Outer steps for a long stay?

[Bubba_Bill]

We Winter on the Gulf Coast and I'm thinking of ways to build some take-apart steps to make getting in and out easier for us. The retract steps are too severe for many trips up and down each day. O.k., we're old! My knees are shot and the wife has a bad hip. Just wondering if someone else has come up with something similar? Bill

[jwmII]

Bubba Bill wrote:
jw: what you've described is almost exactly what I had in mind! You have some variations I'll have to study. At this point, what we've sketched out has about a 6 1/2" rise and 8" tread. I've built two steps at home to accomplish the same problem. Indeed, I want them semi-portable, we do take short several day outings during the year. I figure a 15-20 minute assembly time is no big deal. Our littlest grandkids.....and our little dog, have trouble with the steps.

Those I have described will take longer to get out of storage than it will take to slide them together for use.

[Bubba_Bill]

jw: what you've described is almost exactly what I had in mind! You have some variations I'll have to study. At this point, what we've sketched out has about a 6 1/2" rise and 8" tread. I've built two steps at home to accomplish the same problem. Indeed, I want them semi-portable, we do take short several day outings during the year. I figure a 15-20 minute assembly time is no big deal. Our littlest grandkids.....and our little dog, have trouble with the steps.

[jwmII]

Bubba Bill wrote:
We Winter on the Gulf Coast and I'm thinking of ways to build some take-apart steps to make getting in and out easier for us. The retract steps are too severe for many trips up and down each day. O.k., we're old! My knees are shot and the wife has a bad hip. Just wondering if someone else has come up with something similar? Bill

I have those. I build my own out of a sheet of 3/4" plywood and 3 piano hinges and some screws to attach the hinges. Figure what rise and tread width you want and lay it out on the plywood and cut out the pieces with a sabre saw. There will be two sides and they will have 3/4" slots about 5" long (deep) cut vertically at the end of each tread area. The slot width needs to be closely held to size as this is where the steps are going to slide together. Measure the width of the coach factory step. Cut the number of treads you will need ( in my case 3) to the same length PLUS the thickness of your plywood X2. THis way the coach step holds the fabbed step rigidly so there is no wobble making a user feel unstable. The piano hinges are used to fasten 6" or so plywood pieces to the treads. Corresponding 3/4" slots need to be cut into these so that they slide into the slots on the sides and lock themselves to the sides as well as locking the sides to the treads. Once built give'm a coat of paint and if you want some non skid tread material or like on mine I used indoor/outdoor carpet and went around the tread with 1/2" aluminum angle screwed down so a toe cannot catch the carpet and trip someone.
This whole mess assembles and disassembles in seconds. It all folds flat via the piano hinges and stores in a compartment underneath one of the pullout trays. Normally unusable space. Again the main thing is to hold the sizes of the 3/4" slots as close to 3/4" as you can as this contributes to the steps stability. The fit over the extended coach step is very important as well for stability. Also be aware that on the top step you will need to cut the slot back 2-3" and then locate the top step and locking board and piano hinge accordingly.

[FIRE_UP]

Bubba Bill wrote:
We Winter on the Gulf Coast and I'm thinking of ways to build some take-apart steps to make getting in and out easier for us. The retract steps are too severe for many trips up and down each day. O.k., we're old! My knees are shot and the wife has a bad hip. Just wondering if someone else has come up with something similar? Bill

Bubba Bill,
I take it that what you mean by "Too Severe", you mean that what's called RISE TO RUN is too high? That is, are you saying that each step height is too much and you'd like shorter height steps? You'd have considerably more of them but, each step might be not as high to lift your legs/feet, is that what you'd want?

To have something like that, and make it portable might not be an easy task. The ones shown in the link from the gent/post above mine are the same rise to run that the auto retraction/extension steps have in the ones you already have.

What might be a possibility here is, a carpenter would/could cut custom rise to run sides for shorter steps and, then simply place two-by lumber on each end. All the pieces would be screwed together for easy disassembly. It would be "sort of" portable. You'd have to unscrew the steps from the sides when it came time to leave camp but, it would all fold up or, store flat. Just an idea.
Scott

[GMandJM]

We saw ones like this at an RV show. Not sure if it's the same vendor or not.

There was also one with a deck and a ramp, but the ramp was REALLY long.

(Not an Advert)

[dbbls]

I have seen many of these in RV parks. I think most people just leave them on site and they are there for them next year.