New gas struts for the roof

[Torben]

Hi all,

I’m trying to find upgraded gas struts for the pop-top roof on my Marco Polo, and I’m hoping someone here has solved this before.

My current struts are:

• Stroke: ~400 mm
• Rod/tube: 10/22 mm
• Extended length: approx. 1060 mm (eye to eye)
• Force: 450 N

They work, but I’d like a bit more lifting power – especially when there’s some load in the roof.

What I’ve found is that the main challenge isn’t really the stroke, but the length of the cylinder itself. The body of the strut is longer than what I typically see on standard/off-the-shelf options, and therefore the total extended length becomes difficult to match with more common struts.

So my questions are:

• Has anyone upgraded to stronger struts with similar dimensions (especially cylinder length / total length)?
• What force (N) did you end up using?
• Any suppliers (UK/EU) that can make these to spec?
• Has anyone solved this in another way (e.g. different mounting points, helper springs, locking struts, etc.)?

I’m open to any ideas or workarounds.

Thanks!