Date:         Sat, 12 Aug 2000 10:42:22 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <ron@netcarrier.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <ron@netcarrier.com>
Subject:      Re: rear hatch struts, color + friday
In-Reply-To:  <F2929RKLpgTFur2iz2M0000219b@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> So has anyone tried to use one of the extra heavy Bus Depot has
> with one of his regular hatch struts (in combinatioin)...????


It will work, and will essentially give you a result that is midpoint
between using a pair of heavy-duty struts and a pair of stock ones.  (It
will not be strong enough to support a bike rack, but will be a bit stronger
than stock. Not sure if it will allow the hatch to stay open in any position
as the pair of heavy-duty ones does.)  You should put the stronger strut on
the passenger side.  My personal preference still leans toward a matched
pair (either standard or HD), since a matched pair will last a bit longer.
But then again, VW did use an unmatched setup like this on some Vanagons, so
apparantly they didn't feel that the reduction in lifespan was unacceptable.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  http://www.busdepot.com
  (215) 234-VWVW