Welcome to the sixth entry in June’s Medium Mod Contest. One Medium Mod will be published in every Email Alert in June. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine June’s winner. Click here for information about the 2020 Mod Contest, including how to enter.
Charles Coushaine, Punta Gorda, Florida
More Stable RV Entry Handrail
2001 Ford F350
2012 Chalet DS116RB
I removed my inadequate existing handrail and installed a new drop-down swing-out handrail that greatly improves safety when entering and exiting my camper.
My Chalet truck camper came with a beautiful lighted handgrip but it was very tight to the door making it unreachable when first climbing the four-steps to get inside.
So, I purchased an all stainless steel swing-out handrail that folds away during travel. It is a stainless steel Stromberg Carlson Folding Handrail for RVs – model AC-530.
To start I had to remove the existing handgrip because I needed to position the new handrail in the same location to get the height right relative to the steps.
Then I marked and drilled three new holes, top and bottom, using the new handrail as a guide. Next I installed the six screws after first applying silicone caulking to each hole. Once mounted, they supply a nice decorative cap for both the top and bottom to hide the screw holes. To finish off the assembly, I painted and inserted three screws into the holes in the camper from the top screws of the old hand grip.
To see the full installation, watch the video below:
This new folding handrail works fantastic! Unlike the old hand grip, this one folds out quite far making it very easy to grab as you start to walk up the stairs into our camper.
It then folds down parallel to the door making it unobtrusive while driving. Having this extendable folding handrail has made entering and exiting our camper much safer!
It took me 4-hours to complete this modification and cost me $150. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is medium.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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