Hatchlift RV Bed Lift Kit - Queen Lite Size - Gas Strut Hardware for Lightweight Mattresses - Adjustable Bed Lift System with Durable Gas Shocks - Fits Foam and Lightweight Queen Beds

Works great

Let's face it, even the best RV mattresses aren't comfortable. I know that some of the very high end RVs have an option for a Sleep Number, and confess I haven't tried them.I have a 40 foot fifth wheel that came with a 72" X 80" mattress which is the same width and 4' shorter than a standard California king size mattress. My wife has some back issues and we have been sleeping on a TempurPedic for a number of years and I asked if they would make one for our RV. The answer was NO.The bed in the RV is on a slide out and the additional 4" in length would crash the bed into a built-in dresser when the slide was retracted for travel. I decided to rework the bed platform and add heavy duty gas struts to keep the foot of the bed in the raised position when the slide is retracted which would clear the dresser vertically. I tore out the original mattress and rebuilt the frame and platform to support the additional weight. I bought the heaviest gas struts that Hatchlift offered, they were 150Lb as opposed to 80Lb models that came with the coach. To ensure the mattress doesn't drop while being bumped around during travel, I also ordered a pair of CTA Tools 5360 lift support clamps also from Amazon. These clamp onto the gas strut rod at the end of the barrel and hopefully will prevent the struts from collapsing during transit. I'm also considering adding a prop rod similar to what's on a car hood for additional safety.Our mattress is due next week and the store assured me that they could install it in an RV, I think I'll video this, it will be interesting. Obviously I haven't tested the gas struts with the full weight yet, but have tested with weights on the platform and am confident they will work quite well.The kit is reasonably priced. I ended up not using the small wood blocks and short wood screws they furnished, I used heavier lumber and longer screws in addition to some machine bolts with locking nuts. The instructions were very clear on everything except alignment of the struts, which weren't even covered. I'm used to hydraulic and air cylinders where alignment is very critical so as not to side load the cylinders. Since the gas struts mount to a ball at the attachment points, it may not be such a critical factor. I did go to extremes to make sure mine were straight.

I received and installed this RV Bed Storage cover strut rod kit today in my 22-foot travel trailer with a full-size queen bed mattress.My storage space measures 24.5 inches wide so I bought the BLK-SML kit rated for 80 lbs per rod.The Amazon listing for this kit is pretty confusing to decipher which kit was correct for me to order based on the mattress size, weight and storage lit/space size. I ended up going to the Hatchlift Products website to determine which was the correct kit for my needs. The ordering process on the website takes you back to Amazon but at least the correct kit is selected for you when you are directed back to Amazon.Several reviewers of this kit complain about how the lower rod bracket will break their UNSUPPORTED storage compartment upper cross member. THE VERY FIRST STEP in the kit instructions specifically states that additional wood blocking may be necessary to be installed if the storage frame doesn't have the necessary wood to support the pressure put on that cross member. If you don't have more than a thin cross member in which to screw the bottom brackets to, you MUST cut and install an appropriate size and length piece of wood to the inside wall of your storage space side wall. Luckily I did not need to do this for my trailer.Make sure all of the installed top and bottom bracket screws were HAND TIGHT. DO NOT USE A POWER DRILL TO INSTALL THE BRACKET SCREWS. Most of wood and paneling is very thin and you are likely to strip out your screw holes using a power drill to screw in the screws. Do not overtighten ANY screws.See attached photos of the installed rods and brackets.The instructions provided are for the several different size kits Hatchlift offers so you definitely need to read the instructions thoroughly before beginning the installation process.The lower support placement location for my kit recommends placement 14" from the inside front face of a 24" storage space. The upper rod support is recommended to be placed 4 inches above the center line of the bed board, minus the overhang end of the deck.I screwed the bottom brackets in the recommended 14" backspace from the inside back face of the storage, but it quickly became clear that after measuring for the top bracket location that the top brackets were going to be too far towards the center of the storage space and would need to be closer to the rear face of the storage space.I ended up having to move the bottom brackets back towards the front of the trailer an additional 4 inches (~17.75 inches from the inside front face of the storage space). Be sure to use support wood beams on the bottom bracket locations if needed and add enough screws to the brackets to hold then in place when you test how the rods close.The top brackets need to be installed on the bottom of the bed storage board so that when compressed, they clear the inside front storage wall/support cross member. These rods are ~17.75 inches long and the strut rod is ~7.25 inches long. This means the compressed strut rod will be approximately 10.5 inches long. I basically measured from the center of the bottom support ball 10.5 inches back towards the inside storage wall. I then dropped the storage board to the closed position and marked that 10.5 inches on the bottom of the lid. I then verified my lid cross members would accommodate the support blocks allowing the blocks and rods to clear the inside of the side wall and the inside of the back wall.I ended up having to move my lid support beams inward 2.25 inches to accommodate the support blocks, allowing the blocks room to clear the side walls.I then screwed the top bracket to the center of the support plywood block per the instructions (4 wood screws each) and then attached the blocks to the underside of the storage space lid with the provided long wood screws.I put the polyester foam bed mattress back on the bed platform and tested the closure of the lid after making sure all of the installed top and bottom bracket screws were HAND TIGHT. The board required a little downward force but not enough to bend the plywood or put undue stress on the lower brackets.The bed board closed softly but has a slight bit of uplift pressure from the struts when fully closed.The board barely stays down with the mattress in place but it would easily open back up during travel.At this point I was satisfied that the strut rods were working as intended and not likely to break the lower supports and were clearing the side and rear inside faces of the storage space. I added three self-adhesive rubber bumpers to the rear top edge of the storage area to keep the lid from bumping harshly against the storage box. (see first photo)I decided to install a slide latch (RELIABILT ReliaBilt 2-1/2-in Nickel Sliding Door Latch) in the underside center of the foot board to keep the storage lid board down during travel. (see last photo)

Bought the heaviest struts available and lifts the bed perfectly. We have a heavy foam topper and 20 pillows