Troubleshooting
Tanning Bed Lid Won't Stay Up: Gas Shocks, Struts and the Safe Way to Fix It
A canopy that will not stay up is not a dead bed, but it is a bed you cannot put a client in. Nobody lies under a lid that is drifting down on them, and your staff should not be propping it with a broom handle. The cause is almost always the gas springs, and this is one of the more owner-friendly repairs on a bed if you do it in order and keep your head out from under the lid.
What holds the canopy up
Most canopies are lifted by a pair of gas springs, one each side. Gas shocks, struts, lift supports: same part. A sealed steel cylinder of nitrogen under pressure pushes a rod out, and a little oil inside slows the travel so the lid does not fly open. Larger beds may use four springs or a counterbalanced hinge, but the principle is the same.
Gas springs are consumable. The rod seal lets a little nitrogen escape on every cycle, and over a few years the pressure falls below what the canopy weighs. There is no adjusting or recharging them in the field. They are replaced.
1. Confirm it is the springs
Open the canopy fully and let go. A healthy pair holds it there. A tired pair lets it drift, or holds a minute and then sags. Watch which corner drops first. That spring is further gone, but the other is not far behind. A canopy that has become heavy to raise is the same problem from the other direction.
While it is open, look at the pivot points. Each spring ends in a ball socket or eyelet on a stud on the frame. Worn ball studs, a bent bracket or a missing retaining clip make a good spring act like a bad one. Cheap fixes, but usually found alongside tired springs, not instead of them.
2. Cold rooms make it worse
Gas pressure drops with temperature. A spring that is marginal in July fails in a cold back room in January, which is why this call spikes for us every winter. If the canopy holds once the room warms up, the springs are on borrowed time. Order the pair now.
3. Measure before you order
Gas springs are not interchangeable by length alone. Order wrong and you get a lid that slams open, still sags, or a rod that bottoms out and cracks the bracket. With the canopy propped and the power off, record these from the old spring:
- Extended length, measured center to center of the two end fittings with the rod fully out.
- Compressed length, the same measurement with the rod pushed all the way in, or the stroke length if you cannot compress it.
- Rod diameter and body diameter.
- End fitting type. Most beds use a ball socket of a standard size. Some use an eyelet or a clevis.
- Force rating. Stamped on the body in newtons or pounds. This is the number that matters most. Two springs that look identical can differ by a hundred newtons.
If the body is too worn to read, the bed make and model will get you there. Our gas springs page lists what we carry, and we match by model when the stamp is gone.
4. Replace them in pairs
Always both. They were installed together and leaked together. One new spring beside an old one lifts the canopy crooked, twisting the hinges and loading one side's brackets, and the old spring will be back on your list within the season anyway. One trip, two springs.
5. Support the canopy, then swap
This is where people get hurt. Once a spring is unclipped, nothing holds the lid on that side, and a commercial canopy does not come down slowly when the second spring is overloaded. Before anything comes off:
- Power off and unplug the bed.
- Open the canopy fully and prop it with something that cannot slip or be kicked. Lumber cut to size and set on the bench frame, not the acrylic, works. A second person holding the lid is the backup, not the plan.
- Release the retaining clip on each end of the first spring and pull it off the ball studs. If the old spring is still partly charged, keep the rod end pointed away from you.
- Snap the new spring on, rod end up, body end down, the same orientation as the old one. Seat both clips.
- Repeat on the other side. Only then remove the prop, and lower the canopy slowly with your hand on it the first time.
Check that the canopy opens smoothly, holds at full open and does not snap up hard. If it slams open, the force rating is too high. If it still drifts, it is too low or a mount is bad.
Rather not work under a canopy
We carry the common struts, match the odd ones by model, and swap them on-site with the lid safely propped. One visit across Metro Detroit and statewide in Michigan.
Call (248) 545-5577When to call instead
Call a technician if the bed is a large commercial unit with a heavy canopy or more than two springs, if a bracket is bent or a ball stud has pulled out of the frame, if the hinge is loose or cracked, or if you cannot read the spring or identify the bed. Call too if the canopy has been slamming or dropping for a while, because that works loose the lamp holders and wiring in the lid, and we check those while we are in there. On the call we ask for the make and model, a photo of the old spring and its stamp, and how the lid behaves, and we usually have the right pair identified before we hang up.
Safety
Power off and unplug the bed before you open or prop anything. Never put any part of your body under an unsupported canopy. Never puncture, cut, heat or paint a gas spring, and do not try to recharge one. Keep the safety switches and canopy interlocks connected and working. The ballast compartment behind the lamps carries high voltage, so if the repair takes you near wiring, stop and call.
Frequently asked questions
Why won't my tanning bed canopy stay up?
The canopy is held up by gas springs, also called gas shocks or struts: sealed cylinders of pressurized nitrogen whose seals slowly leak over years of use. As pressure drops, the canopy drifts down, sags at one end, or feels heavy to lift. Worn pivots and ball studs can add to it, but the springs are the cause almost every time.
How do I know what size gas spring my tanning bed needs?
You need the extended length, center to center of the end fittings, the compressed length, the rod and body diameter, the end fitting type, and the force rating stamped on the body in newtons or pounds. If the stamp is worn off, the bed make and model gets you the right part. Ordering by length alone is how lids end up slamming open or still sagging.
Should I replace both gas springs or just the weak one?
Both. They were installed together and aged together. A new spring beside a tired one lifts unevenly, twists the canopy on its hinges and wears the mounts, and the old one will fail soon anyway. Pairs are standard practice.
Is it safe to replace tanning bed gas shocks myself?
It can be, if the canopy is fully supported before a spring comes off, since nothing holds that side once it is unclipped. Unplug the bed, prop the lid securely, have a second person, and never puncture, heat or try to recharge a gas spring. On a large commercial bed, or if the mounts are damaged, have a technician do it.