81 for letting us know. Ours also happened day before long weekend just gone. Very worrying if this is not a one off incident ie. its not just our van its happened too, how many more vans have brackets that have been put in the wrong place?. Our van has already been recalled once for the brakes and it's only 3 months old, we've only used it once. Which struts did you pop , both top ones on drawbar side? Did the whole bracket come off the hard lid also? Jayco have said our brackets have been relocated and tested , am yet to collect van and inspect. Am concerned though because when bracket came off hard lid it has left a very small crack in the surface, my question to jayco is can this expand and compromise strength of lid? Have had no reply. I would be interested in what they say re: new lid, because we are also considering asking for this. Will keep the tarp poles in mind for emergency however not happy about that at all , we bought a brand new hard lid model as we did not want to worry about bed flys/posts etc.
For us it came down to $. We were looking at the windsor rapid however it was $10 000 to $15 000 more than the Jayco and we liked the inside layout of the Jaycos better than the windsor. We had done quite a bit of research and had heard alot of negative feedback re: quality of jayco. However we were thinking this was more in relation to minor matters ie: cupboard locks etc. We werent expecting major things ie. brakes, hard lid issues - which to me are safety issues. They have been quite accommodating re: bringing the van in to be repaired, however it is a big inconvenience having to get the van to the service centre each time something goes wrong. And I am very disappointed that I have a brand new van that has now had to be patched and repaired. That is the very reason I didnt buy second hand as I didnt want to have patch and repair jobs. Will have to wait and see how these repairs go I think.
Thanks so much Dean81 for letting us know. Ours also happened day before long weekend just gone. Very worrying if this is not a one off incident ie. its not just our van its happened too, how many more vans have brackets that have been put in the wrong place?. Our van has already been recalled once for the brakes and it's only 3 months old, we've only used it once. Which struts did you pop , both top ones on drawbar side? Did the whole bracket come off the hard lid also? Jayco have said our brackets have been relocated and tested , am yet to collect van and inspect. Am concerned though because when bracket came off hard lid it has left a very small crack in the surface, my question to jayco is can this expand and compromise strength of lid? Have had no reply. I would be interested in what they say re: new lid, because we are also considering asking for this. Will keep the tarp poles in mind for emergency however not happy about that at all , we bought a brand new hard lid model as we did not want to worry about bed flys/posts etc.
Heh Summer01,
The bracket detached from the lid, not the van.. Lucky for us the bracket stayed attached to the strut and we didn't lose any parts. Our van is only 2 months old too..
The whole bracket did come off. The existing holes are worn and loose.
I haven't booked it in yet, but I will very soon for repair..
We did everything they said in relation to raising and lowering the lid.. Always from the middle, with little or no force and its still popping.
I thought the gas strut may of seized as I couldn't close it (once it was detached).. But it wasn't the case..
Hopefully yours is sorted I'll keep you posted on how mine goes.
We went for the expanda 17.56-2 instead of Swan for the same reason ..
Thanks.
Thanks for that Dean81 ours is still there at the moment, you should give them a call... I think they would be interested to know that its also happened to your van. I wonder if it has happened to many others. We ended up finding one of the brackets it had flung off and into some of our luggage in the car. They have asked us to bring that bracket in, still dont know where the other one is though.