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Sep 24

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Fixing Our RV Damage – The Ladder

This July we had some pretty substantial damage to the rear cap of our RV:

For the full story see https://rvseniormoments.com/2022/08/05/how-should-we-fix-our-rvs-rear-cap/

We had some ideas back in July of how to proceed, but fixing the ladder was the first step. So here’s what we did . . .

Remove the Ladder from Our RV

The Patient on the Table

Remove the Damaged Steps

Four Steps Removed

This was the most difficult step. Each step was held in place by two pins that defied removal.

We had to resort to cutting out each pin which also damaged the ladder itself.

After removing a step, sometimes the holding pins (circled) had to be cut out. Ugly.

Strengthening the Ladder with Pipes

A 4′ aluminum pipe was used inside each ladder rail (arrows = breaks in the ladder rail)

The ladder was compressed to hold it together

Adding the New Steps

The new steps were a different (and much better) design than the old steps. The new steps used side screws, not pins, to fasten them to the ladder rails.

Stromberg-Carlson 8540-NTB

Fully Assembled Ladder

Before and After