Big step into trailer

[heavyD]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Since we are talking about steps, I have noticed that the stock step on Escapes have drain holes and some pets, one of our dogs, nails sometimes gets caught in these holes. I suggest covering the homes with an aftermarket cover to prevent this from happening to your pet dog.

Mine are already covered thanks to the prior owner......

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by H@ppy c@mper

Yes we are talking about the distance from the trailer to the first step. We still own the passport but have ordered a 21c so are planning ahead. We have had knees so want to have a “fix” planned.

If you are ordering, a double-step is available as an option.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by heavyD

Mine are already covered thanks to the prior owner......

Ha, Ha, very funny....... Glad you are enjoying it......

[Mike G]

We have this folding 2-step stool by Rubbermaid at our house:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermai...White/20575632

Its weight is inconsequential, it folds compactly, and each step is about 9" up. Rated for 300 lbs. Not sure if that will help, but I can say that ours has proven to be durable (we've had it maybe 8-10 years and it still works like new).

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by Centex

H@ppy c@mper, another option is to make an 'overlay' for the trailer step of 2x wood (1-1/2" actual thickness), thereby reducing the distance from the trailer step to the door threshold by 1-1/2" (or more if thicker material is used, e.g. built-up glued layers of desired thickness).

A splendid idea...

One of the first things we did to our E19 was add such an 'overlay'.

Given our advancing ages, being in possession of short legs and marginal knees, and the fact that we would often stumble back to the trailer after a (for us) long and hard day of hiking, we always grunted when going up the steps into the trailer, especially, it seemed, the climb from the step up to the level of the trailer floor, which always seemed to be more of a climb than from the ground to the step. Sure enough, the tape measure confirmed that the rise from the step to the floor was about 2" more than the rise from the ground to the step. We made a step riser out of a chunk of scrap 2x8 that sits on the top surface of the step, and makes the two step rises more equal. A couple of 1/4" carriage bolts going through the 2x8 and then through a couple of existing holes along the outside edge of the step stamping secured the riser to the step using washers and wing nuts beneath the step.

Subsequent refinements included changing from hard-to-handle and fumbly wing nuts to long 1/4" coupler nuts that made it easier to get the threads started, along with the application of some of Home Depot’s finest (official 3M!) self-adhesive non-skid grippy surface traction material, complete with a stylish glow-in-the-dark yellow visibility stripe, and ultimately, in place of the coupler nuts, some large diameter aluminum round thumb nuts with 1/2" tall aluminum spacers epoxied to them and the fuzzy side of stick-on velcro on the spacer-to-step contact surfaces (with the thumb nuts being bright red anodized so they'll be easy to find when they get dropped and roll under the trailer or into the bushes) and switching over from zinc to stainless steel carriage bolts.

Initially, the 2x8 was bolted to the step using 2 bolts along the outer edge (away from the trailer) of the step, but to avoid any tipsiness (2 points determine an axis, 3 non-collinear points determine a plane) we drilled a hole for a third bolt in the center of the step along the inside (close to the trailer) edge. When setting up in camp, it takes just a few seconds to install the step riser, and even with that we only bother with it when we’re planning to stay put for a while – if it’s just a quick overnight stop then not worth the trouble.

Continuing with the stainless fastener motif, the 4 sets of nuts, bolts, and washers that secure the step assembly to the trailer frame were cut over to stainless, and neoprene washers were used to avoid metal-to-metal contact between the parts, thereby avoiding the irritating rubbing and consequent rust.

Also, being somewhat abundant in size and therefore weight, we wanted to give the cantilevered step a little help and lessen the load on the welded step-brackets-to-frame attachment points. To this end, we drilled and filed out a couple of holes in the step to accommodate the square shoulders of a couple of 3/8" carriage bolts, and, again with neoprene washers, used 3/8" coupler nuts on the bottom sides of the step stamping to secure the carriage bolts permanently to the steps, providing female threads into which a pair of long 3/8" carriage bolts could be threaded in from below and extend down to the ground. Various lengths of carriage bolts allow for varying topographical conditions beneath the step, and for soft conditions like sand or mud, round bases both small and large, incorporating reliefs for the heads of the carriage bolt heads, complete with embedded washers, were utilized. The semi-wide angle photo makes it look like the carriage bolts are tilted, but they really are plumb we promise.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Great Eggstrications

A splendid idea...

One of the first things we did to our E19 was add such an 'overlay'.

Very nicely done. Too bad the board can't remain attached 24/7.

[John in Santa Cruz]

We have this step too, which folds flat, very light weight, is surprisingly stable, and helps when the ground is slopped downards on the curbside such that the trailer floor is even higher on that side.

I did cover the step surfaces with wide antislip tape stuff meant for stairs

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SHVD5Y9

and this tape
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F7DKTD4/


eek, those steps have gone up, they were under $50 when I bought them a few months ago