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Installed a set of the Torklift steps yesterday on our trailer. Had to do a little fabricating, but not too bad of a job.
First job is to remove the old steps. According to the instructions, there are different ways some manufacturers hang their steps and with type A it works out to a simple unbolt old steps and bolt up the new ones. Jayco uses method B of course. 4 bolts horizontal through the frame and a couple of carriage bolts down through the floor. Of course the carriage bolts are rusty and spin in the wood. I just cut them off and replaced them with some stainless steel carriage bolts from the local hardware store. (Sorry, no picture of that) Fortunately one is under the door trim and the other was just slightly in front of it and was able to get them out by carefully peeling the flooring back without leaving a mark on the floor.
Once removed, I cut the mounting portion of the old steps off to use that as a bracket for the new steps to be bolted to. On mine, I needed an extra 3/8" of width to fit the new steps, so I elongated the mounting holes on the old step brackets to get a little extra width. Then some measuring and cyphering on the brackets to calculate where to drill holes for the new steps to mount. Bolt the cut pieces loosely back on the trailer and then bolt the new steps to the bracket. A little jiggling to line things up and tighten everything. Replace the trim and job done.
Very sturdy and well made, I think we are really going to like them.
Looks good Eric, we recently installed the fold out Step Above models stairs, the ones you have were also something we looked at but the solid ones won out for us.
On your Jayco does that little amber light only shine when the awning light is on? That's how ours is, would be better if it was on when the awning light was off. Of course now with the flip up stairs installed I'm looking for a storage box to fill the old folding steps opening, but of course none that I have found match up perfectly and take full advantage of the room under there. And with a box there that little amber light will go away.
Cant wait to be out camping again, hopefully this will be our last working Winter.
Yes, the light is the same. Sounds like you need to build your own box to the exact dimensions. We thought about the other style steps, but went with these. Knowing TorkLift makes a supreme product helped tip the balance.
Not seeing a new RV in my future anytime soon. Only thing I would want different is for it to be shorter a few feet and make the bathroom a full width walkthrough design. (nobody makes such an animal) We're pretty happy with this one and staying inside keeps it looking like new.
Yes, the light is the same. Sounds like you need to build your own box to the exact dimensions. We thought about the other style steps, but went with these. Knowing TorkLift makes a supreme product helped tip the balance.
Not seeing a new RV in my future anytime soon. Only thing I would want different is for it to be shorter a few feet and make the bathroom a full width walkthrough design. (nobody makes such an animal) We're pretty happy with this one and staying inside keeps it looking like new.
Yep, building my own or cutting up and modifying one of the available ones looks like the path forward.
I agree on TorkLift making top shelf gear, love my hitch! So far the Fold down stairs seem to be well built and designed too.
At this point it looks like we will hang onto our Jayco for another 3-ish years, which will push it out to ten years old and then it will be fifth wheel time. That of course also means the EX will be replaced with a new dually, that research and education has already begun. We really like the fiver floor plans that have the raised rear areas that have the huge storage below the raised floor, very fulltimer friendly!
Yep, building my own or cutting up and modifying one of the available ones looks like the path forward.
I agree on TorkLift making top shelf gear, love my hitch! So far the Fold down stairs seem to be well built and designed too.
At this point it looks like we will hang onto our Jayco for another 3-ish years, which will push it out to ten years old and then it will be fifth wheel time. That of course also means the EX will be replaced with a new dually, that research and education has already begun. We really like the fiver floor plans that have the raised rear areas that have the huge storage below the raised floor, very fulltimer friendly!
I like the fivers but the size of them to get into State Parks concerns me. We are State and National campground people, I can only think of 2 times in 5 years we have stayed in a private campground.
If I were to get a 5th wheel it would be a front living room model with a garage and under the back storage for kayaks etc. I would look at Riverstone or Redwood models with full body paint.
Have you looked at the Jayco Pinnacles yet? Currently they have one model with the raised rear with storage below with more floor plans like that coming in the next couple of years, and they offer a full body paint option also. We have looked at Riverstones and Redwoods too, all very nice and well appointed.
So many options to explore while searching for a new rig, truck and trailer, it's a real challenge but fortunately it's also a lot of fun!
I really like the Jayco Eagles, IIRC they are using a drop frame an have most of the 5th wheel features. Since we have the Ex I have am not pointing the wife in the 5th wheel direction. So the truck is now 16 years old, still in great shape. I have convinced her if the engine fails we can fix it a lot cheaper than buying a new truck.
Looking for some expertise here. Currently in the market for an X to pull my camper which weighs in at just over 10k lbs fully loaded. I was hoping to confirm my research within the forum. From what I'm seeing, it appears that either the 7.3 or 6.0 diesels can handle this amount of weight, but if I went with the V10 I would need to make sure that I have the 4.30 axle ratio (which seems nearly impossible to find for some reason). Am I thinking about this the right way or is there anything else I should be considering. Thank you in advance for your help!
Did you find your Excursion yet? I've been toying with the idea of getting rid of mine. Currently setup with stock wheels and 285s, switched the 3.73 gears for 4.30 gears, has the Y-pipe mod and 87Eco/87Perf/91Tow tunes from 5Star, and only has 116k miles. Windshield is new and has been resealed with lifetime warranty from Safelite after rebuilding the GEM and fusebox. Lemme know if you're interested, I'm in Montana and regularly pull up to 10k ft where we play. Have pics of my camping rig available.
Borrowed a camper to visit my mom in Louisiana over the holidays, trailered from southern VA to LA. 1997 Aluma-Lite 32' Holiday Rambler.
Oh my goodness this Excursion pulls it nicely. DP-Tuner, airbags, swaybar 20" Michelin LTX. At times "it's like it wans't there". 11 mpg best on the flats, 9.5 mpg worst in the rolling hills.
This is a new experience for us, as we've never RV'd before. Two en-route overnights in Wal-Mart parking lots, most of the week parked in my mom's driveway with electricity and water, one delightful night at Kerr Lake State Park in NC.
Borrowed a camper to visit my mom in Louisiana over the holidays, trailered from southern VA to LA. 1997 Aluma-Lite 32' Holiday Rambler.
Oh my goodness this Excursion pulls it nicely. DP-Tuner, airbags, swaybar 20" Michelin LTX. At times "it's like it wans't there". 11 mpg best on the flats, 9.5 mpg worst in the rolling hills.
This is a new experience for us, as we've never RV'd before. Two en-route overnights in Wal-Mart parking lots, most of the week parked in my mom's driveway with electricity and water, one delightful night at Kerr Lake State Park in NC.
I kinda like this.
I had the same trailer back in the day... that now lives as a hunting cabin, out in the woods.
I had the same trailer back in the day... that now lives as a hunting cabin, out in the woods.
It's amazing how good condition this one is. Clearly good construction, well-cared-for, everything works, no leaks. It's only downside is the smaller-than-I'd-like tanks (around 40g each), an outside that needs some care, and no slide-out (I can live w/o that).
My buddy is thinking of selling it, and I'm thinking this might be a nice initial buy-in to see if we really want to won an RV rtailer. Where can I find typical private party values on these?
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
