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RV-10 door struts.

pierre smith

Well Known Member
It's a bummer getting in and out of a -10 with a bad door strut:(

Have any of you -10 owners found an auto parts store equivalent replacement? Part numbers? Or does it have to come from Van's?

Thanks,
 
Not sure about the -10 strut, but I needed new ones on my Rans so I took them off and measured them. Napa had a catalog that listed several struts the same size that were available in different pressure/lift ratings. I got some that were slightly stronger than the originals and they worked great.
 
Pierre, been discussed lots in the long ago past.

Try searching the RV 10 forum-------re set the time frame in the search engine to "from the beginning"
 
Bansbach Easylift

Pierre --- when our original -10 struts would not keep the doors open, I found replacements at Bansbach Easylift, in Melbourne, FL --

A1A1F50-100-287/600N 10017Y1 $62.63ea, couple of years ago

Their no. is: 321-253-1999

Take care,

Ron
 
+1

Pierre --- when our original -10 struts would not keep the doors open, I found replacements at Bansbach Easylift, in Melbourne, FL --

A1A1F50-100-287/600N 10017Y1 $62.63ea, couple of years ago

Their no. is: 321-253-1999

Take care,

Ron

Me too. They aren't cheap, but they worked right away and still work 550 hours later. They still raise the door but I sense they are getting weaker. But then again, so am I.
 
Replaced

I replaced the Van's struts with the Bansbach (noted above) and they are holding quite nicely. Simple replacement.
 
My friends' Rv-10, which I helped build, finally wore out the original struts. They lasted from 2009 until 2014 and no longer would hold the doors up. The new replacement struts came from Bansbach and while not cheap, have much better lifting force than the originals did when those were new.

Another +1 for the Bansbach struts! Spend the money and get good struts. They're worth it.
 
Heres what you need to order

Mine died before we even got flying...
Called Bansbach, and gave them the part numbers others had referenced... They have a new ordering system and new part numbers... basically, you order the strut in the length and force (Newtons) that you want, then order the appropriate ends...

A1 M8 Hinge Eye Endfitting
96102 4 $3.49 USD $13.96 USD

B0N0F50-100-247/XXXN Gas Spring 4"(100mm) Stroke 10"(247mm) Extended Length Customer Selected Force
(Forces Available: Custom force, Custom Force: 600, Custom force in pounds or Newtons? Newtons (N))

TOTAL For BOTH DOORS was $73.50 with Free shipping... Great deal!!! They are perfect and work great. If you have the Plane Around Bracket, you'll need to grind the end down a bit to fit.....



Yeah, I know, I still have some touch up to do on those $&%* Doors....

 
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I stock the Bansbach struts at about half the price of Van's heavy duty struts, but ordering them is a PITNeck. They are worth it, though.
 
wrong hinge eye fitting

I ordered exactly what John listed w/o double checking and it was not correct. The A1 M10 hinge eye end fittings are not correct for these struts. You need the A1 M8 as the rod diameter of the gas strut is 8mm thus M8.

...

A1 M10 Hinge Eye Endfitting
96131 4 $3.49 USD $13.96 USD

B0N0F50-100-247/XXXN Gas Spring 4"(100mm) Stroke 10"(247mm) Extended Length Customer Selected Force
(Forces Available: Custom force, Custom Force: 600, Custom force in pounds or Newtons? Newtons (N))
 
I ordered exactly what John listed w/o double checking and it was not correct. The A1 M10 hinge eye end fittings are not correct for these struts. You need the A1 M8 as the rod diameter of the gas strut is 8mm thus M8.


I copied and pasted exactly what was in my invoice.... But if that fixes it... Mine arrived correct.
 
confirmed with Bansbach support

I copied and pasted exactly what was in my invoice.... But if that fixes it... Mine arrived correct.

Thank you for posting your info John it was certainly helpful navigating the Bansbach products. I called and spoke w/Bansbach to make sure I re-ordered the correct part and they confirmed it should be the A1 M8's. I would edit your previous post and change it to A1 M8 for others that might refer to this thread.

In viewing your attached photos it's obvious that you have the M8's not the M10's. The bases of the M10's are a lot wider to support the larger diameter shaft than what your pictures show. I'm guessing you got lucky and the person who shipped your order switched them out for the correct ones.
 
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The PlaneAround brackets have a 3/8s wide opening for the original or aftermarket struts. John, are your strut ends wider than 3/8's? if so do you know how much?

Thanks
 
Dimensions

I have the PlaneAround brackets, and yes, they are too narrow. The Bansbach ends are 10 mm or .3937". I had to machine the ends slightly to fit. Once they are machined, replacement is as easy as unscrewing the old strut and screwing on a new one...
 
There are a number of choices for the end fittings on the Bansbach struts. I ordered the A1-M8 for the door end, which is 10mm thick and leaves some room on either side for some washers. On the other end, the E2-M8 fitting is 5mm thick and fits the Plenearound bracket very nicely with no machining required.
Also, for just another data point, I originally ordered the 600N struts but found them to be too much for my doors (painted finish with Sean's cam latch). The 530N ones were just right, with plenty of extension force but good damping at the end of the stroke. If anyone wants a pair of 600N struts, they're yours for $50 plus shipping...:D
 
also...

Be aware that you can specify ANY ends for those struts. I just ordered a set of E2-M8 ends and am going to see how they work. They are only 5 mm thick instead of 10 mm and should easily fit the PlaneAround brackets, which are about 9.5 mm.
 
Which strut force?

So what is the consensus on the force needed for the Bansbach door struts,530n or 600n? I do have fully upholstered doors.

Thanks,
Keith
 
struts

With a fully upholstered door, I would imagine the 600's would be the ticket. I do not have the interior in yet and the 600's are a little strong for the bare door, however, it is probably better to have a little too much than not enough...:D
 
Thanks for the info. Is the "too strong"
Problem with 600's for you that they are hard to pull down
Or open too hard/abruptly?
 
Struts

Definitely not too hard to pull down but with a bare door I don't think I would just unlatch them and let them go...either way, make sure you get the correct ends. If you are using the after market billet strut brackets, the brackets are 3/8" which is too small to accept the 10 mm thick ends. Unless you want to machine them about 1 mm, get the 5 mm thick ends...E2M8 I think was the number.
 
So I ordered a couple of the Bansbach struts based upon the part numbers called out in this thread. Specifically BONOF50-100-247/530N, with the A1 and M8 Hinge eyes.

If you use A1 Hinge eyes on both ends (20mm length for each) the total length will be 247+40 = 287 or 11.3" and the minimum compressed length is 7.37", the total travel is 3.93"

The Vans provided strut minimum measurement from the plans is 7.875", or 200MM and the extended length (measured) is 11.8" or 300MM. So an exact replacement strut would be 7.875" to 11.8", with a travel of 3.95".

While the strut works just fine, it is .5 inches shorter than the Vans provided struts. So the issue is the door will not open fully with these struts. Due top the leveraged position the strut is mounted to the door, this leaves the door considerably closed compared to the correct length strut. My plan is to machine a new lower end piece to extend the Bansbach strut to the correct 7.875".

As an aside issue, to achieve the auto-dampening at full open, the Bansbach product must be mounted with the large body attached to the door bracket. If you used the Vans strut to determine the spacing of the bracket on your door, you will have an interference with the body of the Bansbach strut, which is a larger diameter body than the Vans strut. This requires some slight modification to the bracket. My door is painted on both the inside and outside and has the Planearound center latch. The 530N strut will raise the door without any assistance, and dampens the final inch of travel.
 
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As a follow up I spoke with the folks at Bansbach about a longer threaded eye, They stock a 25mm B1 M8, verses 20mm for the A1M8 eye. So I ordered the B1 M8 eye.

The B1 M8 hinge eyes add 25mm, so the total length will be 247+25+25=297mm or 11.7" The travel remains at 3.93. This essentially results in the same total length as the Vans strut, and almost the same travel. The only issue is the thickness of the B1 eye is .472" verses the .393" for the A1. This should easily work with the Vans bracket, but will have to be filed thinner to work with the plane around bracket.

I did confirm that for the auto-dampening to function, the strut must be mounted with the cylinder side up. (Attached to the door)

Here is the part number I ended up with:

BONOF50-100-247/530N Strut
B1 M8 Eye

The total cost for 2 with shipping was $75

As a second follow-up. I received the B1M8 eye. What is not called out in the part description is that the base of the eye is the same diameter as the strut base. Way too large to fit into the existing brackets. 30 minutes later, 4 parts were modified by removing the unnecessary material with a belt sander. The length is perfect and the eyes can be reused should a replacement strut be required in the future.
 
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Bill, Thanks for documenting your experience with the aftermarket struts. I am ready to order the same ones but I want to clarify something first. Are you saying that on one end you have the "A1 M8" and the other end "B1 M8"?

I have the PlaneAround brackets FYI and am picking up the finishing kit tomorrow and FWF from VANs.

Is your setup perfect now or would you have ordered some other end in order to not have to do any grinding/modifying or another end to get the full amount of travel? Thanks a bunch
 
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Here is what I ordered that works with a slight modification to the thickness.


Per Door:
1 each - BONOF50-100-247/530N Strut
2 each - B1 M8 Eye
 
This is an old thread, but I want to say thanks Bill for the extra info. I just did this, although with the 600 Newton struts. A couple minutes to thin the ends and it's a perfect fit. Total cost for (4) B1 M8 eyes and (2) BONOF50-100-247/600N struts was $73.50 with free shipping.

BTW, I simply used an end mill bit in my drill press to accurately thin the ends 1mm per side to a total thickness of 10mm from the 12mm they come as. The extra 10mm in total length does get the door fully opened nicely.

One thing I want to point out is from Bansbach is that this model has normal speed with end dampening in the last 30mm of travel. They also said that dampening only becomes efficient if the gas spring is mounted with the piston rod showing downwards while opening; this is because the hyrdaulic fluid will run to the bottom by gravity and then be forced back up through an orifice at the end of travel. So bottom line, ensure the rod is connected to the door frame and the gas cylinder to the door.
 
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They also said that dampening only becomes efficient if the gas spring is mounted with the piston rod showing downwards while opening; this is because the hyrdaulic fluid will run to the bottom by gravity and then be forced back up through an orifice at the end of travel. So bottom line, ensure the rod is connected to the door frame and the gas cylinder to the door.

Yes, this worked for me. I dont remember the exact part numbers, but somewhere on VAF, there are part numbers for the end pieces that make it easy to install, with no milling required.
 
Yes, this worked for me. I dont remember the exact part numbers, but somewhere on VAF, there are part numbers for the end pieces that make it easy to install, with no milling required.

I believe you are referring to the A1 M8 end pieces others have used.

My thanks to Bill is based on him noting that the B1 M8 pieces are 5mm longer than the A1 ends, adding 10mm to the overall length, which matches the Van's kit strut OAL. This brings the door up to full height, whereas the A1 ends leave the OAL of the struts 1/2" shorter; doing the math, that leaves the door hanging down a few inches at the end.

Bansbach does not have a 10mm thick M8 end piece 25mm in length. Someone out there in the world probably makes a 25mm long end piece that is 10mm thick with M8 threads, but I felt that searching for that was more time than the one minute each I spent on the B1 M8 ends to mill them from 12 to 10mm thickness.
 
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I also switched the these Bansback gas springs, but I used different end fittings. The A1 M8 is too wide to fit without trimming, and they leave the door a little lower when open.

I got fittings from McMaster-Carr. One is short and the other long. These add up to the same length as the Van’s part, and I install the long one on the door hinge, giving great clearance. The short one then goes on the fuselage end. I only needed to slightly trim an edge (about 2mm) in one spot for clearance.

The part numbers are:
9416K88
9424K15
 
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