Step Replacement on 2019 Globetrotter

[hdavis40]

Hi Folks,

I am in the process of replacing the steps on our 2019 Globetrotter, and I have a concern about removing an upper arm (or may be an upper arm support - see picture). The piece needs to be replaced, and if I unscrew the bolt, is there a nut on the back that is going to just fall into the belly where it can't be retrieved without making a hole?

Thanks
Hugh

[ROBERT CROSS]

First Question WHY are you replacing them, physically broken?

POI I repaired our years,(8+) ago, SFSG.

Bob
🇺🇸

[DCPAS]

Download your parts book. It's a great resource.

[hdavis40]

Bob - I got the last sight available at an RV park, and it came with a permanent porch. I backed in and lowered the step to make sure it would go down. I went to do some minor adjustments on the positioning of our Globetrotter, not realizing that there were supports under the deck. And you can guess the rest..... I moved the Globetrotter forward and left the step behind. So, that upper arm piece is bent.

DCPAS - Thanks for the schematic, it's better than the one I had, and I'm pretty sure it answers my question. I can see parts 16 and 7 that screw into the upper arm. So without cutting holes or removing rivets, I don't think those parts can be accessed. If I unscrew the bolt from the front, those parts are going to just drop into pan below with no access.

-Hugh-

[Gibson3798]

You're right, rivets will have to be removed. Strange engineering IMO, but what do I know?
Good luck!+

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by hdavis40

Bob - I got the last sight available at an RV park, and it came with a permanent porch. I backed in and lowered the step to make sure it would go down. I went to do some minor adjustments on the positioning of our Globetrotter, not realizing that there were supports under the deck. And you can guess the rest..... I moved the Globetrotter forward and left the step behind. So, that upper arm piece is bent.

DCPAS - Thanks for the schematic, it's better than the one I had, and I'm pretty sure it answers my question. I can see parts 16 and 7 that screw into the upper arm. So without cutting holes or removing rivets, I don't think those parts can be accessed. If I unscrew the bolt from the front, those parts are going to just drop into pan below with no access.

-Hugh-

I've done the same, but the copilot caught it before we hit anything.
Our 'repair' was for the step not locking in place, lost the shoulder bolt.
Made an OTR repair and completed it when we got home.

I now check & lube all step hardware regularly

Bob
🇺🇸

[GCinSC2]

I made repairs to my steps and made a roughly 6x6 access hole and covered it with a new piece of aluminum, painted it and it is not visible unless you go under the rig.

[dickbogaard]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

I made repairs to my steps and made a roughly 6x6 access hole and covered it with a new piece of aluminum, painted it and it is not visible unless you go under the rig.

x2 on our 2019 FC.

Dick

[hdavis40]

So, I called Colonial Airstream, and they told me the same. HOWEVER, upon further examination, if you lift the lock, you can access the nut on the back. I plan to hold onto it with narrow vise grips. I will let you know how it goes.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by hdavis40

So, I called Colonial Airstream, and they told me the same. HOWEVER, upon further examination, if you lift the lock, you can access the nut on the back. I plan to hold onto it with narrow vise grips. I will let you know how it goes.

Looks like you have room for a box wench, whatever...use a thread lock when assembling.

Bob
🇺🇸

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by hdavis40

So, I called Colonial Airstream, and they told me the same. HOWEVER, upon further examination, if you lift the lock, you can access the nut on the back. I plan to hold onto it with narrow vise grips. I will let you know how it goes.

Agreed, but I don't think you can access the rear sliding arm bolt the same way. It's a socket head and the head is on the inside of the outrigger.

[hdavis40]

I thought the same, but after removing the steps, the rear sliding arms just pop out. You bring them to the front and tilt upward, and there's enough space at the end of the slot in the outrigger where the step locks into place.

I was able to get a box wrench on the front arm nut, and I loosened it enough to get some extra play behind the arm. Rather than remove it, I used an iron pipe and a pipe wrench to bend it back straight.

I took the other pieces to my shop, disassembled and labeled them, and then bent them back into shape with a vice, iron pipe, and a sledge hammer. The smaller support arms were fairly easy to shape, but the left large sliding arm that goes into the outrigger was bent at a 45 degree angle and twisted, and that was bear.

The upper step is back in place and works perfectly. I just need some of the small hardware to reattach the bottom step. I am guessing the bending likely caused some metal fatigue and small cracks, so I will have to keep an eye out for failure points.

It's won't be like brand new, but it beats spending several hundred dollars on parts or $700-$1000 for Airstream full replacement.

Thanks for all the input!
-Hugh-

[ROBERT CROSS]

Good Job.....

Bob
🇺🇸

You have you have now graduated with Honors from the.....

[GCinSC2]

Hugh,

I didn't try that approach as I went a bit more into reinforcement of the outriggers that required the access plate approach. Yes, I did see the possibility of a thru the notch approach for the front pivot anchor but the jig saw already did it's thing.

Well done.

Gary

[hdavis40]

Thanks for the Macgyver Badge - I will wear it with honor!

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by hdavis40

Thanks for the Macgyver Badge - I will wear it with honor!

There is a tee shirt for the alum’s out there…look around with Google.

[debfm]

I had to work on my 2015, 25' International steps. I bet if you look up under the step where that bolt is you will find under the head of that bolt a "nut clip" (Clip with the nut attached to the upper side of that clip). Once you take the steps off read adjust the clips to line up with the hole for the bolts.

[MarkW]

Originally Posted by debfm

I had to work on my 2015, 25' International steps. I bet if you look up under the step where that bolt is you will find under the head of that bolt a "nut clip" (Clip with the nut attached to the upper side of that clip). Once you take the steps off read adjust the clips to line up with the hole for the bolts.

I lost a bolt on the front support arm. Like you I had to use a dremmel cutting bit to cut an access hole to repair it. I choose to cut two sides and slightly bend the metal down. The lost bolt was found in the under pan area. I assembled it with blue lock tite. Then bent the metal back up in place and secured it with one rivet and covered the cut with black gorilla tape. You can’t notice it without knowing it there.

[hdavis40]

I chickened out on removing the nut completely, and went with bending the arm back straight. Seems like, even with the clip, it's possible to lose the nut.

Two folks in this string did metal cutting and then riveting, and while I didn't need it on this project, I'm thinking it is something I will eventually need to know how to do. Our Globetrotter is only three years old, but I can see stress points and places where the factory messed up the rivets. I will check the posts, but is there a riveting 101 string (tools, rivet sizes, etc.)?

[dfedorko]

Originally Posted by hdavis40

I thought the same, but after removing the steps, the rear sliding arms just pop out. You bring them to the front and tilt upward, and there's enough space at the end of the slot in the outrigger where the step locks into place.

I was able to get a box wrench on the front arm nut, and I loosened it enough to get some extra play behind the arm. Rather than remove it, I used an iron pipe and a pipe wrench to bend it back straight.

I took the other pieces to my shop, disassembled and labeled them, and then bent them back into shape with a vice, iron pipe, and a sledge hammer. The smaller support arms were fairly easy to shape, but the left large sliding arm that goes into the outrigger was bent at a 45 degree angle and twisted, and that was bear.

The upper step is back in place and works perfectly. I just need some of the small hardware to reattach the bottom step. I am guessing the bending likely caused some metal fatigue and small cracks, so I will have to keep an eye out for failure points.

It's won't be like brand new, but it beats spending several hundred dollars on parts or $700-$1000 for Airstream full replacement.

Thanks for all the input!
-Hugh-

Nice job! I'm about to do something similar, previous owner must've left it down and whacked something so the six vertical pieces that hold the lower step in place are all slightly bent towards the rear of the trailer. I think I can remove those and do my best to "flatten/square" them up.