I built some stairs for my Bigfoot 10.4E
The camper came to me with the scissors stairs typically supplied by Bigfoot. These hang on hooks bolted to the lower door frame, but they are wobbly, must be gotten out, stretched and installed to us...
Forum Discussion
Very nice work. Did you weld the aluminum yourself? I like your swing out design.
Having fabricated a similar stair assembly for my Northern Lite, let me offer a thought. One of the things I found was the difficulty in keeping the stair parallel with the ground, i.e. perpendicular with the camper. This problem comes up when the ground behind the camper rises or falls in relation to the back end of the camper.
The partial solution to this rising / falling stair issue is to add an adjustable supplemental leg set to the bottom stair, as shown in this photo.
But, still even with adjustable bottom legs, the stairs can be difficult to keep level. So, I added a restraint to each side of the set of stairs to force a parallel, level relationship to the camper - it is the black angle bar just under the top step.
You can see my overall design takes a different approach with the steps mounted to, and supported by, the hitch extension. In this case the access to the basement is gained by lowering the stair assembly.
One aspect of this stair design is how the stairs can be used when hauling a boat. The stairs can rotate slightly to swing out of the way when a boat is connected - plus having the boat tongue kicked over at an angle.
I must say I am very impressed with your design and workmanship, well done!
Bob
Having fabricated a similar stair assembly for my Northern Lite, let me offer a thought. One of the things I found was the difficulty in keeping the stair parallel with the ground, i.e. perpendicular with the camper. This problem comes up when the ground behind the camper rises or falls in relation to the back end of the camper.
The partial solution to this rising / falling stair issue is to add an adjustable supplemental leg set to the bottom stair, as shown in this photo.
But, still even with adjustable bottom legs, the stairs can be difficult to keep level. So, I added a restraint to each side of the set of stairs to force a parallel, level relationship to the camper - it is the black angle bar just under the top step.
You can see my overall design takes a different approach with the steps mounted to, and supported by, the hitch extension. In this case the access to the basement is gained by lowering the stair assembly.
One aspect of this stair design is how the stairs can be used when hauling a boat. The stairs can rotate slightly to swing out of the way when a boat is connected - plus having the boat tongue kicked over at an angle.
I must say I am very impressed with your design and workmanship, well done!
Bob
