2002 roadtrek 190V side step broken

[richpress]

We have a 2002 Roadtrek 190V on a Dodge Ram 3500 chassis with a 318 V8. It only has 65k miles and is in pretty good shape all around. One thing I have seen, and it appears to be fairly common, is that the driver’s side step is cracked. This is the hinged step that covers the waste drain under the driver’s seat.
There are a small number of bolts holding the assembly in place and I intend to remove it and repair, with reinforcement where it has failed. I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find a replacement part. It will be a lot faster to remove and replace, than fix at my leisure. I have attached a photo showing the damage in two places.

[PThomadakis]

Bumping this thread as I have the same issue with my 1997 Roadtrek 190P. Greatly appreciated if anybody has any leads on where to hunt down a replacement driver's side hinged step.

[rhythmtone]

I'm in the same situation, and am finding that the panel cannot be purchased, certainly not realistically speaking.

I took mine off by cutting and drilling the rivets on the step side, leaving the lengthwise hinge with its second set of rivets attached to the vehicle.

I'm mailing it off to a guy who does fiberglass - he quoted me $200 fixed, and I will prime and paint, which seems entirely reasonable - the local boat repair shop wanted $1700 for the same thing. I know that the paint won't match exactly, but I'm doing it mostly for structural integrity - cosmetics are less important to me.

I will post the results when I have a chance, but it may be several weeks.


Picture (link):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tqy...w?usp=drivesdk

Thanks,
Dave

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by rhythmtone

. . . the panel cannot be purchased, certainly not realistically speaking.

Right - it can be purchased, but I agree that it is not clearly more practical than getting the old one fixed. I did purchase a new step (and storage door) last summer from mobileliferv, and got it painted are replaced it, and it looks fine. But it does not fit perfectly. As I said in a post from several months ago:

Originally Posted by RT-NY

. . . to elaborate on my last post regarding the step: the step that I was able to get from www.mobiliferv.ca was the correct width but was a quite a bit shorter than the original one. I attached it by riveting a new hinge to the original hinge but upside down so that the step can sit out a bit from the body. It looks OK, but it is not perfect, and the new step is not cheap so in most cases of damage to the original step it might be better to repair the original if possible.

Here is the step from mobilliferv:

https://www.mobiliferv.ca/rv-parts/r...assembly/6261/

Here is the original thread:

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...oor-10286.html

[rhythmtone]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

Right - it can be purchased, but I agree that it is not clearly more practical than getting the old one fixed. I did purchase a new step (and storage door) last summer from mobileliferv, and got it painted are replaced it, and it looks fine. But it does not fit perfectly. As I said in a post from several months ago:

Here is the step from mobilliferv:

https://www.mobiliferv.ca/rv-parts/r...assembly/6261/

Here is the original thread:

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...oor-10286.html

Great, well thanks for the advice and the link, I never saw the original post, but it's good information.

If I could ask one question, what folding stopper hinge did you use for the "step door"? The one that holds it open, not the lengthwise one.

I ask because mine is sort of a rubber strip, not metal like the storage hinge that holds that door open. It's hard to tell if it's original, but you wouldn't think so ... I want to put something better in there while I'm at the job, but I haven't been able to find out what was originally used. Maybe a folding hinge won't fit properly there? Or is it just the same as the one on the storage door?

Thanks for the reply and any information,
Dave

[rhythmtone]

Is the one that holds the step door open something like this?

https://www.hingeoutlet.com/products...d-individually

Because mine is actually made of rubber, but I think it may have been "rigged up" rather than original to the vehicle. It's basically a strip of rubber that folds in half, unless there's a specific reason it's hard to imagine that it's original, because it doesn't do the best job holding the step door open, or keeping it closed, haha.

Thanks

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by rhythmtone

Because mine is actually made of rubber, but I think it may have been "rigged up" rather than original to the vehicle. It's basically a strip of rubber that folds in half, unless there's a specific reason it's hard to imagine that it's original, because it doesn't do the best job holding the step door open, or keeping it closed . . .

I also had the same strange strip of rubber on my original step. It seems like it must be original but I also have no idea what purpose it serves! Any other owners of older RT models have this rubber strip on their driver's side step?

Anyway, I just left it off the new step, and I use instead a short length of thin pvc pipe to hold it open when I dump the tanks. I also never did re-install the hinge for the storage door -- I worry that it causes the door to be opened too wide and wears out the long plastic hinge too quickly, and it is a lot of work to replace!