Replaced gas struts on my ARE tonneau w/ longer ones

I purchased a pair of replacement gas struts from a local top/ camper shell shop, These are
19.7" fully open . The originals were a bit over 17" fully open.
ARE part number 03725 prop-110 lb 19.7"
My cost was $62 for the pair including shipping from ARE warehouse.

The problem I had was the lid did not open as high as I would like.

These new ones work great and greatly increased the open height of the lid.
The original struts raised the lid to about 20" above the top of the closed tailgate. Now with the new ones installed the open height has increased to 33" at the same point. I used a pair of 2x4's with a c clamp to hold them together for adjustment.
These were positioned under the open top to support it while the struts were swapped out.
Just pop out the clips top and bottom and take the old ones off.
Then position the supports so they hold the top open so the longer strut will slide on the attachment ball ( top and bottom). install the safety clips and your done. See pics of the project below.

 

Nice, definitely makes the cover easier to use. Just a tip to save you some money, when you need another set order them off Amazon or wherever and they'll be about half of that. I was shocked at what they wanted when I went by the local ARE dealer to order some. The counter guy laughed and told me to just order them off Amazon. I think the ones I put in last year was the third set since I bought the shell in '06; they loose their charge over the years. Most of them are made by Suspa and there should be a part number stamped on the cylinder.

 

I was given the option for the generic version for way less money but I told him I wanted the OEM
version from ARE. He said they would have to be drop shipped. The others I could have driven
the 20 miles to pick up. So the cost per strut was $20 and the shipping was $16 and change.
These are stronger for sure and the rise when opened is brisk. it almost wants to rise out of your hand.
I assume they will lighten up a bit after some time. But having the extra space when open was my goal
and it landed a 10 in that respect. So the money was well spent. And right now company's like this one
needed it . Amazon has millions.... And I'm keeping the old ones as back up in case something dreaded
happens. They work ok but you have to manually raise the lid. it will not open on it's own like the new ones
want to .

 

Makes sense and good on you for supporting local, I try to as well but thirty bucks is thirty bucks. The ones that originally came on mine (I bought it new) were Suspa and that's how I got the part number. I'm on good terms with the local place and have bought stuff from them in the past including recommending them for some equipment for one of the EMS services I used to work for. They're actually a truck accessory dealer who mainly deal with commercial fleet stuff like service trucks (selling/installing that type bed), contractor shelves in vans, emergency/safety equipment, ARE DCU tops, etc. so I don't feel too bad about buying elsewhere when the guy was trying to help me out. They know I'll be back when I need Warn accessories, shackles, LED bulbs, etc.

ETA- They should get a little easier to use after a couple of uses. I always check the ball ends to make sure they are smooth and add a little grease to them. Do not grease the piston rods as it can damage the seals in the cylinder. When they're extended you can run your fingers along them and make sure that there are no burs or scratches that may damage the seals. Make sure that they are lining up straight, sounds silly but if one side of the tonneau mount gets loose and shifted it can get them out of alignment.

 

All well and good thanks for the tips. The top is in excellent condition and even though it's
over 8 years old looks brand new inside and out. I've never had one of these on any prior vehicles
and it really is great, The only drawback is being able to carry larger materials. However the lid being able
to open higher now helps in that department.

 

I am not sure how this happened but one of my gas struts is bending out the wrong way and does not allow me to keep the top propped up or even open with out the tailgate coming down. Do just need to take the whole top off or is there something I am missing here. Thanks in advance for any help

 

Bending out the wrong way? I can't picture what you're talking about. Did one of the ends come loose, the ball mount bend or did the strut somehow come out of the cylinder?

Got a picture of it?