After the trip to Americade I decided to take the trunk off and apart to see how the lower half plastic was holding up. I had repaired some holes and cracks using a solder gun, ABS patches and ABS cement.
I noticed the cracks were starting to show up in the same old places again.
So I decided to remove the metal plate I had added and add a thick layer of 'Bondo Hair'.
It would not need to be pretty because I would add the metal plate over the top of it.
I also added some Bondo Hair to the back wall of the trunk around the area where the two locks are. There was a hairline crack showing up a tiny bit there as well.
The trunk feels much more solid now and gained a little weight. I'm hoping all of these mods will give this thing the strength it needs to support my passengers and gear.
Also, the trunk was able to pivot a little on the quick release mount because there was an .080" gap between the locking latch bracket and the chrome quick release weldment. I drilled a hole in the lock latch bracket and added a socket head cap screw with a lock washer to take up the gap.
Now the trunk can't pivot and feels much more solidly mounted.
I was using two 30 psi lift struts but they weren't strong enough to lift the trunk. So I tried two 50 psi struts. That was way too much pressure. It turns out one 50 psi strut can easily lift the lid but that is too much pressure for one side of the trunk. The 30 psi struts I was using were used and must be worn out because both of them together don't have as much pressure as one of the 50 psi struts. Even one of the 50 psi struts was enough to push the lid upwards when the trunk was closed and exert too much pressure on the trunk. I think if I had to do it again two 20 psi struts would be worth trying.