Part V:
Undeterred, I finally took the advice of one savvy TC-er on here and got the specs for several sizes of the Little Giant. I settled on the 4 step and removed the hoop. With hoop:
Without hoop on uneven ground:
Undeterred, I finally took the advice of one savvy TC-er on here and got the specs for several sizes of the Little Giant. I settled on the 4 step and removed the hoop. With hoop:
Without hoop on uneven ground:
Pt. 4:
Over time, from this and that hard use the lower wood frame member going across the back of the camper began to weaken, both from the stiffness of the steps unfolding but also the weight on the weakened attachment bolts, now with 6 holes instead of 4 since the Step-ups and the Glowsteps had completely different spacings. What to do...what to do. I read on here, probably from someone previous to this post, that a sturdy step ladder could be the ticket. Hmm? I had an old 1950's aluminum, two-sided step ladder that was a bit short but would work on a hard surface as the bottoms had virtually no foot pad. Then I cruised the internet for other ladders that might work. It was difficult to get concrete info on almost all ladders of that ilk. So I bought another and cut off the top hoop thinking that might work. BZZZZT! Wrong, camper breath. It was very light but a bit tall. We took it on a trip and had to move it to close the door or screen.
Over time, from this and that hard use the lower wood frame member going across the back of the camper began to weaken, both from the stiffness of the steps unfolding but also the weight on the weakened attachment bolts, now with 6 holes instead of 4 since the Step-ups and the Glowsteps had completely different spacings. What to do...what to do. I read on here, probably from someone previous to this post, that a sturdy step ladder could be the ticket. Hmm? I had an old 1950's aluminum, two-sided step ladder that was a bit short but would work on a hard surface as the bottoms had virtually no foot pad. Then I cruised the internet for other ladders that might work. It was difficult to get concrete info on almost all ladders of that ilk. So I bought another and cut off the top hoop thinking that might work. BZZZZT! Wrong, camper breath. It was very light but a bit tall. We took it on a trip and had to move it to close the door or screen.
parte trois,
The unexpected result was the steps would fold down AND under the overhang of the camper and be corralled by a couple black rubber bungees.
Other configs:
The unexpected result was the steps would fold down AND under the overhang of the camper and be corralled by a couple black rubber bungees.
Other configs:
part due:
They get rusty, especially after going on routes like the Mojave Road, full of Soda and Salts. Here the problem was a stiffening of the operation after getting silt, sand or dust in the workings. When you tried to open the steps, you had to use a lot of pull to make that happen. Luckily, they were pretty loose already so the net result was a slight tightening of the moving parts. Next came THE showcase hanging steps for truck campers: Glow Steps. I got the 4 step model which was a bit too short for my slightly lifted, bigger tired Dodge, whose bed sits the highest of the big 3 anyway. They are very well made with all aluminum hardware and are very 'tight'; a little too tight when you get that silt or sand in the workings. I added those same (4) aluminum straps to the top of the stairs making the first step out of the camper down about 8 inches, not like a landing, parallel to the threshold. We could live with that.
They get rusty, especially after going on routes like the Mojave Road, full of Soda and Salts. Here the problem was a stiffening of the operation after getting silt, sand or dust in the workings. When you tried to open the steps, you had to use a lot of pull to make that happen. Luckily, they were pretty loose already so the net result was a slight tightening of the moving parts. Next came THE showcase hanging steps for truck campers: Glow Steps. I got the 4 step model which was a bit too short for my slightly lifted, bigger tired Dodge, whose bed sits the highest of the big 3 anyway. They are very well made with all aluminum hardware and are very 'tight'; a little too tight when you get that silt or sand in the workings. I added those same (4) aluminum straps to the top of the stairs making the first step out of the camper down about 8 inches, not like a landing, parallel to the threshold. We could live with that.
We'll give this one more try, cut into tiny bites.
Now you've done it! You ask for opinions on steps solutions: here's a chapter in my research. Our Lance Lite 8.5 foot, 165-s extended cab (N-S-bed) came with some narrow and rather rickety, 4 tread aluminum steps that hung on hangers bolted through the wooden lower frame of the camper. They were manufactured by step-up products. They are now 20 years old and are showing their age. A short cut in the production process was the use of ferrous rivets instead of aluminum fasteners. I added the (4) aluminum strips to lengthen the overall drop. These were bolted to the rear bracket with no easy way to have them walk away in the night.
Now you've done it! You ask for opinions on steps solutions: here's a chapter in my research. Our Lance Lite 8.5 foot, 165-s extended cab (N-S-bed) came with some narrow and rather rickety, 4 tread aluminum steps that hung on hangers bolted through the wooden lower frame of the camper. They were manufactured by step-up products. They are now 20 years old and are showing their age. A short cut in the production process was the use of ferrous rivets instead of aluminum fasteners. I added the (4) aluminum strips to lengthen the overall drop. These were bolted to the rear bracket with no easy way to have them walk away in the night.
