Hatchlift RV Bed Lift Kit - Queen Size - Gas Strut Hardware for Heavy Lids - Adjustable Bed Lift System - Durable Gas Shocks for RV Compartments for Queen Standard Mattress

The photos are a little dark, but you can see them better if you open them up.The queen bed in our travel trailer weighs approx 86 lbs. Our storage box is 30" long, 48" wide, and 21" tall. I purchased the Small kit. We bought the mattress without measuring the space in our camper, and really only have about 6 inches between the foot of the bed and the wall. Trying to lift the bed manually to access the storage box was almost impossible, and until now, we have never utilized the storage underneath the bed.This kit took about an hour to install going slowly and following directions exactly. No adjustments were needed to the shocks when I was finished. It worked perfectly on the 1st try. It opens and closes with little effort, and we can now utilize the much needed storage space.Things to Consider:- Asking someone to help. I completed this myself, but having a helper would have been much easier.- Read the instructions carefully. For example, when measuring for the lower bracket, the instructions state to measure from the INSIDE of the foot of the bed, not from the outside of the box.- Does your box need a piece of wood added to install the lower bracket? I had to install 17" 2x4's so the lower part of the bracket could be secured- The thickness of your storage box lid. Mine was 1/2". With the gold screws provided, and the wooded squares in the kit, the screws are almost too long, and if drilled deep into the wooden block, will come out of the lid (and possibly tear the mattress). If your lid is not 1/2" you will need to purchase shorter screws.- I installed a handle on the bottom of the lid that covers the storage box. Since our bed is so close to the wall, I want to ensure we are pulling up in the middle each time, and a handle was a quick / easy fix.- You will need a 3/8" wrench, pencil or sharpie, flathead screwdriver (to remove the shock from the bracket after testing), cordless drill with several size drill bits and a phillips-head bit, tape measure, square, wood glue, additional screws (if wood is needed to secure the lower brackets)

Works great

Not sure if I attached them wrong, I followed the instructions, and it does hold the bed up, only 2 complaints. And they could both be due to how I installed these!Issue one - it seems very hard to get them to start closing. Once they start, they compress easily. The plywood board under the bed bends quite a bit when you are pushing it down to close, it is NOT a one handed process, and for my wife or son, who are both about 100 lbs, they almost have to crawl on to get this to shut.Issue two - they slam the bed down.The lifting is perfect, just what I was looking for, and again, it could be the install that is causing my issues.Easy to install would not be a way to describe these, I am pretty good with remodeling, just finished doing 2 bathrooms in the house. Due to having to screw a couple of square blocks(provided) to the bed platform, it required my son to get in the underbed storage area to make sure the blocks would clear the frame when we attached them. The instructions were pretty poor, just a picture with 2 points of reference for where to mount the connection brackets. Which leads to my statements above, they may not be installed correctly leading to the issues I have with them.

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.