PackRat
Senior Member
I've been sleeping in the bed of my F-250 PU a few times when out there...getting in and out is always an adventure, especially if the bumper where I need to step down only after lifting the camper shell rear window goes UP is slippery. After slipping when getting in due to water on my shoe from wet grass and nearly breaking a few ribs I looked around for options. I had a two step plastic unit from my days with the Lance on the F-250 and it required removing the short 2" tube towing ball extension I had to get the tow-bar for my jeep down a bit lower and that was another PITA.
OK, buy a short ladder...but you don't know if the ground slopes UP or DOWN after you level your rig so that's not good. The plastic thing didn't like uneven ground either.
So...those step bars that go into the 2" hitch seemed like a good idea....but if I had an AK mounted (8 or 10 FT) then I would have the tailgate down and need an extension.
My F-250 tailgate is about 34" to the ground now, when I get an 8Ft. CO AK in there it will go down a little but my thought was to forget about a step that is down 15" and leaves another 15-20" of drop to the ground. Not comfortable for me or the misses. So the option came to me in a haze of one cocktail and a napkin and pencil.
Oh yeah, I wanted to do it cheaply after looking at what Amazon wanted to charge me...plus shipping!
I scrounged some materials at a friends fabrication shop but you'll have to find your own.
First I turned a U-Haul short 2" box tube extension with a lower mount for the ball upside down.
Then I took some 1" x 1" angle iron (thin stuff, maybe less than 1/8"?) and made a frame that was 8" x 20". I welded the corner cuts and added a 4" x 8" x 1/8" front to back on the bottom and drilled a hole in it 1 1/2" in from one side. I cut some nice 3/4 plywood so it fit into the frame and secured with brass R/H wood screws. I used contact cement to attach a piece of rubber matting (the thin stuff that comes in rolls with non-slip grooves in it).
I made a second step just like it only without that last piece of steel on the bottom.
I found some 5/16" thick steel bout 3" wide and made a stretched out "Z" pattern out of it.
3" across the top and drilled for the bolt.
12" DOWN on an angle
8" across the bottom to be welded on the bottom of the lower step.
I welded the lower step to the Z bracket.
I bought a hex-head bolt, two BIG flat washers, lockwasher and nut.
So....I can assemble the short box extension with just ONE step on it which will be down about 11" from the bed of the truck.....or I can add the lower step section and have a two step ladder mounted on the truck.
Now...you are asking how LONG the middle of the Z needs to be, right?
Well....tailgate to ground is about 34" so I figured down 11" to the first step left 23" to the ground which is doable for me...but ain't gonna cut it when the misses goes out so I set the length of the Z so that when the lower step frame and plywood insert was added it would be 11" down from step #1 to step #2. From there it is 12" to the ground....
I finished up the top step the other day and today I fabricated/welded the lower step and the Z and welded them together and bead blasted them and primed them. Tomorrow another coat of primer then the first of two coats of black semi-gloss finish paint. I will cut the plywood and screw it to the frame (I just drilled six holes in the frame on the bottom and drilled a pilot hole then put in a brass screw in each hole) then glue down some more black rubber matting.
I plan to add some glow-in-the-dark tape to highlight those shin killers also. I'm thinking about one of those solar path lights for the garden on each side that shines DOWN to help to locate them in the dark also.
When I get an 8' AK in there and get to wherever we are going to camp, I put a 14" extension I had for a boat I towed behind the Lance in there, add my step unit and put the tail gate down. That should make the steps just about right.
You know how it is....second time around would be easier with the "learning curve" behind me so to speak but I'm thinking this will be just fine and the steps wil be just where you would EXPECT them to be.
OK...I guess an aluminum ladder would have been cheaper but on uneven ground....not very safe.
Anyway...food for thought for some of you guys who would prefer to recycle scrap metal and things as opposed to buying something from overseas....
OK, buy a short ladder...but you don't know if the ground slopes UP or DOWN after you level your rig so that's not good. The plastic thing didn't like uneven ground either.
So...those step bars that go into the 2" hitch seemed like a good idea....but if I had an AK mounted (8 or 10 FT) then I would have the tailgate down and need an extension.
My F-250 tailgate is about 34" to the ground now, when I get an 8Ft. CO AK in there it will go down a little but my thought was to forget about a step that is down 15" and leaves another 15-20" of drop to the ground. Not comfortable for me or the misses. So the option came to me in a haze of one cocktail and a napkin and pencil.
Oh yeah, I wanted to do it cheaply after looking at what Amazon wanted to charge me...plus shipping!
I scrounged some materials at a friends fabrication shop but you'll have to find your own.
First I turned a U-Haul short 2" box tube extension with a lower mount for the ball upside down.
Then I took some 1" x 1" angle iron (thin stuff, maybe less than 1/8"?) and made a frame that was 8" x 20". I welded the corner cuts and added a 4" x 8" x 1/8" front to back on the bottom and drilled a hole in it 1 1/2" in from one side. I cut some nice 3/4 plywood so it fit into the frame and secured with brass R/H wood screws. I used contact cement to attach a piece of rubber matting (the thin stuff that comes in rolls with non-slip grooves in it).
I made a second step just like it only without that last piece of steel on the bottom.
I found some 5/16" thick steel bout 3" wide and made a stretched out "Z" pattern out of it.
3" across the top and drilled for the bolt.
12" DOWN on an angle
8" across the bottom to be welded on the bottom of the lower step.
I welded the lower step to the Z bracket.
I bought a hex-head bolt, two BIG flat washers, lockwasher and nut.
So....I can assemble the short box extension with just ONE step on it which will be down about 11" from the bed of the truck.....or I can add the lower step section and have a two step ladder mounted on the truck.
Now...you are asking how LONG the middle of the Z needs to be, right?
Well....tailgate to ground is about 34" so I figured down 11" to the first step left 23" to the ground which is doable for me...but ain't gonna cut it when the misses goes out so I set the length of the Z so that when the lower step frame and plywood insert was added it would be 11" down from step #1 to step #2. From there it is 12" to the ground....
I finished up the top step the other day and today I fabricated/welded the lower step and the Z and welded them together and bead blasted them and primed them. Tomorrow another coat of primer then the first of two coats of black semi-gloss finish paint. I will cut the plywood and screw it to the frame (I just drilled six holes in the frame on the bottom and drilled a pilot hole then put in a brass screw in each hole) then glue down some more black rubber matting.
I plan to add some glow-in-the-dark tape to highlight those shin killers also. I'm thinking about one of those solar path lights for the garden on each side that shines DOWN to help to locate them in the dark also.
When I get an 8' AK in there and get to wherever we are going to camp, I put a 14" extension I had for a boat I towed behind the Lance in there, add my step unit and put the tail gate down. That should make the steps just about right.
You know how it is....second time around would be easier with the "learning curve" behind me so to speak but I'm thinking this will be just fine and the steps wil be just where you would EXPECT them to be.
OK...I guess an aluminum ladder would have been cheaper but on uneven ground....not very safe.
Anyway...food for thought for some of you guys who would prefer to recycle scrap metal and things as opposed to buying something from overseas....
