Passport Bed lift Mod Question

[jtwiley4]

It is a standard rv queen mattress with a 2.5 inch memory foam topper. Yes the mattress board is thin and I used drywall screws screwed from the top down into the block. This is going to be temporary to make sure it works out. Then thinking about replacing those with some small screws with nuts and lockers on them along with wood glue on the blocks for extra protection.

[chartrand]

I received a large bed lift kit from HatchLift for Christmas. It was unfortunately the wrong size, when I tried to do an install this spring. I contacted HatchLift to see what I struts I should get and just purchase those. To my amazement they simply said they would send me out the correct ones and I just needed to return the other ones. Wow!! a company that knows Customer Service. Thank you HatchLift.

[koko]

We put in the lift but it pops up just a little bit. Has anyone put a latch on to hold it securely? We're afraid that when the trailer is bouncing en-route, it will bounce open.

[jamesmc321]

had 80lb shocks first, had that same issue (did put a little latch to hold it down) ended up replacing with 60lb shocks... PERFECT for the queen bed

[slow]

Originally Posted by koko

We put in the lift but it pops up just a little bit. Has anyone put a latch on to hold it securely? We're afraid that when the trailer is bouncing en-route, it will bounce open.

I have the 80 lb struts and a 60# full queen mattress in our 23RB Passport. I reduced the angle of the strut to avoid lifting in transit.

[campertime]

Been thinking of doing this mod... after some surfing I found this youtube vid where they used angle iron on the bed instead of a wood block. Think I might go this route.. it would allow me to adjust the angle of the struts by drilling multiple holes in the angle iron rails.

Check it out... rails are about 2 minutes in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrg_pLfl3yY

[campertime]

Hatchlift instructions for those that may want a little more install info

http://www.hatchlift.com/catalog/vie...on_v26_new.pdf

[esmoglo]

First off Keystone needs to install these kits from the get go because it makes the space truthfully unusable trying lift the mattress becomes a two-person operation/hassle.

Now that that’s out of the way I purchased the Hatchlift Standard kit for Queen beds with RV style mattresses hoping this will work well with my 2016 Keystone Passport 2810BH.
Now my bed’s space is 38 inches (as my bed is a partial platform bed) from the base of the bed to the foot of the bed, 1B is my target according to the installation instructions (see photo). That would have me putting the struts six inches from the foot of the bed.
Part I don’t understand is how the blocks install on the platform side that the bed lays on? Don’t see any specific measurements at all on the instruction sheet for this.

Looking for some assistance as I am sure someone else has had the same exact question.

[51ferguson]

esmoglo, the wood blocks need to be mounted to the underside of the plywood that your mattress lays on. You will need to install your own wood on the platform sides to attach the lower end of the strut to. If you go back a few post some of the folks have posted some really good photos of how they mounted theirs. Good luck I hope you are able to get this done it makes it a lot easier to store things under the bed.
Billy

[slow]

Here are a couple of pictures that may help sort out where everything goes:
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/album.php?albumid=717

My mattress is 60# and a full queen. The bed frame is very similar to yours. In the pictures you will notice that I added 3/4 plywood to the inside of the bed frame to mount the lower brackets to and added "L" brackets to the corners of the bed frame for reinforcement. What is not obvious is that I replaced the two door type hinges with a full length piano hinge to distribute the load.

If you look closely at the underside of the plywood under the mattress, there are a few extra holes from experimenting with the best position of the upper bracket. It is a trial and error type of install to get the level of "assist" right.

[esmoglo]

Did mine a few weeks ago works great glad I did this it will help out allot.

[chartrand]

Originally Posted by esmoglo

Did mine a few weeks ago works great glad I did this it will help out allot.

Very nice, looks good. I would suggest that you consider shortening those bolts, you could even cut them in place since the nut is already on.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Maggman]

Got my 2016 27RB elite at shop for lift install, told bed frame is so thin, won't hold and have to completely reinforce the frame.. Sad we pay good money for these and end up just about rebuilding from cheap components. Typical thor quality.

[SummitPond]

Originally Posted by Maggman

Got my 2016 27RB elite at shop for lift install, told bed frame is so thin, won't hold and have to completely reinforce the frame. ...

I put a bed lift in my unit (19FBPR) and had similar issues with structural integrity - the frame bowed out. This was a simple fix; the entire frame did not have to be reinforced - just a single 1X2 where the connector went. I screwed it to the lower frame member and upper - it works great.

There's a photo at the bottom of this thread of the support. Easy to do.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Maggman

Got my 2016 27RB elite at shop for lift install, told bed frame is so thin, won't hold and have to completely reinforce the frame.. Sad we pay good money for these and end up just about rebuilding from cheap components. Typical thor quality.

You're right, it's a shame that potential purchasers aren't given that kind of information before they buy and it's a known fact that most are focused on the "bling" and not the "substance" when buying their first trailer.

Many of the standard features in "regular weight" trailers are omitted in the Lite series and significantly more of the "expected stuff" is omitted or changed to a lighter type on the Ultra Lite series.

I was "taken aback" when I first looked under a ultra lite trailer many years ago. What was (on a regular trailer) a 8" and 10" frame had been changed to a 6" under the axles that "sloped to 4" on the end of the trailer. Then, to add "insult to injury" they stamped 4" holes in the wide part and 3" holes in the sloping part every foot to remove even more weight.... I still question just how much of the strength and rigidity was removed so they could advertise that model as "half ton towable".....

The things you're seeing, no bed lift supports, no folding stove cover, 20 pound propane tanks (rather than 30 pound tanks) and many other "sacrifices" are essential to making "ultra-light trailers"... It's a part of the "helium technology".....

[slow]

Originally Posted by Maggman

Got my 2016 27RB elite at shop for lift install, told bed frame is so thin, won't hold and have to completely reinforce the frame.. Sad we pay good money for these and end up just about rebuilding from cheap components. Typical thor quality.

It can be done with a little effort and reinforcement as already mentioned. Here is a link to pictures as to how I did it: https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...hp?albumid=717

What is not visible is that I replaced the short hinges with a full length piano hinge and added a few steel "Ls" in the top corners of the bed frame.

[Gegrad]

Just ordered mine today after seeing this thread. I need to make a larger support platform first, as the residential queen I installed hangs off the existing platform on all 3 exposed edges.

[Papabear7]

I have the same thin mattress board as most, in a 2016 Passport/front queen. To give us a 'hands-free' prop, I just took a 2x4, cut it into 3 pieces, one for a mounting base to the bottom side of the bed panel, and then two struts. The meat of the 2x4 profile allows the prop to 'lock' in with opposing hinges mounted at the top & knee points. I put it near the center of the wider bay, so I don't have any obstruction at the sides. When we lift the bed, just set the prop and it locks like a knee joint, the bottom of the leg just sits against the floor-cleat where it's pretty strong. Then when done with access, just lift a bit and the whole leg collapses on its own weight & just drops away; top strut is short enough to hang free and let bed down--bed sets down, leg self-stows. Less than $10 and works like a champ. Not taking credit, I probably saw this somewhere else on this forum, but thought I'd share ... we still have access to put our bulky table-top grill inside its box under the bed. Could easily do this with a 2x2 or a 2x3 also, but I don't think I'd go as light as a 1x2.