Tanning Bed Gas Springs and Canopy Shocks

The canopy on a lay-down bed weighs more than most people expect. Lamps, ballasts, acrylic and frame add up, and the gas springs on each side are what hold it open. When they weaken, the lid drifts. When they fail, it drops. Sun Systems & Service sources gas springs, canopy shocks and struts by request, matched to the length, force rating and end fittings your bed uses. Installed in Michigan, shipped nationwide after a video session.

What fails and how you can tell

• The canopy drifts down slowly after you open it. Gas pressure has leaked. This is the most common early sign and it only gets worse.
• The lid feels heavy to lift or needs a shove to get past halfway. The springs are no longer carrying the load.
• The canopy will not stay open at all. Full failure. Prop it and stop.
• The lid is hard to pull down or pops back up. Less common. Someone fitted a spring with too much force, or the wrong length is binding.
• Oil on the shaft of the spring, or a hissing sound when it moves. The seal is gone.
• One side weaker than the other. The canopy racks or twists as it opens. One spring failed first. Both are the same age, so replace both.

How to identify the part

Gas springs are specified by extended length, compressed length, force rating (printed in newtons or pounds on the body, often rubbed off on old units) and the end fittings, which are usually a ball socket, an eyelet or a threaded stud. With the canopy safely propped and the bed unplugged, measure the spring end to end fully extended, note the fitting at each end, and photograph the body for any printing. Send that with the model plate. If the printing is gone, the model plate and the measurements let us match it. Beds from the same maker often share a spring across several models, and some use a different force on the hinge side than the latch side, so measure both.

Why force matters

Too little force and the lid sags. Too much and it fights you on the way down and loads the hinges in a way they were not built for. The right spring holds the canopy at any angle between about a third open and fully open with no drift. That is what we match to. A universal strut from a hardware store that happens to fit the ball studs almost never has the right force for a tanning canopy.

Installing gas springs

With the canopy propped, a gas spring pops off a ball stud with a small screwdriver under the retaining clip and snaps onto the new stud by hand. Eyelet and stud types need a wrench. The whole job is 15 minutes once the lid is secured, and securing the lid is the step people skip. In Michigan we do it on site, usually while relamping or checking the acrylics. National customers get the matched pair shipped and a short video walk-through on request. Hinges and pivot bushings are a separate part and we source those too.

More parts by request

• Tanning bed lamps and bulbs
• Ballasts
• Starters
• Acrylics
• Gas springs and canopy shocks
• Timers and controllers
• Fans and cooling
• Electrical parts

Parts by brand

Wolff, ESB, Sunquest, SunFire, ProSun, Sunmaster, Ergoline and KBL, plus every other make we have seen in 35 years.

Request this part

Send the make, model and what the bed is doing. Stan confirms the part and quotes it, usually the same day.

Name

Phone

Email

City and state

Bed make and model

Gas springs needed

Model plate

Request this part

A clear photo of the model plate and of the part itself saves a round of questions. Reply to the confirmation email with both.