Hickory Springs Folding Step Failure

I noticed that my 3 step hickory springs folding steps on my 08 Jayco Superlight 5er started slightly sagging on the right bottom corner step about 2 years ago. To make a long story short, we continued using the trailer as the condition wasn't too bad, however, the condition slowly worsened to the point that I decided to fix the problem before someone lost their balance and fell while descending the steps. Looking at the steps, I found that the top step rivet had deformed significantly. I tried replacing the rivet with a bolt, but the steps continued to sag. Upon further examination, I found that the bottom metal support (as seen in the pictures) which actually supports the entire right side of the step mechanism had broken allowing the step to sag. As the top rivet deformed more, the corner of the step sagged further making the steps unsafe. If I had investigated the problem when I first noticed it, it might have been possible to weld the frame back up, but unfortunately I didn't until some of the other supporting members had bent and become distorted and were beyond fixing, thus I had to replace the steps.

I post this only to alert RVers that the folding steps should be inspected and lubricated (which I had done) periodically to avoid a similar situation. When I replaced the steps, I found that none of the bolts attaching the steps to the trailer had lock washers or locking nuts on them. I would also suggest that the attachment points for the steps to the trailer be checked occasionally to make sure that all bolts and nuts are tight.