Solid Step opinion

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by Scott in Michigan

Would anyone want to share their experience with the one piece Solid Step?

I'm thinking of retrofitting our Cougar with them.

How do you handle dirt that falls off & enters the camper when they are stowed?

Our German Shepherd is a little leery of the OEM fold out steps we have now. Are there any pet owners who have experience with these?

Thanks, Scott.

Well known to some, Dogs hate being able to see “through” the steps. Hang something on the back of the steps blocking the ability for the dog to see through the steps - it’ll solve that issue.

We have the moryde version that attaches to two brackets below the door. They show away in the pass through.

[Javi]

We (including Max) love ours.
I have added the railing and will be adding the lift assist shortly..
I've found that if I'm not terribly critical, I rarely have to adjust the legs.. once in seven trips so far.. but most of our campsites are wide and flat-ish...
The covered storage I use is wide enough that I can open both slides so deployment of the steps is a non-issue.

[MerlinB]

You asked for opinions and here is mine. I don't have any experience with the "Solid Steps" and I don't intend to get any.

Those and the MorRyde "Step Above" steps are a definite deal breaker for me.

And, here's why: I will not have a set of steps that folds up inside of the door of my trailer for two reasons:

1. I don't want all of the dirt and other stuff on the steps dumped inside of my trailer.

2. Sometimes, I find it necessary to get inside my trailer without deploying the steps.

I have the Torklift Glow Steps on my rig and I am very pleased with them. They are solid as a rock. They have three adjustment levels at the top and five at the bottom. Are they more expensive? Yes. About twice the cost of the Lippert or MorRyde steps. You get what you pay for.

That's my opinion.

YMMV.

[dljs1941]

My Bullet 273BHS came with the Lippert solid steps. Previous campers had the traditional fold downs. As mentioned several times in this post, the solid steps are very secure, but IMO the negatives outweigh the positives. Here are mine:

1. you need more room to deploy them
2. If the legs adjustments are too long, you can't close the door.
3. you must have the door and screen completely open to store or open the steps
4. The biggest negative are the pins provided to set the adjustments for the legs. Make sure you have a set of plyers to pull them. Even the tech at the RV dealership was cursing when showing me how to adjust them. Why couldn't Keystone include pins with a pull ring? I have yet to find some. It's actually easier to use a common nail instead of the pins.

Anyway, that's just me. Others on this thread are very positive about them.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by dljs1941

My Bullet 273BHS came with the Lippert solid steps. Previous campers had the traditional fold downs. As mentioned several times in this post, the solid steps are very secure, but IMO the negatives outweigh the positives. Here are mine:

1. you need more room to deploy them
2. If the legs adjustments are too long, you can't close the door.
3. you must have the door and screen completely open to store or open the steps
4. The biggest negative are the pins provided to set the adjustments for the legs. Make sure you have a set of plyers to pull them. Even the tech at the RV dealership was cursing when showing me how to adjust them. Why couldn't Keystone include pins with a pull ring? I have yet to find some. It's actually easier to use a common nail instead of the pins.

Anyway, that's just me. Others on this thread are very positive about them.

Note the pins are only there to keep the legs from moving while the step is raised or lowered, once the weight of the steps are on the legs they won't move. So technically you could use pretty much anything even a nail.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by dljs1941

The biggest negative are the pins provided to set the adjustments for the legs. Make sure you have a set of plyers to pull them. Even the tech at the RV dealership was cursing when showing me how to adjust them. Why couldn't Keystone include pins with a pull ring? I have yet to find some. It's actually easier to use a common nail instead of the pins.

I find the pins a pain to wrangle (I probably ought to remember to lube mine), but not because I can't grab them. The pins are long enough that you just whack the far end of the pin with the heel of your hand, and the head pops right out the other side. Plenty of grab room.

If you really do want pins with rings, Tractor Supply carries a massive selection of different sizes and lengths.

And, of course, your beef there is not with Keystone, but with Lippert.

I've never run into the problem of the legs being too long to store inside the trailer. Often, we can't get the legs long enough to reach the ground on a hillside campsite, I have to block them up with Legos and add an extra step-equivalent at the bottom. At their max length, they still fit easily inside the height of the door frame. But it's possible that your model has more steps than mine does.
.

[EMTPRescue]

2019 3790RD Montana 5th. Parked at a full time RV spot for most of the time. We have an elevated deck that runs the entire length of our RV. We park the RV directly beside that deck. The MorRyde Step Above would not work. Yes, we could open the door but the deck being 18" above the ground would not allow the step to fold down to ground level which rendered the system useless and stopped me from being able to close the door.

Not realizing this until I was backing the trailer in, I initially was forced to remove the step. Heavy and awkward is being kind. Why have they not used extruded aluminum? The system in my mind is too heavy and was built to address a small portion of the RV market place while creating problems for the rest of us. The weight and inconvenience of having to modify where or how you use your RV in my mind defeats the purpose of the system. I spent over $1500.00 modifying my deck to accommodate the step. That expenditure was not in my budget when we bought the RV.

Snow, ice, dirt and water all fall into the trailer when it is lifted into place. Grand Design actually put a quick connect outside water source on the door side to address this problem. Again why fix what isn't broke!

It has been very cold up here in the great white north over last month. -30 day time highs for weeks on end. Texas, you got nothing on us. When the weather finally broke I went up to check on the trailer. Since I was last up my front landing gear had retracted. Our step system had been deployed. As they were on the ground they did not move when the trailer came down. The stairs were bent and the bottom or sill of the door was damaged as well.

Long story short, the system has lots of sizzle with very little steak. I am not a fan. It creates far more problems than it fixes.

[Sarge2]

Mine came with the solid steps and we love them... we don't have the assisted ones so it's manual up and down... but the wife can do it fairly easy. Having never had any other type, can't really say anything bad about them other than getting it level.... leg adjustment can be a bit trying when setting up...

[Scott in Michigan]

EMTPRescue,

Thanks for your observations. I have a distinct feeling I would encounter the same conditions and experience, looking ahead at how we intend to be RV'ing in a couple years.

BTW, I still hold my medic license. Best job I ever had. I think back on it often.

Scott

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Sarge2

Mine came with the solid steps and we love them... we don't have the assisted ones so it's manual up and down... but the wife can do it fairly easy. Having never had any other type, can't really say anything bad about them other than getting it level.... leg adjustment can be a bit trying when setting up...

The assist will really make it painless. It will just hang at whatever level you stop it

[JDDilly]

I love the solid steps. We are at a seasonal site all summer and also have a deck. I had to get 2 2 X 12s for each side to raise the camper 3". The steps work great. That was a lot easier then changing the deck. Before folding up the stems, I use my leaf blower to clean them up. However, if raining, there can be a little water. I added the hand railing to them which was a great addition. As someone with health/mobility issues, they really help.

[dblanch57]

I have the glow steps and I love them. However, has anyone tried to put heaters on them for winter camping. Mine iced up last year at deer camp and I had to take the DW hair dryer and melt the ice before I could fold them in.

[LewisB]

Our 2018 Raptor came with the MORryde solid steps in the main front door and the standard fold out steps in the rear door. I'm not a fan of the solid steps for most of the "disadvantages" listed in prior posts.

Additionally no one has mentioned the possibility of these steps DESTROYING your main entry door if they are deployed and something or someone happens to adjust your hydraulic levelers. See the attached warning that came with my steps from MORryde which states;

[QUOTE MORryde]
"Before starting any (raising or lowering) leveling operation, either:

1. Open the entrance door fully, including the screen door and tie it back so it can’t close, OR
2. Stow the steps completely and shut the entrance door. Doing either of these this is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL in order to stop possible damage to the steps and door.

Q: What happens if I don’t use the tip above?

A: You might force the steps upward. In that event, with the entrance door closed, the steps have nowhere to go but up and into the door. Severe damage can occur to the steps and the door.

Q: What allows potential damage to occur?

A: When the jacks are retracted (manual or auto-retract operation) and if the door side of the coach was raised up by any amount at all, the coach will then lower down as the door side jacks retract. If the steps are deployed (out / down) and the entrance door is closed and you then retract the door side jacks, the steps will have no place to go but up into the entrance door itself. When the steps contact the door, the pressure the steps are applying to the door can damage the steps and the entrance door.

[End Quote]

I recommend you NOT put the front jacks into your iN.Command system to avoid the possibility of "butt dialing" your leveling jacks with your phone app. I'd also recommend you not leave these steps deployed when leaving your trailer for an extended period (e.g. overnight) - if your hydraulic jacks happen to loose pressure, the trailer will drop and these steps could potentially destroy your entry door.

Just sayin'...

[JDDilly]

If I ever have to replace my Solid Step, I would go with the Glow Step.

[Sarge2]

Originally Posted by Javi

The assist will really make it painless. It will just hang at whatever level you stop it

I have considered adding them... probably would be nice as the wife is taking the estrogen blockers due to having breast cancer and her arms and joints ache constantly from the medications...

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Sarge2

I have considered adding them... probably would be nice as the wife is taking the estrogen blockers due to having breast cancer and her arms and joints ache constantly from the medications...

So is mine.. 4 more years

And yes, it is worth it...

[linux3]

All this talk about steps.
I gotta go with the opinion that folding stairs into our TT would be messy.

However, we have the steps that came with our trailer. I wrapped them with indoor/outdoor carpet and bought a small step stool from Walmart.

Works great.

[Weldon]

I installed the Moryde STP54-011H Quick Connect steps on our TT. I didn't like the space needed to unfold the models that store in the doorway. I also didn't have to mod the original steps. The one downfall, if you call it one, is the need to lay them down flat inside the TT while traveling. I believe they would fit in the storage bins, but my kids use all of that space. The steps literally took 3 mins to install. I have no regrets at all. I purchased mine on amazon and they were here within 3 days, although I was told it would take up to 2 weeks.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Javi

So is mine.. 4 more years

And yes, it is worth it...

Javi and Sarge2,

This is off topic and I apologize. No need to start a conversation but wanted to share.

If your wives are being treated for breast cancer have you checked into the OncoType DX Genomic test? It was a Godsend for us greatly enhancing the ability of the docs to determine a course of treatment....and for DW eliminated lots of tests, chemo and drugs that had not proven beneficial for her particular case. Just something to look into if you haven't or want to. Back to regular programming

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by LewisB

Our 2018 Raptor came with the MORryde solid steps in the main front door and the standard fold out steps in the rear door. I'm not a fan of the solid steps for most of the "disadvantages" listed in prior posts.

Additionally no one has mentioned the possibility of these steps DESTROYING your main entry door if they are deployed and something or someone happens to adjust your hydraulic levelers. See the attached warning that came with my steps from MORryde which states;

[QUOTE MORryde]
"Before starting any (raising or lowering) leveling operation, either:

1. Open the entrance door fully, including the screen door and tie it back so it can’t close, OR
2. Stow the steps completely and shut the entrance door. Doing either of these this is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL in order to stop possible damage to the steps and door.

Q: What happens if I don’t use the tip above?

A: You might force the steps upward. In that event, with the entrance door closed, the steps have nowhere to go but up and into the door. Severe damage can occur to the steps and the door.

Q: What allows potential damage to occur?

A: When the jacks are retracted (manual or auto-retract operation) and if the door side of the coach was raised up by any amount at all, the coach will then lower down as the door side jacks retract. If the steps are deployed (out / down) and the entrance door is closed and you then retract the door side jacks, the steps will have no place to go but up into the entrance door itself. When the steps contact the door, the pressure the steps are applying to the door can damage the steps and the entrance door.

[End Quote]

I recommend you NOT put the front jacks into your iN.Command system to avoid the possibility of "butt dialing" your leveling jacks with your phone app. I'd also recommend you not leave these steps deployed when leaving your trailer for an extended period (e.g. overnight) - if your hydraulic jacks happen to loose pressure, the trailer will drop and these steps could potentially destroy your entry door.

Just sayin'...

The REALLY bad part of all of this is if your sleeping and this happens ..if your jacks leak down or lower ,you may not be able to open the door from inside to correct the slowly unfolding damage. I wonder if you can get a alarm that monitors the level of the trailer.