Spongy Kwikee Series 32 steps
Repaired and Reinstalled****
Well I got it repaired. It wasn’t, and yet it was easy, figuring out how to start was a real pain, not sure I wanted to do it all by myself, actually doing the work was easy.
In order to find out what was broken or damaged it quickly became obvious that I had to remove the steps. Lets define steps and stairs, the steps were made by Kwikee and attached to the stairs made by Winnebago. Steps are outside, Stairs are inside.
First off, I know and understand all the precautions that need to be observed, both electrical and mechanical. Safety First. Okay!
You can see in the first picture where the bolt pulling through the plate had torn the metal in three places. Using the floor jack I pushed the bent metal back to as close to flat as possible. Because I could not put a backup plate above the mounting plate, I put one below it. I chose a piece of 3/16 “ steel and using threaded inserts I bolted it up against the bottom of the mounting plate. On the left side of the plate the rear bolt was still ok and front bolt’s hole was still in place after bending the steel back in place, I cut a 1.25” hole with a hole saw and put a new bolt with a heavy washer through from above. I also made a plate for the right side. I drilled holes in the backup plate and bolted them on each side, then I drilled three more holes through both the step’s frame and the mounting plate. I enlarged the holes in the mounting plate and installed three 3/8 – 16 threaded inserts. This provided five bolts to hold the backing plate in place and distribute the weight of the steps over a larger area. I just drilled one new hole and threaded insert on the right side, as sort of a precaution.
In retrospect, I guess I could have done away with the 3/16 backing plate but it made me feel better.
Okay, so now the stairs can be reinstalled in the RV. Being alone and working laying partly on my driveway approach and partly on the street, nothing is level(except the RV) and with the step weighing about 75 pounds they are going to be hard to raise and align laying on my back. I glued the 3/16 plated in place so I didn’t have to worry about them, installed some 3/8 – 16 all thread into a insert on each side. Placed the retracted steps on some plywood and partially unfolded them to raise them so they were about 3 “ under the mounting bolts. I then very carefully and in very small increments lowered the RV until the all thread went through the mounting holes and installed a nut on each one and then raised the RV back up into a level position.
Now the steps are hanging under the RV by the all thread and there was room enough to put the floor jack and some 2 by dunnage against the step’s mounting plate and raise it by jacking it up, tightening the nuts on the all thread, jacking a little more and tightening nuts. It took a little while but eventually I got it up to a point where I could install the nuts on the original bolts and bolts into the threaded inserts and tighten them up, remove the all thread and then insert bolts in those holes. So I was able to remount the steps without having to raise and hold them up and put the nuts or bolts in place. The jack did the heavy lifting.
I will admit that I went through the entire procedure two more times while the steps were in place, just to assure myself I hadn’t forgotten anything. After checking the torque on all four nuts and the four new bolts, two times and counting and checking the remaining nuts and washers to make sure they were all there and in good shape, I reinstalled the complete IGML assembly, hooked up the electrical and the linkage to the steps, I tested the steps for proper operation.
I have included several pictures for illustration of the various steps and hope they clear up any lack in the narrative. Sorry the post is so long but I didn’t want to leave the basic steps out.
Torm mounting hole
The big hole allowed access for replacement bolt, other holes for inserts, one insert in place
Tools needed to install insert, insert on tool
Holes drilled in step, left side
Hole drilled in step right side
Step ready to install, note all threads
Steps held up by nuts on all thread
Steps in place with all thread still in place
The new bolts and the original bolt and nut
The new bolts and the nut on bolt installed from above
Steps installed, double checked and operated, left in extended position
Found the problem! Bud was close but the sheet metal that tore is flat. Tomorrow I will go get a piece of 3" x 3/16" flat weldable stock and fix the problem. I just took off the rear nut on the left side that was solid and that allowed the one side to drop enough for me to see the problem. Steps off tomorrow, paint, repair the mounting assembly and reinstall on Monday.
We just returned from a six week trip and while we were gone the outside steps started sagging on one corner and are spongy. I got out the wrenches and tried to tighten the mounting bolts and three of the four were tight, the forth was a little lose, maybe a ¼ turn. That did nothing.
The steps are mounted to a steel box that contains the battery well and forms the steps in the stairwell(interior steps) and provides the location for mounting the steps. The steps(exterior) are Kwikee Series 32 with two steps. The rig is a 2002 Winnie 32V.
I have looked at the part of the box where the steps are mounted, there does not appear to be any rust and the heads of the mounting bolts are not visible. The box appears to have solid sheet steel sides and I cannot find any opening.
The bottom is clearly visible except for the area covered by the step mounting plate as are the side. The stair treads are sheet steel and are not removable. I do not know how to look inside and see what the problem is with the one mounting bolt.
The bolts are tight and have approximately the same amount of thread exposed so to me it shows that all four bolts still go through the material the box is made of but that somehow seems to have torn away from the box where the bolt is supposed to support the corner that is spongy.
I have searched all of my data sheets, Winnebagoind.com and LCI as well as Google and YouTube, no help at all. As far as I know Winnebago does not publish their structural plans and will not look up the information I need. Has anyone here had to repair the step to chassis mounting or replaced the steps in a similar model?
Well I got it repaired. It wasn’t, and yet it was easy, figuring out how to start was a real pain, not sure I wanted to do it all by myself, actually doing the work was easy.
In order to find out what was broken or damaged it quickly became obvious that I had to remove the steps. Lets define steps and stairs, the steps were made by Kwikee and attached to the stairs made by Winnebago. Steps are outside, Stairs are inside.
First off, I know and understand all the precautions that need to be observed, both electrical and mechanical. Safety First. Okay!
You can see in the first picture where the bolt pulling through the plate had torn the metal in three places. Using the floor jack I pushed the bent metal back to as close to flat as possible. Because I could not put a backup plate above the mounting plate, I put one below it. I chose a piece of 3/16 “ steel and using threaded inserts I bolted it up against the bottom of the mounting plate. On the left side of the plate the rear bolt was still ok and front bolt’s hole was still in place after bending the steel back in place, I cut a 1.25” hole with a hole saw and put a new bolt with a heavy washer through from above. I also made a plate for the right side. I drilled holes in the backup plate and bolted them on each side, then I drilled three more holes through both the step’s frame and the mounting plate. I enlarged the holes in the mounting plate and installed three 3/8 – 16 threaded inserts. This provided five bolts to hold the backing plate in place and distribute the weight of the steps over a larger area. I just drilled one new hole and threaded insert on the right side, as sort of a precaution.
In retrospect, I guess I could have done away with the 3/16 backing plate but it made me feel better.
Okay, so now the stairs can be reinstalled in the RV. Being alone and working laying partly on my driveway approach and partly on the street, nothing is level(except the RV) and with the step weighing about 75 pounds they are going to be hard to raise and align laying on my back. I glued the 3/16 plated in place so I didn’t have to worry about them, installed some 3/8 – 16 all thread into a insert on each side. Placed the retracted steps on some plywood and partially unfolded them to raise them so they were about 3 “ under the mounting bolts. I then very carefully and in very small increments lowered the RV until the all thread went through the mounting holes and installed a nut on each one and then raised the RV back up into a level position.
Now the steps are hanging under the RV by the all thread and there was room enough to put the floor jack and some 2 by dunnage against the step’s mounting plate and raise it by jacking it up, tightening the nuts on the all thread, jacking a little more and tightening nuts. It took a little while but eventually I got it up to a point where I could install the nuts on the original bolts and bolts into the threaded inserts and tighten them up, remove the all thread and then insert bolts in those holes. So I was able to remount the steps without having to raise and hold them up and put the nuts or bolts in place. The jack did the heavy lifting.
I will admit that I went through the entire procedure two more times while the steps were in place, just to assure myself I hadn’t forgotten anything. After checking the torque on all four nuts and the four new bolts, two times and counting and checking the remaining nuts and washers to make sure they were all there and in good shape, I reinstalled the complete IGML assembly, hooked up the electrical and the linkage to the steps, I tested the steps for proper operation.
I have included several pictures for illustration of the various steps and hope they clear up any lack in the narrative. Sorry the post is so long but I didn’t want to leave the basic steps out.
Torm mounting hole
The big hole allowed access for replacement bolt, other holes for inserts, one insert in place
Tools needed to install insert, insert on tool
Holes drilled in step, left side
Hole drilled in step right side
Step ready to install, note all threads
Steps held up by nuts on all thread
Steps in place with all thread still in place
The new bolts and the original bolt and nut
The new bolts and the nut on bolt installed from above
Steps installed, double checked and operated, left in extended position
Found the problem! Bud was close but the sheet metal that tore is flat. Tomorrow I will go get a piece of 3" x 3/16" flat weldable stock and fix the problem. I just took off the rear nut on the left side that was solid and that allowed the one side to drop enough for me to see the problem. Steps off tomorrow, paint, repair the mounting assembly and reinstall on Monday.
We just returned from a six week trip and while we were gone the outside steps started sagging on one corner and are spongy. I got out the wrenches and tried to tighten the mounting bolts and three of the four were tight, the forth was a little lose, maybe a ¼ turn. That did nothing.
The steps are mounted to a steel box that contains the battery well and forms the steps in the stairwell(interior steps) and provides the location for mounting the steps. The steps(exterior) are Kwikee Series 32 with two steps. The rig is a 2002 Winnie 32V.
I have looked at the part of the box where the steps are mounted, there does not appear to be any rust and the heads of the mounting bolts are not visible. The box appears to have solid sheet steel sides and I cannot find any opening.
The bottom is clearly visible except for the area covered by the step mounting plate as are the side. The stair treads are sheet steel and are not removable. I do not know how to look inside and see what the problem is with the one mounting bolt.
The bolts are tight and have approximately the same amount of thread exposed so to me it shows that all four bolts still go through the material the box is made of but that somehow seems to have torn away from the box where the bolt is supposed to support the corner that is spongy.
I have searched all of my data sheets, Winnebagoind.com and LCI as well as Google and YouTube, no help at all. As far as I know Winnebago does not publish their structural plans and will not look up the information I need. Has anyone here had to repair the step to chassis mounting or replaced the steps in a similar model?
