Terry,
I normally remove my boards and put them in the cab of the truck, it is an extended cab. Honestly, I haven't really used the steps on my Bobcat that much. Also, it would be difficult to reach the racks from the steps. I met some guy who put two 2 x 4 brackets under the underside of the camper, above where the truck bed sides end. He then slides two 2 x 4's cut about 30" long into them and a cross piece of like a 2 x 8 or 10. He uses that to step on and reach on top of the camper, or as a bar on the outside to eat or drink off. I hope I am explaining it good enough. He carries the wood pieces outside his camper and always has it available.
Just another thought, make sure Marty is ready for you before you fly up there. When I got mine, I went up 2 weeks ahead of the birth date, and mine wasn't even there. There is a lot to these campers, but those boys have it down and they don't take long to make them.
I would love to meet up with you in Baja, but my wife had some bad times there and so because of that we won't go there anymore.
the first week of March we are going to visit Ventura for some surf, might be a good break in run for you and yours on the way back from Sac? let me know, we could meet there and surf. We live in Santa Cruz, and right now the waves are epic.