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Safer Stairway to Heaven

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Safer Stairway To Heaven

Chuck Ramsey, Summerfield, Florida
Safer Stairway to Heaven
2012 Chevy Silverado 3500
2019 Arctic Fox 990

Stairway To Heaven Before

As we age, our ability to take that big step to enter or exit the camper is getting tougher and tougher. We wanted a set of stairs to make this experience easier and safer for us.

We bought a set of Torklift Stow N’ Go scissor steps to mount on our Fox Landing platform. In order to still be able to secure the platform for travel, and have clearance to a trailer hitch if we were to tow something, we chose to mount the bracket where the factory steps were on the Fox Landing.

We removed the existing stair treads and were able to reuse some of the bolt holes, but had to drill others to secure the bracket. The Stow N’ Go bracket is longer than the Fox Landing side; thus it’s mounted off-center.

Stairway To Heaven Yellow Plate

When the landing and steps were open for use, there was a large gap between the wall of the platform and the first stair tread. What concerned us was that someone–or a pet–might fall through. So we set about making a removable plate to fill the space.

Stairway To Heaven Extended

To remedy this void, the master creator in this household took some angle iron and mounted it to the side of the Fox Landing to make a lip. The lip holds a piece of diamond plating that was cut to size and overlaps the edge of the top stair.

Stairway To Heaven Diamond Plate

The master creator also welded pieces of washers he had cut to bolts. This made thumb bolts which are used to hold the diamond plate to the angle iron and keep it from slipping during use. We spray-painted the angle iron yellow to give us a visual reminder that there was a gap to fill.

This diamond plate was intentionally made removable to allow us the ability to fully close the stairs and secure them for travel. When we remove the camper from the truck, we keep the stairs closed and are able to use just the Fox Landing to access the camper. We store the diamond plate on the deck in the camper, and the thumb bolts in the cup holders of the dinette when we travel.

Stairway To Heaven After

This lady knows all that glitters is gold and diamond plating is a girl’s best friend.  The full stairway makes going in and out, especially with our hands full, a game changer. It’s safe and solid as the legs rest on the ground and not in the air.

Stairway To Heaven Stairs Closed

In addition to the Torklift GlowStep Stow N’ Go scissor steps with the Landing Gear, we needed diamond plate, angle iron, bolts, and washers.

Stairway To Heaven Torklift Stow N Go Travel Mode

It took three hours to construct this modification and cost us about $600 US.

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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If you’d like to enter a modification you’ve done on your truck camper, click here. You can enter as many mods as you want, at any time.  Good luck mod makers!

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