Things to expect ...

[BoldAdventure]

When boondocking .... wawa

This will be our second set of stairs to replace. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[BoldAdventure]

This lovely road, think I got the angle of the dip in the photo. Nothing else hit, so that was a plus. If you're going to go boondock someplace, be willing to take some damage to your rig. No biggie. Unbolts and I can get a new pair in town.

[Mrjkq]

Ouch!!

[KJRitchie]

Is that damage step the same steps that come with the Airstream Flying Cloud, International series? Your photo seems to show them hanging low. My Classic steps fold up closer to the body so maybe that won't be as much of an issue if I decide to go off road.

Kelvin

[Isuzusweet]

Mike needs a lift kit for the trailer me thinks.

Cheers
Tony

[BoldAdventure]

Believe it or not, these don't hang as low as the first set which were the ones that came on the Airstream. I misjudged a tree stump and didn't stop when the wife told me and bent the first set. But the first ones we still managed to bend and use for a few weeks.

These, I hit them with my two-pound sledge, but they are squished good. LOL

I was thinking more about that lift after today. And I thought to myself as I approached the angle, maybe I should have the wife get out and spot. Nah... I'll be fine I thought...

Doah! Trust your instincts. More money spent.

Vinsteam mentioned the older steps I might find on ebay from the 70's Airstreams fold up real tight.

[PKI]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

-- snip --- And I thought to myself as I approached the angle, maybe I should have the wife get out and spot. Nah... I'll be fine I thought...

-- snip ---.

Rule number 1 - when you feel uncomfortable leave, slow down or stop. Yous got to follow the rules or it costs you $$$$$$.

We were told that the steps don't last long. Couldn't figure out why. Maybe this is a hint.

Travel safe. Pat

[aearles]

Originally Posted by PKI

Rule number 1 - when you feel uncomfortable leave, slow down or stop. Yous got to follow the rules or it costs you $$$$$$.

We were told that the steps don't last long. Couldn't figure out why. Maybe this is a hint.

Travel safe. Pat

Meh, if we turned around everytime we got uncomfortable, we sure wouldn't be here... it's just money!

[DumOleBob]

Just shows you are getting AWAY from the mad crowd☺️👌👍


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[tvoneicken]

Ha, they look like you need to take the pieces apart and hammer each one back into shape :-). I have experience... pulling out of a parking spot when forgetting to raise the steps up: they hit the curb...

How do you get a replacement "in town"? Are these generic and not AS specific?

[idroba]

Originally Posted by tvoneicken

How do you get a replacement "in town"? Are these generic and not AS specific?

This is a copy from a Forum post in the past few months. I kept it in my file, sorry I can't give proper credit to the original author.

"I had to replace the steps on 25' Flying Cloud.
Did some research and the replacement steps were purchased from Campers World for $81 plus $10 shipping. Campers World part number is 74960.
The manufacturer is Lippert Components and their part number is 341500.
This step is exactly the same as OEM steps from Air Stream. Bolt holes match and installation took 15 minutes. Remove 4 bolts and the steps come off."

[tvoneicken]

Ah, thanks for the info! I'm sure it's going to come in handy someday...

[BoldAdventure]

Yup, they're the same steps. I think we are going to get a portable step. They hang so low anyways.

[SCOTTinNJ]

When you say portable step, are you talking about steps that aren't connected to the trailer?

I was thinking it may make sense for you to build a set of steps out of wood, and then just travel with them in the trailer. You can set them outside when you park. Not ideal I know, but neither is a new set of steps every 6 months!

[BoldAdventure]

Yup, that's what I'm talking about.

[Wayne&Sam]

At a dump station one time an SOB left his steps down and caught them on a bollard. I yelled and he stopped, but they were bent pretty good. He was upset and didn't know what to do. I said if it was me, I'd put it in reverse and very carefully back up. This put the same force in the exact opposite direction. He backed up until I hollered again. The steps were 90% good. He was happy, I continued dumping.

[Piggy Bank]

Bold,
When we were growing up with a small pop-up tent trailer, our "step" was a real wooden Coke crate, with an astroturf door mat attached. Worked great.

[Brav]

As we also boondock most of the time, this was the first thing I stared at and imagined the many ways this would get ripped off. I have lost leveling jacks in an SOB in the past in Sequoia NF. I may just remove mine as well. Or wait for it to remove itself..

[nvestysly]

Ouch! That's a big boo-boo. Fortunately, the steps can be replaced or removed.

There is another thread about retrofitting another brand of steps to an Airstream. You may have seen it. Take a look at the post(s) from Steamy1. Their steps look pretty solid and tuck up better than the Airstream steel steps.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f475...ps-141899.html

I've often wondered why Airstream uses the steel steps. Why not use the fold-up steps offered on the Classic on all trailers. I suspect if all the costs of the Classic steps and the steel steps were considered - cost of ordering both, stocking both, vendor issues with both, etc - that the Classic steps could be installed on every Airstream for not much more money than the steel steps.

Has anyone retro-fitted Classic steps onto another model? Might be worth a try. The Classic steps tuck up nicely, flush with the belly pan.

[idroba]

The "classic" aluminum step used to be used on all Airstreams, and a steel version of it on the Argosy. I have had them both. Quite frankly, the current steel steps look ugly, but are a much better step from the stability and wear standpoint.

The complicated folding up into the banana wrap aluminum one sure has always looked good, but the wear on the special outriggers it uses, plus the rust issues the outriggers have, combined with the complex mechanism itself is just not all that great. After a few years they get sloppy, often the bottom step develops an angle pitch different from the upper one, and sometimes they give way under the weight of a person if they are not deployed just right.

Good looking, yes, good step, not especially. The inexpensive steel step used now on all but the classic 30' is ugly, but stable, and cheap to replace if damaged or worn.

Of course this is my opinion, yours may be different.