minn kota home made lift assist

[CastingCall]

Hmmm.... I never would have thought that anybody on this site would give their professional advise on something they know nothing about.

LOL!

I did some quick calculations, based on a gas strut site calculator: 50 lbs. weight, located 28" radius from center of pivot (my calcs of my Maxxum), with gas strut mounted 6" from pivot = gas strut force of 116.7 lbs. required. The 4048 struts Josh has are rated 115 lbs., so if he's got one shock mounted, it's pretty much nuts on. Split between 2 struts, would need to find 58 lbs. force in similar size (11" extended length, 4" stroke).

[JoshKeller]

there is one strut on each side. Not sure what pound the rating is (its from grand cherokee hood), but it will VERY SLOWLY lift itself from the in the water position if you give a quick yank on the cord. I started off with one strut, it made a noticeable difference, but I had the stuff to go ahead and do both, so I did it, and i like the fact that it will lift itself while im sitting in my operators seat with just a pull of the cord. As a test, my 4 year old nephew was able to stow and deploy the motor by himself in the driveway.

[K_Mac]

Thanks for the info. I'll be trying out my new Maxxum this weekend. Depending on how it goes I may seriously consider this

[Ranger 188]

how thick is the yellow medal for the shock, and does it raise the motor bracket up

[rtlgator]

I'm going to read all this again, I'm certainly not a engineer but am handy, I guess what I'm not sure of is the size of srut 4" or 6" and then how to measure where to mount and I know the info is probably right in front of me

[Bill Reynolds]

I'm going to read all this again, I'm certainly not a engineer but am handy, I guess what I'm not sure of is the size of srut 4" or 6" and then how to measure where to mount and I know the info is probably right in front of me

I think the key is the mounting stud locations. I have the struts and mounting hardware and plan to try to mock it up later this week. I reasoned through it enough that I have an idea of where the lower stud should be mounted in relation to the mot mount pivot point but will do some testing and measuring before I drill any holes. I will update with hole locations as soon as I get something that works.

[rtlgator]

That would be great, what Max MK do you have.....mine is a 70LB variable speed about 3 years old... I'm not one to hang on coat tails but I'm all in and thanks for being the test pilot..

[Bill Reynolds]

That would be great, what Max MK do you have.....mine is a 70LB variable speed about 3 years old... I'm not one to hang on coat tails but I'm all in and thanks for being the test pilot..

I also hAve a 70 lb MAXXUM variable speed. It is about 1 year old. I have a busy schedule for the next few days but I will try to get the testing done before the weekend because I will be traveling then.

[billnorman1]

I used Josh's pictures, the Jeep Cherokee struts for less than $20 from eBay, and it's worked well for a couple of years. Two fingers to lift, but when the struts are new you have to "fling" it overboard.
I recommend drilling and tapping the holes and using Loctite.

[rtlgator]

I also hAve a 70 lb MAXXUM variable speed. It is about 1 year old. I have a busy schedule for the next few days but I will try to get the testing done before the weekend because I will be traveling then.

Hey, take your time, I'm not going away from this one, hope it works says my "knee" and back

[CastingCall]

Bill Reynolds, which struts did you end up buying? Can you post a link?
Curious what the compressed/extended measurements are.

[Bill Reynolds]

Bill Reynolds, which struts did you end up buying? Can you post a link?
Curious what the compressed/extended measurements are.

I bought the ones previously listed from eBay. They are the 11 inch extended length with 4 inch stroke.