'nuther Glowstep assessment here. Dimensions....
We too have the Glowsteps (4-step) for evaluation.
They really reduce movement of the floor when walking in and out and are much more stable under your feet walking up and down. They are a much better solution than putting a stair jack (Camco, ex.) under the bottom step. They are extremely well made. (So well made in fact, I'd rather use them to make a coffee table in my den but DW says ain't gonna happen...) In our trailer, the swap was a simple removal of 4 carriage bolts and re-installing them. Only took minutes. The packaging of the step assembly was an amazing piece of well-designed engineering in itself.
We really like them but do have dimensional drawbacks that bother me and which I feel need to be looked into. We have a floor height above ground that puts us in between a 3-step and 4-step version of the Glowsteps. Height above ground will vary substantially in RVs due to things like having under/over slung axles, tire. dia., frame height, etc.
The Glowstep riser height is fixed at 7 1/2" high for all versions, (3-step, 4-step, etc.). So for a floor that is 35" above the ground (like ours), 5 total riser heights makes the overall height 37 1/2" which is 2 1/2" too much. What that means is that on level ground, the steps have quite a backward slope to them as in the 1st photo. Not fun to walk on steps that have that much slope.
The landing gear feet provide a min. retraction above of 7 1/2" and max. extension of 10 1/2". In our case we cannot adjust the landing gear to make the bottom step closer to the ground in order to make the stair treads level (2 1/2" closer). I think they should look at modifying the landing gear to provide this and perhaps have two types available.
The step locking mechanism provides 3 settings for the top step height above the ground - upper, middle and lower. When set in the upper position, the top tread is up against the TT's exterior wall and there is no toe space. As well, it makes the last step riser into the TT 5 1/2" as opposed to the rest at 7 1/2". The middle position gives 7 1/2" which is what you want in order to give equal riser heights. The bottom position makes the riser of the last step into the TT 9 1/2". So in the upper and lower positions, you can have 3 different riser heights if the landing gear is extended. RV-ers are accustomed to having the last step to the ground at varying heights, but making the top step 2" different than rest of the stairs IMHO is not a good thing.
In the lower setting, the top tread (step) ends up having the back edge being 3" away from the TT exterior wall as in the 2nd photo which I feel is also not a good thing.
Our existing Lippert 3-step manual stairs have a 9" tread width, a 1" nosing projection and 9 1/4" rise. The bottom step ends up being 7 1/4" above the ground which is okay. The bottom step has occasionally touched the ground on sloping sites (and of course has been higher). We find it hard on the legs to walk up stairs with a 9 1/4" rise and can imagine it being harder for some, esp. older folks. The 7 1/2" of the Glowsteps is much more comfortable.
I realize RVs are not the same as buildings, but by way of comparison, building codes (US or Canada) require all risers heights and tread widths (depths) to be the same, treads must be level, tread depth min. 9", for risers - min. 5" & max. 7 3/4", max. variation in riser/tread dimensions of 3/8" and a 1" nosing. Nosing is the projection of the leading edge of a tread/step over the rear of a tread below it. Our Lippert stairs provide this 1" nosing while the Glowsteps have no nosing projection.
The 3rd photo shows the steps with the locking mechanism in the upper position. You can clearly see that the 2" reduced riser height at the top step makes the treads pretty close to level.
I wonder if the adjustable landing gear can be re-designed to be at the rear of the bottom step to allow it to be made more adjustable and which would also remove the question of possibly tripping on it. I considered a 3-step version of the Glowsteps, but that would make the lower step 12 1/2" above the ground and unacceptable so is not an option.
Personally, I do not like the feel of the 8" tread width. Your toes extend past the rear of a step and it doesn't feel right and affects balance too. I would rather see 9" like the Lippert steps have. This would also make the swap less noticeable to customers. I understand that Torklift has already increased the 8" from a lower figure. We have two exterior steps and plan on getting a 2nd set of the Glowsteps so they are matching underfoot and also don't create balance or safety concerns.
I do like the operation of the Lippert steps as you can extend them with one hand in a couple of seconds and tada, they're out. Great for times you are holding something with the other arm. I think only one postion of the locking mechanism for the Glowsteps would be better and would making extending them easier & quicker. The locking arm handle and bail pin (the locking pin) is a little awkward to use and the pin hits our J-wrap skirt and I have to flex it a bit to get the pin in or out.
In all, the Glowsteps are a great product, but I would look at the floor to ground height and see how a riser of 7 1/2" works for your particular camper.
They really reduce movement of the floor when walking in and out and are much more stable under your feet walking up and down. They are a much better solution than putting a stair jack (Camco, ex.) under the bottom step. They are extremely well made. (So well made in fact, I'd rather use them to make a coffee table in my den but DW says ain't gonna happen...) In our trailer, the swap was a simple removal of 4 carriage bolts and re-installing them. Only took minutes. The packaging of the step assembly was an amazing piece of well-designed engineering in itself.
We really like them but do have dimensional drawbacks that bother me and which I feel need to be looked into. We have a floor height above ground that puts us in between a 3-step and 4-step version of the Glowsteps. Height above ground will vary substantially in RVs due to things like having under/over slung axles, tire. dia., frame height, etc.
The Glowstep riser height is fixed at 7 1/2" high for all versions, (3-step, 4-step, etc.). So for a floor that is 35" above the ground (like ours), 5 total riser heights makes the overall height 37 1/2" which is 2 1/2" too much. What that means is that on level ground, the steps have quite a backward slope to them as in the 1st photo. Not fun to walk on steps that have that much slope.
The landing gear feet provide a min. retraction above of 7 1/2" and max. extension of 10 1/2". In our case we cannot adjust the landing gear to make the bottom step closer to the ground in order to make the stair treads level (2 1/2" closer). I think they should look at modifying the landing gear to provide this and perhaps have two types available.
The step locking mechanism provides 3 settings for the top step height above the ground - upper, middle and lower. When set in the upper position, the top tread is up against the TT's exterior wall and there is no toe space. As well, it makes the last step riser into the TT 5 1/2" as opposed to the rest at 7 1/2". The middle position gives 7 1/2" which is what you want in order to give equal riser heights. The bottom position makes the riser of the last step into the TT 9 1/2". So in the upper and lower positions, you can have 3 different riser heights if the landing gear is extended. RV-ers are accustomed to having the last step to the ground at varying heights, but making the top step 2" different than rest of the stairs IMHO is not a good thing.
In the lower setting, the top tread (step) ends up having the back edge being 3" away from the TT exterior wall as in the 2nd photo which I feel is also not a good thing.
Our existing Lippert 3-step manual stairs have a 9" tread width, a 1" nosing projection and 9 1/4" rise. The bottom step ends up being 7 1/4" above the ground which is okay. The bottom step has occasionally touched the ground on sloping sites (and of course has been higher). We find it hard on the legs to walk up stairs with a 9 1/4" rise and can imagine it being harder for some, esp. older folks. The 7 1/2" of the Glowsteps is much more comfortable.
I realize RVs are not the same as buildings, but by way of comparison, building codes (US or Canada) require all risers heights and tread widths (depths) to be the same, treads must be level, tread depth min. 9", for risers - min. 5" & max. 7 3/4", max. variation in riser/tread dimensions of 3/8" and a 1" nosing. Nosing is the projection of the leading edge of a tread/step over the rear of a tread below it. Our Lippert stairs provide this 1" nosing while the Glowsteps have no nosing projection.
The 3rd photo shows the steps with the locking mechanism in the upper position. You can clearly see that the 2" reduced riser height at the top step makes the treads pretty close to level.
I wonder if the adjustable landing gear can be re-designed to be at the rear of the bottom step to allow it to be made more adjustable and which would also remove the question of possibly tripping on it. I considered a 3-step version of the Glowsteps, but that would make the lower step 12 1/2" above the ground and unacceptable so is not an option.
Personally, I do not like the feel of the 8" tread width. Your toes extend past the rear of a step and it doesn't feel right and affects balance too. I would rather see 9" like the Lippert steps have. This would also make the swap less noticeable to customers. I understand that Torklift has already increased the 8" from a lower figure. We have two exterior steps and plan on getting a 2nd set of the Glowsteps so they are matching underfoot and also don't create balance or safety concerns.
I do like the operation of the Lippert steps as you can extend them with one hand in a couple of seconds and tada, they're out. Great for times you are holding something with the other arm. I think only one postion of the locking mechanism for the Glowsteps would be better and would making extending them easier & quicker. The locking arm handle and bail pin (the locking pin) is a little awkward to use and the pin hits our J-wrap skirt and I have to flex it a bit to get the pin in or out.
In all, the Glowsteps are a great product, but I would look at the floor to ground height and see how a riser of 7 1/2" works for your particular camper.
