Factory Step Removal

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by 57gasser

I changed ours out because the DW has neuropathy in her feet from diabetes & she hated the wobbly 3 step fold up ones! The new solid fold- ups have a built in handrail, as well as a large aftermarket grab handle on the trailer. First time she tried them out, there were tears in her eyes. Happy wife, happy camping!!! Sure, there are differences in the two, but its not a pita.

This!
I replaced the factory 3 step “spring board” with a 4 step from Tork-lift.
The Bride has knee problems and I was awarded her daily “You Da Man” award for my efforts.

[57gasser]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

This!
I replaced the factory 3 step “spring board” with a 4 step from Tork-lift.
The Bride has knee problems and I was awarded her daily “You Da Man” award for my efforts.

I surprised DW after using our trailer for a year & a half when I changed them. Had I known how much nicer they are, & how much I was gonna like them too, my only regret was not doing it much sooner!!!

[FISTEP]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

This!
I replaced the factory 3 step “spring board” with a 4 step from Tork-lift.
The Bride has knee problems and I was awarded her daily “You Da Man” award for my efforts.

I'm interested in how big the steps are when retracted. I would like to gain some ground clearance over the 3 step stock fold-out stairs that Jayco used in 2022.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by FISTEP

I'm interested in how big the steps are when retracted. I would like to gain some ground clearance over the 3 step stock fold-out stairs that Jayco used in 2022.

I don't have their step system, but have looked at torkliftcentral.com, checked their dimension charts, and depending on which model of steps, I roughly figure the closed height difference to be between 6" and 8" shorter. The last time I measured the step frame height on a triple step, it protruded down about 16" from the top of the step frame. I hope this helps, and you can get a lot more information from their website to determine which steps to consider.

[57gasser]

Originally Posted by FISTEP

I'm interested in how big the steps are when retracted. I would like to gain some ground clearance over the 3 step stock fold-out stairs that Jayco used in 2022.

Difference is once the stock fold outs are removed, there will be nothing left there on the outside, and new fold ups are hinged on the threshold & fold inside the camper.
After I did ours, I bought a storage box from morryde that bolts in where the stock fold outs were for room for more junk!

[ranchosinvacas]

I am surprised that no one mentioned finding their stair mounting bolts completely stripped or rounded out in the flooring of the trailer. I was forced to cut the floor vinyl to access and remove the carriage bolts that held the stair assembly in place. The problem was caused by the installers over tightening the nuts and lock washers used on the carriage bolts holding the stair assembly in place. I could not remove the hex nuts because every bolt just spun in place under the floor covering. This also caused the bolt threads to become striped while spinning in place against the steel frame of the stair assembly. The above happened when I first attempted to change out a two step stair unit in order to put in a three step stair assembly. Changing to a 3 step stair took up no more room than a 2 step unit in terms of ground clearance. Careful cutting of the floor vinyl helped lessen the appearance issues when repairing the vinyl after changing out the carriage bolts with the new ones. The install was not a fun project.

[cadman_ks]

I must be the odd man in here.

We LOVE our folding in the door solid steps, with caveats:

1. You MUST have spring assist. Our daughter the same kind as us, without spring assist, and they are a LOT of work, and somewhat dangerous to get in and out
2. The steps that Jayco uses on the Pinnacle have a really nice foot height feature with is a spring loaded latch. Our Montana had the pins to adjust, and while it does the same thing, much more tedious to adjust for sure

I really only see one major drawback with them, and that is the clearance in tight quarters, while in storage. In our shed, we are unable to fully deploy them, and if I have to get in, it's not the easiest, but doable. As far as tight quarters in a camp ground, we have never had that issue. Been close to railroad ties a couple times, but could still make it work. Not enough for me to want to ditch them, for sure.

I don't get too hung up on the stuff inside of the unit. We just keep a rug there, and it seems to catch most of it, and we can shake it out when we get to where we are going.

I would still trade all of the negatives for the stability that the solid steps give. There simply is no substitute for that...

[ChrisLoftis]

We take a broom and blower with us every trip so we clean the steps off before folding them up. I store mine at home with plenty of room to deploy them but I can see where others would have problems in a storage yard. I will remove my factory ones and figure out what to do with the space. For a cleaner look I would love to get a piece of the side skirt and cover across the opening but not sure where to get one at.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by ranchosinvacas

I am surprised that no one mentioned finding their stair mounting bolts completely stripped or rounded out in the flooring of the trailer. I was forced to cut the floor vinyl to access and remove the carriage bolts that held the stair assembly in place. The problem was caused by the installers over tightening the nuts and lock washers used on the carriage bolts holding the stair assembly in place.

I had the same problem with one bolt. On our PDI I made the comment that the entry steps seemed spongy with a lot of give on the left side. "They all do that" was the techs response. After our first trip I gave the steps a closer look, as well as trying to tighten the nuts on the mounting bolts. The one on the left side was pulled almost all the way through the wood floor.

Once the bolt was removed I enlarged the hole just a bit. Then filled the hole with fiberglass resin and then re-drilled it once it hardened. I put a large washer on the new lag bolt and reinstalled it. The head of the lag bolt and washer are visible on top of the floor, but I painted them to match the color of the floor. Looks like it came that way from the factory.

That was five years ago and the steps are still pretty solid. I use the support I mentioned in Post 14 to eliminate any movement when going in or out of the trailer.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by FISTEP

I'm interested in how big the steps are when retracted. I would like to gain some ground clearance over the 3 step stock fold-out stairs that Jayco used in 2022.

Ours is an older 5th so I can’t provide much info for your question. I will say that the retracted steps don’t hang noticeably lower than the 3step original. Our 5th has quite a bit of ground clearance to start with so that wasn’t an issue to start with.

[Philco]

How did you access the bolts to remove the step? I’m wondering if the first owner covered the bolt heads with the stick on vinyl flooring the added inside the camper.

Thanks