Branky
01-24-2015, 04:42 PM
I can finally give something back to the forums.
My DW has bad knees from arthritis and is waiting for both knees to be replaced. She found the three steps to get into our Cougar 297RKS very hard to negotiate. When I measured, I discovered the rise was 9” to 9 ˝”. Way too much rise as many of you know. And the first step was huge!
After reading many forum posts and discovering that Stromberg-Carlson has quit making their 4 step model, I came across a 4 step model make by Elkhart Tool and Die (ETD). You can see it here; http://www.elkharttool.com/quad_rv_steps.html
After talking with the owner and being warned of the POSSIBLE issue’s, I ordered a set from our local RV dealer. They were a bit skeptical, “You can’t do that”, the usual stuff.
I used a floor jack to support the old steps while l removed them. Very un-eventful.
The new steps have a different mechanism from the old steps. As per Gary’s (ETD) instructions, I checked the clearances for the new steps and used my Sawzall to cut part of the mounts (also called outriggers) away. They are made to be used universally and are bigger than required.
I lifted the new steps in place and they slid right into place all the holes lined up and the clearances were perfect. I installed the 4 carriage bolts and tightened things up. I found I had not trimmed quite enough of the outrigger but a bit of time with a carbide bit in a die grinder cleaned that up.
I put the mount for the Stromberg-Carlson Rail Mate ( http://www.strombergcarlson.com/rv-hand-rails/rail-mate-/4 ) on and called for the DW. She is really happy with the end result as am I.
It took me four hours start to finish, far less than I expected. I put aside an entire day! If I didn't have to mount the Rail-mate, it would have been 2 - 3 hours. Having my neighbor Chis there helped too, 4 hands are better in this case.
I have included a few pictures to show the finished work. I did not think to take pictures of the trimmed outriggers.
My DW has bad knees from arthritis and is waiting for both knees to be replaced. She found the three steps to get into our Cougar 297RKS very hard to negotiate. When I measured, I discovered the rise was 9” to 9 ˝”. Way too much rise as many of you know. And the first step was huge!
After reading many forum posts and discovering that Stromberg-Carlson has quit making their 4 step model, I came across a 4 step model make by Elkhart Tool and Die (ETD). You can see it here; http://www.elkharttool.com/quad_rv_steps.html
After talking with the owner and being warned of the POSSIBLE issue’s, I ordered a set from our local RV dealer. They were a bit skeptical, “You can’t do that”, the usual stuff.
I used a floor jack to support the old steps while l removed them. Very un-eventful.
The new steps have a different mechanism from the old steps. As per Gary’s (ETD) instructions, I checked the clearances for the new steps and used my Sawzall to cut part of the mounts (also called outriggers) away. They are made to be used universally and are bigger than required.
I lifted the new steps in place and they slid right into place all the holes lined up and the clearances were perfect. I installed the 4 carriage bolts and tightened things up. I found I had not trimmed quite enough of the outrigger but a bit of time with a carbide bit in a die grinder cleaned that up.
I put the mount for the Stromberg-Carlson Rail Mate ( http://www.strombergcarlson.com/rv-hand-rails/rail-mate-/4 ) on and called for the DW. She is really happy with the end result as am I.
It took me four hours start to finish, far less than I expected. I put aside an entire day! If I didn't have to mount the Rail-mate, it would have been 2 - 3 hours. Having my neighbor Chis there helped too, 4 hands are better in this case.
I have included a few pictures to show the finished work. I did not think to take pictures of the trimmed outriggers.