Upper cupboard spring loaded hinge replacement to keep doors in open position

Rlethbri · March 2017

ordered the hinges and very excited to put them to work.

Ron · March 2017

I just installed the spring loaded hinges. They hold the door open at more than 90 degrees. Probably about 115 to 120. Knob is about 3/4 to 1 inch below ceiling. Seems close to what the struts were with less strain. I reused the original screws. Mount hinge to door and then mount door to frame.
Their are probably more options available. If you have ever gone through the Amerock catalog, you would never believe that their could be that many different hinges.

ericnliz · April 2017

@OutbackAZ, A big thanks for the info on just buying one pack of the hinges! No more smacked hands/knuckles, or creases in my forehead keeping the cabinets open!

ClaudeA · June 2017

Bought one pack of the hinges, installed them. Works great, thanks for the tip.

Newfisher · June 2017

Installed these hinges and they line up, same holes, 2 min install and work great! 1 per door was all I needed and the doors do not hit the ceiling.

HR_Taly · January 2018

Just chiming in to say that I broke the strut on one of my upper cabinets (2018 T@B 320 S), and spent the better part of the last three weeks swearing at it and wondering if I should call Elsie for a replacement. I don't blame nuCamp, I probably open that cabinet 6 or 8 times a day, every day for the last few months.

I stumbled across this thread and clicked the Amazon link (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I24GTQ/). A set of hinges is only $8. I know my T@B is a different model year but I thought - what the heck, and just ordered them to see if they would work. Ordered on Sunday, they arrived today.

Less than 5 minutes later I had a complete drop-in replacement set of hinges that work great! I even used the same screws that the old hinges came with. I did absolutely nothing except unscrew the old ones, and pop in the new ones that lined up exactly. What an absolute great find, I'm so happy!

And yes, the new hinges will hold the cabinet up higher than the struts, but it still doesn't hit the ceiling. New hinges on the left, stock/standard cabinet with the strut on the right.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/lp/saq03gsgjyv4.jpg

Marceline · January 2018

Another piece of info: you can get away with replacing just one of the existing hinges on each door.

rkj__ · January 2018

KBaggins1 said:

I noticed on a pic of a brand new T@B that the factory was using struts to hold up the front over counter cupboard doors.Thought I would bump this thread to show the alternative to the struts for older models.

Thanks for bumping this thread. Those Amerock hinges look like a great option. I really need to implement a solution for holding the doors up.

ericnliz · January 2018

@HR_Taly, I didn't have anything to hold mine open & got tired of trying to juggle the things I was taking out, putting back in, & banging my head in the process. I ordered the two pack as did you, used one on each cupboard door...problem solved! They keep the doors open at just the right "fully" open angle without hitting the ceiling.
@Marceline, As you can see, I fully agree. I was skeptical until I tried it. Plenty strong enough to only require one per cupboard!
@rkj__, Order those hinges! You'll wonder why you waited so long....I did!

Estancio · January 2018

Agreed that these spring-loaded hinges work well. I replaced my stock ones a year ago and am 100% satisfied.

HR_Taly · January 2018

You know, I hate to be the person that thinks this but...

The replacement after-market hinges are so perfect and so inexpensive, I had to wonder why nuCamp doesn't use them. The cabinets open easily, and no more creeeeeakk/squeak noise from the struts. After replacing the hinge/broken strut assembly last night I think I opened my cabinet seven or eight times last night just to smile at the simplicity and ease of it with the replacement hinges.

Then I thought - maybe the struts are used because they really hold the cabinet door *shut*, too. The replacement hinges have a bit of pressure and the door (even if it wasn't vertical) is held shut. But it doesn't take a lot of force to open, and I had replaced both hinges on the single door.

Anyone have any issues with these replacement hinges causing the doors to fly open when driving down the road? (or rather, items shifting from road vibration inside the cabinet pushing the doors open?)

Tabaz · January 2018

There is a small lip at the bottom/front of each cabinet. This tends to keep things from hitting the cabinet door. I have one flip-up hinge per door and have not had any problems with them opening during travel. If this is a worry for you, simply install those small magnetic catches on the door.

HR_Taly · January 2018

@Tabaz that's a great idea. I figured with all of us that have done this over the years that if it was a problem, someone would have said! But I actually love the little magnetic idea for extra security.

KBaggins1 · February 2018

We have never had an upper cabinet fly open on the road using the replacement hinges. As mentioned above the lower lip stops things from hitting the doors but the hinges do a good job keeping the doors closed.

Verna · February 2018

Spring loaded hinges are marvelous! Thanks for the above link.

One hinge per door door and no more holding the cabinet door open with my head

ericnliz · February 2018

@Verna, You're JUST now gettin' to the hinges?? You could have replaced at least one while you were watchin' the Hoosiers!

Seriously though, one of the best mods I've done other than the single dump.

Verna · February 2018

@ericnliz, my spring hinges were fine until recently and a couple of bruised knuckles was enough to remind me to order these hinges. No more bruised knuckles

rkj__ · February 2018

I tried to find these locally, but have struck out so far. I may have to pay too much, and order on Amazon.ca

ericnliz · February 2018

@rkj__, I thought the same about the price.....however, the convenience of having them stay open was worth every penny! You'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

jkjenn · February 2018

I have some of those hinges waiting to install. Thanks for letting me know that you only need 1 per door!

ericnliz · February 2018

@jkjenn, I was a little skeptical about using only one per door myself, so I installed only one on the first door, tried it & SURPRISE worked quite well.

ChanW · February 2018

@TabberJohn, your magnet idea is excellent! I've installed the Amerock hinges, but might just add the magnets for those times I'd like the doors full up. The magnets are so tiny, they don't look bad on the ceiling there.

I used those nice rare earth magnets to hold the toilet seat cover up, when the Tab isn't quite level enough to do it itself. However, I've had a little problem getting glue to stick to the ultra smooth magnet surface. What kind of glue did you use?

ericnliz · February 2018

@ChanW, Have you tried contact cement...the rubber based stuff that sticks to itself? I've had good luck gluing two metal pieces with it before. The other good feature to it is that it's not that difficult to remove if you have an OOPS!

JimEngel · February 2018

I replaced the brass pulls with steel pulls and attached magnets on the ceiling, works like a charm.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DBJIPWQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

KBaggins1 · February 2018

For fellow Canadian T@B owners if you look at the first post in the thread you should be able to find the part# to buy these hinges at Home Hardware. That is where we found them.

TabberJohn · February 2018

ChanW said:

@TabberJohn, your magnet idea is excellent! I've installed the Amerock hinges, but might just add the magnets for those times I'd like the doors full up. The magnets are so tiny, they don't look bad on the ceiling there.

I used those nice rare earth magnets to hold the toilet seat cover up, when the Tab isn't quite level enough to do it itself. However, I've had a little problem getting glue to stick to the ultra smooth magnet surface. What kind of glue did you use?

Locktite Super Glue/Ultra Gel Control

I thought of another idea for those with a woodworking skills and time to kill.
Remove the door, remove the pull, fill in the hole, use a router to cut a finger pull on inside bottom lip of the door, reinstall the door, then superglue the rare earth magnets to ceiling and edge of door where it meets the ceiling. Then the door would lift nearly flush to the ceiling with a small gap to pull it down.

bmetinCO · March 2018

I ordered the one listed from Amazon but it didn't seem to do any better than the stock one. The stock one is on the bottom and has a large spring in it. The Amazon is on top. Am I missing something or did I order the wrong one. It fit great but didn't keep the cabinet open any better than the stock ones. They were the Amerock BP2811J2314
(Working on attaching the pic)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v0SHV414BeRr1S5t2

jritchey3 · April 2018

Does anyone know if these hinges work on the Dutchmen T@Bs? I have 2007 Queen.

rkj__ · April 2018

bmetinCO said:

I ordered the one listed from Amazon but it didn't seem to do any better than the stock one. The stock one is on the bottom and has a large spring in it. The Amazon is on top. Am I missing something or did I order the wrong one. It fit great but didn't keep the cabinet open any better than the stock ones. They were the Amerock BP2811J2314
(Working on attaching the pic)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v0SHV414BeRr1S5t2

I did not find these hinges at the first Home Hardware I checked, but I looked at another nearby Home Hardware, and picked up two pairs.

I installed one on each door, and they worked perfectly for me. I’m very happy I saw this thread, and made the upgrade. We use those cabinets a lot, and now they are far more convenient.

You got the part number right bmetinCO.

leenscottfl · May 2018

Just dropped one hinge per door and was amazed. One of those super easy projects with great results. Many thanks to all of you who led the way.

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Upper cupboard spring loaded hinge replacement to keep doors in open position

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