Welcome to the first entry in September’s Mega Mod Contest. One Mega Mod will be published in every Email Alert in September. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine September’s winner. Click here for information about the Mod Squad Contest, including how to enter.
Bob Clark, Tucson, Arizona
Safe Entry Mini-Deck Platform
2008 Chevy 2500
1994 Lance 480
My wife is handicapped and has a hard time walking, let alone climbing in and out of my camper. To help her, I built a mini-deck that sits in our Lance’s step brackets.
Now she can get into the camper easier. The deck also uses the factory step which puts the ground clearance to about 8-inches, depending on the terrain.
To start my modification, I took 1-inch round tube and bent it to the same shape as the step on my Lance camper. I put some angle on the top to act as a cap and copy the bracket of the Lance step. I used three sections of tube and spaced them out so that they would fit the three brackets on the bumper.
Then I bent a rounded rectangle support that ties into the bent tubes. Everything was welded after checking the fit to the rectangle support. A floor was welded out of scrap expanded metal I had.
At first I was unsure how to keep the platform up while traveling. I cut some aluminum pipe, split the pipe and welded it to my ladder. After having the bracket on the ladder for a day, I decided that was a bad idea. I removed that bracket and made the current ones that are bolted to the bumper.
So far the step has worked out great. My wife seems to have no problems getting into the camper. For me, it is a medium amount of skill to fabricate. For those who do not weld it may be hard. A bender is also required.
It took me approximately 12-hours to complete this modification and cost me nothing. I had the materials. I would guess it would cost approximately $100. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is hard.
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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