entry steps rusting off.

[richfaa]

quote:Originally posted by rmthelen

The crack in mine was not on the steps but on the bracket that the steps mount to. That is the part that the service center welded.

Same place same bracket.

[richfaa]

This is my week for rust.. Had to remove the rear ladder to have a vision wrap installed on the rear window. There are 6 large screws that hold the ladder to the rear of the RV they are in the stand off post that hold the ladder. Three of then were rusted .Have no idea how water got in there but I see this as a weak point that could lead to ladder failure. Two of the stand off post were wet on the inside.

[richfaa]

Montana going into the dealer Thursday May 12th. Rear ladder split at a connection point. I have never been on the ladder, Helen weighs about 100 lbs. I think maybe the guys that wash our Rv in Florida may have done it but the ladder is rated at 300 lbs and none of them are close to that. They can do the wield on the step bracket and repair the OEM steps. Guess what black tank leak. The holding tank got to full when flushing I head it pop. My fault in using the holding tank as a holding tank. Oh and the service manage was well aware of the Step bracket splitting exactly were ours split. He walked me out to a new Cougar, same step installation and pointed to the spot. Oh well a few hundred $$ to put this thing back together. We will be on the road for our summer road trip in Late June. It is all part of Rv'ing no surprises just disappointment.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yeah going up those ladders always make me nervous ,when I first got home after buying my 2015 one of the first things I checked was the ladder screws and yep they were all loose and so I replaced them with one size bigger Stainless steel ones and now I feel better but If I weighed 300 pounds there is NO WAY I would go up there, I weigh 220 and I feel like that is MAX for those ladders

[richfaa]

The thing with the rust on those screws you can not see it and would not know there was a problem till that failed .Stainless steel should do the job.

[Eagleback]

Only surface rust here also. But we full time and have built a set of stairs for the Monty. I kind of like the aluminum stairs that you find on some units they look pretty nice.

[richfaa]

We are going to a large FCRV rally In OKC this summer and hope to get a good price on a quality set of entry steps from a vendor.

[Art-n-Marge]

My '06 steps still look pretty good. Just a few areas where rust is showing but nothing I would consider compromising or weak. Where the steps are looking bad is the steps that have that stick-on black sandpaper at the edge of the steps to improve footing. These are starting to curl at the corners, but not enough to be dangerous. Even on the light rain which is typical here in Southern California, this paper still helps with shoe gripping when going up or down these stairs. One of these days I'll have to glue these back down and maybe install some tiny screws at these corners to prevent future curling.

So sorry to hear about stair problems, and hope this gets addressed soon. Such a simple need could create such a hazard entering or exiting your rig. Seems so unnecessary that this is happening.

[richfaa]

I say again after looking closely I do not think it was a rust problem the metal just separated and the exposed ends were beginning to rust. Again our dealer said they have seen this several times on many brands.

[jcurtis934]

Rich, took your advice and compared the give steping on the left side of the bottom stair versus the right side. Guess what? Major difference. If I turn my attention to looking at the facia below the entry door, I can see it sag downwards. That point is easier to notice than just looking at the bracket that the steps bolt to. NOT EVEN 1/8" thick sheet steel was used for the bracket, which is welded to the metal plate at the back of the stair well and has a 1/4 or 5/16" bolt at the front. Well, I have a 2x12 under the stairs at tread #2 on the left side to support the stair well assemby now. Mine bracket doesn't have a rust issue...it has an inadequate engineered well assembly. My montana was made same time as yours rich... Crap! I mean oh boy...another opportunity to improve my montana when I really wanted to do something fun to have more functionality on my tv mounting. As Rich said...heads up. John

[richfaa]

Montana in to the dealer this AM. Replace Ladder, Replace roof vent, weld and repair steps, Replace leaking black tank estimated cost 1000/1200.00 $$$. The Extended warranty company replaced the first 4 failed tanks they will not cover this one. Five failed tanks in Four years is a bit much...I agree. We are going to a different Extended service contract company. All part of Rv'ing.

[BB_TX]

I noticed all the newest floor plans on the Montana web site now show "alum 4 step entry".

[richfaa]

They are the New Lippert steps and they are sturdy steps we hope to get a good buy on them at the FCRV rally.

[richfaa]

quote:Originally posted by jcurtis934

Rich, took your advice and compared the give steping on the left side of the bottom stair versus the right side. Guess what? Major difference. If I turn my attention to looking at the facia below the entry door, I can see it sag downwards. That point is easier to notice than just looking at the bracket that the steps bolt to. NOT EVEN 1/8" thick sheet steel was used for the bracket, which is welded to the metal plate at the back of the stair well and has a 1/4 or 5/16" bolt at the front. Well, I have a 2x12 under the stairs at tread #2 on the left side to support the stair well assemby now. Mine bracket doesn't have a rust issue...it has an inadequate engineered well assembly. My montana was made same time as yours rich... Crap! I mean oh boy...another opportunity to improve my montana when I really wanted to do something fun to have more functionality on my tv mounting. As Rich said...heads up. John

Yes John and if you go up and down those steps enough times as we do being long timers it is like bending a cloths hanger over and over again till it separates.

[jcurtis934]

Figured it would. Will wait until we get back to florida on nov 1 before i drop out stairs and start to get some proper support for them. IN the meantime, I am using Trailer Trash 2.0 support system...a 2x12 wedged under the stairs at mid point for the left side support. Life is good right now. John

[richfaa]

Checked the dealer today the steps are welded and repaired .They are back to OEM standards which IMO is not saying much. We will have sturdy new steps this summer. Ladder and holding tanks on order. OEM roof vent replaced it could not take 4 years of sunshine and came apart.

[kdeiss]

2002 2955RL Original Steps,Ladder and Holding tanks! Just makes you wonder!!

[richfaa]

The bracket that the steps are bolted on to were split at both the back and front.They did some wielding and added some support. Black holding tank split at the top as usual. Repair bill is up to 1200.00 thus far.

[Overlord]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

This is a 2013 3402 Big Sky build date May 2012 so it is 4 years old this month. It has never seen ice, snow, road salt. Except for 2 or 3 days at a time it has not been within 60 miles of a ocean

Our entry steps although not on the recall list had failed and sheared off some bolts. We were in the process of purchasing some quality replacement steps. Helen noted that the steps "sagged" when she was on then she weighs like 100 lbs. On inspection looking at the steps from the outside the left side of the "Box" the steps are mounted to is rusting away about 3 inches has broken away from the steps .There is also rust on the other side same place. I do not think the metal is sturdy enough for a wield at that point so here goes another few hundred $$ to put this thing back together again.

Perhaps a wintertime delivery from factory to RV dealership over Indiana's and other State's salted roads?

[richfaa]

Build date of May delivererd in June. As far as we can remember this thing has never seen a flake of snow or a grain of road salt.