T6.1 tail gate travel issue

[Corgimajor]

Can anyone please advise why the tailgate on our new (picked it up in October) California Ocean, once opened, now only rises up to about 20-30 cm below its fully open position (measured at the end of the tailgate) requiring a push to get it all the way to fully open? It rose up unassisted when we first had it. I am going to approach the dealer, but I figured someone on the forum may have some helpful guidance before I do. NB. no additional weight (e.g. bike carrier) has been added, the tailgate is as it was delivered.

 

[johna]

Colder weather. In hot weather the gas in the strut can expand such that the tailgate sometimes shoots up.

 

[kurienp]

Your solution is this below. No jokes . Keep this in the boot in the winter to support the tailgate. If you change the struts to higher rated struts, you will be back in summer asking why you are not able to pull down the tailgate that you could do so easily in summer

 

[sidepod]

It may be worth checking the part numbers and load rating. It’s clearly marked on the body of the strut.
Californias have a higher load rated strut to account for the bike rack etc.
Something around 900N should be correct I believe?
I only know this as I replaced mine recently.

In a cost saving exercise, VW may have downgraded the fit? Worth a look.

 

[WelshGas]

It may be worth checking the part numbers and load rating. It’s clearly marked on the body of the strut.
Californias have a higher load rated strut to account for the bike rack etc.
Something around 900N should be correct I believe?
I only know this as I replaced mine recently.

In a cost saving exercise, VW may have downgraded the fit? Worth a look.

I believe the California has 1200N Gas Struts.

 

[sidepod]

I believe the California has 1200N Gas Struts.

Perfect, a more accurate number to cross ref.

 

[OxonCalifornia]

Can anyone please advise why the tailgate on our new (picked it up in October) California Ocean, once opened, now only rises up to about 20-30 cm below its fully open position (measured at the end of the tailgate) requiring a push to get it all the way to fully open? It rose up unassisted when we first had it. I am going to approach the dealer, but I figured someone on the forum may have some helpful guidance before I do. NB. no additional weight (e.g. bike carrier) has been added, the tailgate is as it was delivered.

Collected mine last Saturday and Ive noticed the same, although with a helping hand the tailgate stays up fully. I was going to mention it to the dealer but having read this and had suspicions about the weather ill leave until the spring, its under warranty so can be sorted at any time if there is an issue

 

[OxonCalifornia]

Collected mine last Saturday and Ive noticed the same, although with a helping hand the tailgate stays up fully. I was going to mention it to the dealer but having read this and had suspicions about the weather ill leave until the spring, its under warranty so can be sorted at any time if there is an issue

Perfect, a more accurate number to cross ref.

Ill check too

 

[Perfectos]

Common issue when temperatures drop : some reading

Search results for query: 1200n

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Corgimajor]

Hi and thanks to all that have posted a reply, your guidance and suggestions are much appreciated. I'll happily live with providing the manual assistance for the last few cms of travel in the winter. I'll double check the performance rating of the gas struts in daylight tomorrow and report back.

 

[rod_vw]

Maybe you can discover which struts you have and perhaps which you should have from this. Check the PR numbers with those of your vehicle (on the big sticker in the service book) or decode them from this list on here http://prsearch.planetvag.com/ or here http://prsearch.planetvag.com/

 

[OxonCalifornia]

Here we go..my one week old T6.1 Ocean is fitted with N1270 gas struts made by our friends in Romania. Since collecting and during the cold this week it needs a helping hand to get to the full opening position but stays there. I just think its the ambient temperature and nothing wrong with it.

 

[Defender90]

Here we go..my one week old T6.1 Ocean is fitted with N1270 gas struts made by our friends in Romania. Since collecting and during the cold this week it needs a helping hand to get to the full opening position but stays there. I just think its the ambient temperature and nothing wrong with it.View attachment 102740

I think they need up rating I am contemplating going for the Hess cylinders 1400 or 1600n but you need to fit new mounting brackets which involves drilling the van,the issue is even worse with a bike rack and cold weather, in fact it’s a pain and drives me mad

 

[Tarquers]

Bought this from a German company, holds open the tailgate if needed, not needed here hence the air gap between the metal Latch and the bottom of the cylinder but handy with a bike on the back. Not everyone’s cup of tea but happy with it so far.

 

[PhilR]

My week old Ocean is exactly the same. After bumping my head about a dozen times I now automatically remember to help it up

 

[WelshGas]

My week old Ocean is exactly the same. After bumping my head about a dozen times I now automatically remember to help it up

It’ll be the reverse come summer.

 

[dspuk]

Good to read this, our July 22 Ocean is exactly the same and now I know why.

 

[PhilR]

It’ll be the reverse come summer.

Damn, my dodgy shoulder is next then

 

[Calimili]

Here we go..my one week old T6.1 Ocean is fitted with N1270 gas struts made by our friends in Romania. Since collecting and during the cold this week it needs a helping hand to get to the full opening position but stays there. I just think its the ambient temperature and nothing wrong with it.View attachment 102740

My 2019 T6 Ocean gas the same 1270Nm struts. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...xperience-and-alternatives.42414/#post-547771

 

[sidepod]

I’ve found that, in cold weather, if I held the tail gate fully open for approx 15-20 seconds then it would allow the struts to stabilise and the tailgate would remain up.

 

[Defender90]

These should sort it

https://vwt5-t6upgrades.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1400-STRUTS.jpg

you need the brackets as well also on the website

 

[Calimili]

These should sort it

https://vwt5-t6upgrades.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1400-STRUTS.jpg

you need the brackets as well also on the website

Those are the "winter struts". One has to swap back to summer struts 1270Nm in March.

 

[Defender90]

Those are the "winter struts". One has to swap back to summer struts 1270Nm in March.

Not sure how to sort this ,I need to be able to lift the boot with my bike rack loaded with my bike rack bag and one bike it’s a right chew when travelling taking everything off to access the chairs and other gear in the boot.
the bag has life jackets ,wetsuits ,kayak paddles and other bits in it probably weighs the same as a bike.

So do I ditch the Cali chairs which I find uncomfortable and go for the light weight helinox chair two and store them in the front of the van for easy access this would also reduce the weight on the tailgate when the bike rack has nothing on it.
But this still doesn’t help with access to the boot when fully loaded so the other option is a lot more expensive ie change the bike rack to tow bar type get a new bag that attaches to the tow bar bike rack ie Thule backspace,but again this then creates another issue I loose my rear camera view.

Next option is t5 t6 upgrades do adjustable cylinders that can be bleed to suit the load on the boot lid ,again this involves new mounting bracket’s and like you say in hot weather I could be fighting to close the boot lid.