Kwikee Stairs failure rate

[MetalGator]

Are these Kwikee stairs prone to failure or am I just really unlucky? Our motorhome is 2 1/2 years old and I have had them repaired 4 times. The first time, the dealer was able to get them working without replacing any parts. The next 3 times I've had to replace the control module, the motor, and the gear. They have been working fine for the last 6 months or so but I opened the door on the motor home this weekend and they didn't come out. They stayed in the stored position. I opened and closed the door several times and they didn't work.

Next day I opened the door and the stairs worked fine. I am guessing they will fail again soon. The next time they fail, I think I am going to replace them with manual stairs.

Is this typical of the Kwikee stairs or am I just unlucky?

We keep our motorhome stored indoors in a garage and the stairs are lubricated. It's just really frustrating to keep having to repair these stairs.

[memtb]

MetalGator wrote:
Are these Kwikee stairs prone to failure or am I just really unlucky? Our motorhome is 2 1/2 years old and I have had them repaired 4 times. The first time, the dealer was able to get them working without replacing any parts. The next 3 times I've had to replace the control module, the motor, and the gear. They have been working fine for the last 6 months or so but I opened the door on the motor home this weekend and they didn't come out. They stayed in the stored position. I opened and closed the door several times and they didn't work.

Next day I opened the door and the stairs worked fine. I am guessing they will fail again soon. The next time they fail, I think I am going to replace them with manual stairs.

Is this typical of the Kwikee stairs or am I just unlucky?

We keep our motorhome stored indoors in a garage and the stairs are lubricated. It's just really frustrating to keep having to repair these stairs.

Durability is likely dependent upon whether the steps are ....pre or post Lippert ownership of Kwikee! Much like everything else that Lippert has purchased, quality control has become virtually non-existent! memtb

[MetalGator]

enblethen wrote:
I believe it is an electrical problem and not a mechanical one.
Need to check connections, grounds and power source when it is in failure mode.Stay clear of the step when testing!

This is my guess as well. I would think if the stairs were binding due to not being lubricated, I would at least hear the motor trying to work. I wish I would have thought to look underneath at the light when they weren't working.

[RambleOnNW]

We had our Kwikee electric steps not come out on a trip one time. And they didn’t come out for the whole trip. My eventual conclusion was I was not lubing one specific joint so the steps were jammed. Never have had an issue since.

I went through most of the troubleshooting procedure on my own but had to quit when it called for a special harness. Took it into Camping World then.

The tech there didn’t follow the procedure at all. He simply unbolted the motor and checked to see if the motor rotated back and forth when opening and closing the door, which it did.

I use the specified lube, Kwikee Kwik-Lube.

[enblethen]

I believe it is an electrical problem and not a mechanical one.
Need to check connections, grounds and power source when it is in failure mode.Stay clear of the step when testing!

[MetalGator]

The stairs seem to be working for the time being. When they didn't work last week, I went back over to open the door to see if the light would come on underneath when I opened the door. Of course, the stairs were working at that time. The stairs are clean and were lubed the last time they were worked on.

[Gjac]

Mine are 24 years old also and were bent when I bought the MH in 2004. I straighten them out and used the MH for another couple of years and noticed they were always springy when I stepped on them. After checking I found a small dia screw that held the steps to the MH was sheared off, installed a larger dia screw and all was good again for a few more years until magnetic switch was loose in the lower door which I fixed. About 8 years ago the steps failed to retract. I went through all the tests on the Kwikee web site and determined it was the controller. I was told they no longer sold just the controller for a step that old and had to buy a whole new step assy. After some investigation I removed the control board from its case and saw one of the two relays was burned out. They control the in and out function of the steps. I think by not waiting for the steps to full extend when leaving the MH caused the relay to overheat from my weight while steps were still extending and burn the contacts. I replaced the relay for $3 and all was well again. I think for a 24 year old system they held up well.

[jplante4]

Mine are original to the 24 year old coach. Do you lube up the joints on a regular basis? I use motorcycle chain lube on the steps and the battery tray slides.

One more thought. My coach has a high voltage cutout on the step motor. It would kick in every once in a while. I solved this by leaving an interior light on and flipping on the battery switch pulled the volts down far enough to go under the trip point.

[wa8yxm]

I have yet to have a problem with controller or gears but it is my belief (I STRESS it is MY belief) that Kwikee uses 2nds for the motors and they have dead spots.. I managed to fight with it for 14 years then I popped in a new motor. a 1st, and it's working better.

I have a door switch issue but that has an override on it so it's no problem (I put in the override)

[enblethen]

There is two grounds for the steps. one is for control and one for the motor circuit.

[dodge_guy]

I am just throwing this out there, always wait till the steps are fully extended before stepping on them otherwise you are putting strain on the motor, gears and arm when you add body weight to it. That won’t cause the failure of a control board, but could be the reason for the motor and gear failure.

My guess on your intermittent issue is a sensor, wire issue. Corroded (Broken) wire to the door sensor, or as was mentioned bad ground.

[Chum_lee]

Anyone who has had an RV for any length of time eventually has issues with their Kwikee electric stairs. At the age of your RV, you do seem to be unlucky. I try to minimize the number or times the stairs extend/retract, when possible. Hitting a fixed object with the stairs extended WILL easily bend/jamb them which leads to early failures of the drive mechanism. The stairs live in a hostile wet and dirty place and regularly get sprayed with road debris so keeping them clean and lubed is always a plus. If you can shield the electrical components/connectors from moisture, that can only help. Hopefully your luck is about to change.

Chum lee

[irishtom29]

Any capable 19th Century engineer could've built a simple and dead reliable set of manually operated steps. But you'd have to pull a handle or something, God forbid.

[down_home]

Note* while trying t find the other brrand of step similar to kwikee for my own information I saw on the Stromberg Carlson site that Lippert no longer makes the RV step but Stomberg Carlson makes or has the parts.

[ItsyRV]

As mentioned a couple of common installation/maintenance problems can cause this. When the steps don't work, have you looked under the the RV to see if the light was on? When it doesn't extend, do you hear any quick movement coming from the motor/gears?