Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Would station wagon gas struts be strong enough for a hatch

Realy depends mate, what sort of weight do you recon your hatch is?
Struts off a large station Wagon may do the trick or a Hi ace van maybe but if you get them on ebay they arnt that expensive new so unless thier free or cheap you might be better off with new.
There's a formula for working out the stroke and strength.
You could probably find it on line or find a place that sells universal ones and they will work it out for you....even if you don't end up getting them there .

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=6319&hilit=Gas+struts+Grant Don't know if this will work and get you there, but I have saved a topic (page) can't think of the word. I own a pair of new shocks, theyre laying on the work bench.....but that link has lots of good info. If this doesn't work shoot me a p.m. And I'll try something else. Coyote

Your struts might work, maybe not.
Its vital to know the strength, placement, and weight of hatch to calculate if its going to work.
Otherwise its a seat of pants trial & error, or you just might get lucky off the crack. Who knows ?

www.mcmaster.com has a calculator / tutorial page to help you choose a strut, but you would have to know the strength of the stationwagon struts you are considering to use.

It boils down to a leverage issue. The opened and closed length of the strut, and its pressure rating, versus the arc of travel you want for the hatch (opened and closed positions) and how that relates to the fixed mounting point of the strut. Also, if the angle of thrust of the strut is not optimized to the hatch angle, the available thrust can be misdirected (vector force relationship, in other words, the strut force may be applied inefficiently, perhaps more towards ripping the hinge and less towards lifting the hatch).

And then there is the weight of the hatch and its center of gravity with relation to the hinge. A steeper more vertical hatch will be easier to lift initially than a longer hatch that is laid out flatter.

A longer strut with longer throw will put less stress on the hinge and mounting point because the force is directed closer to the hatch CG than it would be with a shorter strut with shorter throw, which has less mechanical advantage due to the leverage of the hatch.

It would be much better to do a mock up and some research and try to get close, rather than trial and error. There are are many fine examples of builders who clamped scraps to the insides of their galleys to work out the weights and geometry, and check for interferences; and even more examples of people who ended up with extra holes in their walls and hatches, along with extra hassles exchanging struts for differently rated ones.