Lift Struts

[waltermrich]

Something to pass on to the tribe, On Dec 4th I took a pair of frount lift struts to Wag Aero in Wisconson (drove them ther in my car) to have them sealed, I had asked if they could have them done before Dec19th as I was having Knee surgey that day and would not be able to drive back to get them, they assured me that would work out. Well they were not done before I could drive back and get them so they shipped them to me. When I got them on Dec 27th one had been damaged as a fork truck had driven over the thin cardboard tube they were sent in. The delivery driver noted it and singed they shipping bill stating that. I called the Shipper and Wag Aero the next day and they both assured me it would be dealt with. There was a $1000 insurance on the shipment. Wag Aero said thay could not replace both with new struts untill the shipping settlement arrived but most likely the shipper would only cover one , but they would be willing to get and old stock when available and replace the one damaged, or replace a match with old stock. Im still waiting for The settlement from the shipper and Wag Aero to find and old stock replacement. The lesson Insist that your struts be shipped in a heavy duty container such as PVC.

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Lift Struts

Been there, done that! I had an 18' shuffle board destroyed by a shipper once, $4,500 worth of loss. I did get it replaced but it was months to get it done! Sorry to hear this.

L

[Bird]

Re: Lift Struts

I was just talking to Tom? from Wag-Aero and he was telling me to use the 6 inch pvc tube.
The Strutts are just at 10' but I believe that you would need a couple of inches at each end so I would make it 11' long and use small screws to attach the end caps instead of glue, or use glue at one end with screws at the other "OPEN THIS END", in order to save it.

[N96290]

Re: Lift Struts

6" PVC pipe is what I used last summer to send my struts to Wag Aero. I had 3 struts, 2 rears and 1 front and I do not think all 4 would fit in 6". I wrapped some foam around and through the struts about 3 places to keep them seperated and they made the trip just fine. I also used screws to hold the caps on with the sharp ends ground off to where they would not stick clear through. The other front strut had been replaced with a sealed strut 4 years ago when it failed the testing.

[M Towsley]

Re: Lift Struts

Thanks for the heads-up, Walter. That just sucks. You may want to remind Wag that this issue is their problem, not yours. If they under-insured, again, not your problem - but theirs. I don't know anyone at Wag and don't know how you want to handle this, but you may want to let them know you may have to consult an attorney over this. You have to remember all the work you will have to do to get the correct strut(s), have it/them fitted, painted, etc. I'm not one to run to an attorney every time I feel wronged, but this could be costly for you in both time and money.

I also find it interesting Wag is suggesting PVC to ship, but they defer to thin cardboard to ship yours. Comes down to cost and they didn't want to spend the time and money to do it right.

[M Jones]

Re: Lift Struts

I've replaced the old struts now, but I had them tested once initially. I used a 10' long, 6" dia. PVC tube with a cap glued on one end, and a threaded female clean-out on the other end. It's long enough and big enough for all four struts with some protection wrapped between them. I just used it to drive them down to St. Louis and back home for testing the one time.

By the way, if any of the tribe more local need it, just ask.

[M Towsley]

Re: Lift Struts

Ok Mike, now I feel cheap. When I took mine to St. Louis I stuck them in the back of my Jeep Commander with old rugs in between. They went all the way up between the seats and up to the windshield but I was able to close the rear glass hatch.

[waltermrich]

Re: Lift Struts

Thanks to everyone for your responses, Wag Aero does seem to want to work with me , the problem is none of the newly manufactured struts are the same size as originals and they have not been willing to make new replacements for me , But it is unfair to me to keep me just waiting , I do not think I will have to go the attorney route but I may have to be a bit more insistent with them . It is encouraging to hear that it falls upon them to make it right.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Lift Struts

Having worked with Wag on several things I think they will do you right in the end. They have been really good people to work with for me. None of this is YOUR fault, but remember the guy you are talking to at WAG wasn't on the fork lift either. I have shipped parts in the heavy cardboard tubes (usually old carpet roll tubes with wood plugs) and with PVC tube. NEITHER would have survived being run over by a fork lift.
Keep us advised how this comes out, but I am pretty confident WAG will take care of you. They are good people and small plane folks themselves.
Hank

[M Jones]

Re: Lift Struts

Ok Mike, now I feel cheap. When I took mine to St. Louis I stuck them in the back of my Jeep Commander with old rugs in between. They went all the way up between the seats and up to the windshield but I was able to close the rear glass hatch.

Hey Marty, I brought the new struts home from WagAero that way, but on the trip to STL for inspection, we stopped at our parents places in Decatur, and the back end of the SUV was full of "stuff" and a big dog, so the struts had to ride outside.

[M Jones]

Re: Lift Struts

Having worked with Wag on several things I think they will do you right in the end. They have been really good people to work with for me. None of this is YOUR fault, but remember the guy you are talking to at WAG wasn't on the fork lift either. I have shipped parts in the heavy cardboard tubes (usually old carpet roll tubes with wood plugs) and with PVC tube. NEITHER would have survived being run over by a fork lift.
Keep us advised how this comes out, but I am pretty confident WAG will take care of you. They are good people and small plane folks themselves.
Hank

I agree with Hank about WagAero being good people to work with Walter. Tom has gone out of his way more than once to help me out. I hope this all works out for you soon!

[Bird]

Re: Lift Struts

I had to add clean out caps to each end of my 10' (6" dia) piece of pvc to get enough clearance for my rear struts to fit, as the rear struts were right at 10'3".
As for how much room there was inside- I think I could have added 2 more struts.
Now as to the cost of the PVC and caps- that was right at $90 from Lowes, and then the shipping to WI will be in the $150 range and then after I get it back I will not have any other use for it unless I cut it up to make deer feeders out of it. It would cost too much to ship to anyone else but I could drive to someone within a $45 dollar drive, other than that it just isn't cost effective to do anything else unless I am missing something here, thoughts on this aspect?

[M Jones]

Re: Lift Struts

I cheated a little when i glued the end cap and clean-out on by not seating them all the way down the tube. That gave me the 10'+ length and saved the cost of the second clean-out. This was also a few years ago, so $45 at Menards was my cost. It's just sitting in the hangar, but I bet a contractor could use it (free) for EMT, etc. Makes a good fishing pole holder too I suppose...

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Lift Struts

I cheated a little when i glued the end cap and clean-out on by not seating them all the way down the tube. That gave me the 10'+ length and saved the cost of the second clean-out. This was also a few years ago, so $45 at Menards was my cost. It's just sitting in the hangar, but I bet a contractor could use it (free) for EMT, etc. Makes a good fishing pole holder too I suppose...

Yep had one mounted on the roof of my houseboat for rod storage!

L

[waltermrich]

Re: Lift Struts

Im pleased to tell that Wag Aero replaced my damaged strut on Saturday, John the shop employee that inspects and reseals the used struts was able to find one that Im satisfied with. It is acually a Univair strut but has the exact profile of my old damaged one and you can not tell any difference, although it is slightly smaller in the major axis, but not noticably by looking at it. They were all very helpfull but it took quite awhile as it was Dec.4th when I first brought them there. The shipping Co. Mid West Motor Express is another mattter, and are not cooperating , DO NOT use them for shipment , They are not willing to pay. Avoid them.