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Saddlebag Door Support

RENORCR

RENORCR

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Joined
Apr 27, 2003
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On the road between Los Angeles, CA & Las Vega
So how many of you have had the saddlebag door fall close on your hands or fingers?? :8:

Well, I've decided there had to be a way to keep the door supported open. So I borrow an idea from the marine side.

I got some 1/2" x 6-1/2" springs for $4.00 from Home Depot.

springs.jpg


Did a little bending at both ends & mounted them under the Torx screws. Keeping the springs at rest when re-tighten the screws back. (Very Important). If there's a kink in the spring. The weight of the door would cause the spring to bend therefore slamming the lid close.? Has you can see, the wire that normally keeps the door from opening too far is slack now.

springprop.jpg



To close the lid, just push the spring aside and close the lid. There's enough room to store the spring. For those of you who have a broken wire. This might be another solution.

springclose.jpg


If I could, I would look for a smaller diameter springs. But, I didn't want to drive all over town this evening. If I do find smaller one's. I'll change them out. But for now, this works.
 
Great Idea and Excellent Job !!!

Nice pics too !!!

I never really had a problem with the doors till I mounted the Mag-Lite and Fire Extinguisher.
Once those were mounted, the weight of those items can make those doors come crashing down on your fingers with force. 
I have narrowly escaped finger removal on many occasions.

This is a terrific solution to the problem.
 
i put a fire extinguisher on my passenger side door and it will not stay open by its self. this is a logical solution
 
It must be too early and I probably haven't had enough coffee yet... :2:

But I seem to be missing something to help me understand this mod.

In your pics...with the door open, the OEM limit strap has slack in it.? I assume that the storage box door therefore is postitioned more toward vertical and actually stands a better chance of slamming shut.

Is the concept here that the spring actually won't allow the door to close until you manually bend the spring sideways to facilitate closing and therefore the spring in it's relaxed state acts more as a prop of sorts?

I love the concept but need to understand it a wee bit better.

If you used longer springs to match or exceed the OEM limit strap's length...seems that would allow the storage door to open more beyond vertical and further enhance the objective.

HELP... :E:
I have been thinking about something similar like adding small hydraulic struts but don't want to "invade" the storage area with them and so gave up on that idea.

Last question...you mentioned looking for smaller diameter springs...wouldn't they be more prone to collapsing (bending sideways) on their own?

PS...I would have had more coffee before posting this...but at my age...I'm afraid I would have forgotten my questions... :rolleyes:
Now I gotta remember to click the notify box so I can see the answers... :0: ;)
 
I CHNGE,

When the door is in the "up" position, the doors push the loops of the sping together, making the spring behave much like a solid rod (column).? When the door is pushed to close it, the additional force causes the the spring (column) to buckle.?

RENORCR, I would go with a slightly longer spring, 7" to 7-1/2" to allow the door to rest in the normal (past 90 degrees) position.? On spring diameter, I would consider how much force it takes to close the door.? As the length-to-diameter (slenderness) ratio grows, the amount of force required to buckle the spring will go down.

Gee, I guess that Mechanical Engineering Degree is good for something!? :cool:

MrJim
:B:

 
That looks like a great MOD...thanks for the pics, I have a fire extinguisher and a maglite on my saddle bags, the springs  are a great idea  (y)
 
That's a great idea, RENORCR.  Just like you said, great marine application.  We use these on the overhead consoles on boats, and they take alot more jarring that the AV ever could, and still remain open.  The wind has slammed mine shut before, and the momentum makes contact with the paint.  This will eliminate it.  Good job.
 
Thanks MrJim

I thought I might be on the right track...needed your engineering expertise to confirm my common sense perception on the matter...

(y) (y)

RENORCR

This idea is really nice...I like it a lot...thanks for posting it...

(y) (y) :B:
 
Regarding the springs; the length I used was base on what was available at Home Depot.
Yes, I would prefer a longer spring about 7-1/2", but didn't find any. I also didn't wish to remove the existing wire strap.

Regarding the diameter, I was worry it wouldn't fit under the close lid. But after 24 hrs, I happy with the existing diameter. It does provide enough resistance to keep the door lid open.

I have a 4D-Cell Mag mounted on the lid. I grasped the saddlebag side and rocked the AV and the lid stayed open for my purpose.
 
Mudd said:
I'm going to do this mod. (y)

It looks like, to close it, you use your finger and help it get started.? Do they have slightly longer springs, (perhaps 7"?),? at the Home Depot?
Click to expand...

Yes, you bend the spring a little while closing the lid.
 
Good idea....

I still use my better half when windy...hehehe
 
i found some extension springs at Tractor Supply Company today. they had 6", 61/2", 63/4", 7", 71/2 and so on. i bought some 61/2" and 63/4".
will see how they do in the morning.
 
i actually did this modd this weekend at our gtg modding event and kinked my spring making it worthless, oh and i did it twice. :E:
used 6" spring
 
i have to assume that when the spring broke over it went it the hinge and the hinge bent it :cautious:
i tried installing it on the passenger side door in the front location. :(
 
rxzruby said:
i have to assume that when the spring broke over it went it the hinge and the hinge bent it :cautious:
i tried installing it on the passenger side door in the front location. :(
Click to expand...

Gawd,? :8:

Both of mine are mounted in the front position. I tested mine by watching which way the spring will bend. Then reposition spring within the screw before tighten completely. That way the downward force would bend the spring in a certain direction. So far, I've had no problems. Even the workers at the car wash figure it out.
 
Finally got around to mounting the springs.? I started with a 9/16" x 16(I think)" spring, cut and formed the ends.? I bought the spring at Lowe's for +/- $7; sorry I had intended to take a picture of the label but a friend who was helping didn't know that and peeled the label destroying it.

In the first picture, I am putting pressure on to close the lid, it WILL NOT close with the spring in it's normal position.

In the second picture, I have pushed the spring to the side (one finger - very light pressure is all that is needed) and the lid will close.
 

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Last picture, lid closing.

Thanks RENORCR for the idea, it really is a great mod; especially with a 4-cell flashlight under one lid and a fire extinguisher under the other.
 

Attachments

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We use a product at work specifically designed for this application for holding the engine bay doors open on our large mobile equipment.  You "buckle" the spring to allow it to bend.  Here's a catalog pagehttp://www.austinhardware.com/dept.asp?dept_id=117

Great idea but they can be damaged if you push too hard without kinking them first.
 
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