Inside Steps Mod on 337RLS

**suzhou** · 03-01-2020, 10:26 AM

My wife was having a great deal of difficulty with the steep inside steps in our 2017 337RLS. We seriously considered going back to a bumper pool to get to a one level setup but decided to try modifying the inside steps first. Worked out great. She can now manage them much easier and they actually provide a bit of exercise without being a serious safety issue for her. It's a mod that others have done but wanted to share how I went about it. If careful you can salvage enough carpet from the existing steps to cover the back area of the new steps. I decided to make two new steps and reuse the two existing. Some stick down thin carpet material on the two I made blend them in a bit better. You have to unscrew the existing steps from underneath and the construction adhesive can make it a tough battle to get them off without tearing up the frame. I hope the pictures provide enough info to show how I went about it. I'm sure there are more efficient and clever ways but the outcome was great. Solid and a great match. And, like others, I have not idea how to get the pics to rotate to correct angle of view.

**Maximus216** · 03-09-2020, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by suzhou

My wife was having a great deal of difficulty with the steep inside steps in our 2017 337RLS. We seriously considered going back to a bumper pool to get to a one level setup but decided to try modifying the inside steps first. Worked out great. She can now manage them much easier and they actually provide a bit of exercise without being a serious safety issue for her. It's a mod that others have done but wanted to share how I went about it. If careful you can salvage enough carpet from the existing steps to cover the back area of the new steps. I decided to make two new steps and reuse the two existing. Some stick down thin carpet material on the two I made blend them in a bit better. You have to unscrew the existing steps from underneath and the construction adhesive can make it a tough battle to get them off without tearing up the frame. I hope the pictures provide enough info to show how I went about it. I'm sure there are more efficient and clever ways but the outcome was great. Solid and a great match. And, like others, I have not idea how to get the pics to rotate to correct angle of view.

that looks great! this is the modder in me when i say this, maybe putting hinges on the steps for more storage?

**suzhou** · 03-10-2020, 08:37 AM

Nice idea. A hinge on the back of each step would likely work fine. We have empty cabinets when we travel now so really didn't need the extra storage space. We have a small dog so the bottom step storage would be a good place for the leash and other "taking the dog outside" supplies. Mine are glued and screwed down so not an option now.

**Juiceman** · 03-10-2020, 11:13 AM

I was looking to take my bottom step off and re-build the underside to store shoes.

How do you get the tread off?

**242 checkmate** · 03-10-2020, 03:38 PM

Suzhou: Very nice job on your four step project. I don’t see a hand railing or am I missing something? Jim (checkmate)

**suzhou** · 03-10-2020, 08:50 PM

Jim - there's a long handrail on the left side going up to the top. Barely see the end of it in the finished pic. I added it right after we bought the trailer since the small one that comes with the trailer wasn't much help and on the wrong side for my wife's use. Bought at Lowe's. A shower support rail. Mounting it is tricky if you have a pocket door like we do.

Juiceman - you have to get at the steps from inside the storage area. Take the wall panel off and then unscrew the steps from underneath. They used very long wood screws and you'll need a lot of wrist turn patience or a short power driver to get them out. The steps also had some construction adhesive so you'll need to pry them up. It wasn't really hard other than getting my body to contort to a position and my head and arms into the space to get the screws out. I had to twist and turn and regroup a few times and then hope I could twist myself out of the hole. First step is hardest since not much room underneath. Good luck.

**Canyonlight** · 03-11-2020, 07:19 AM

@suzhou - very nice......well done ! This brings back memories of a few folks who added a 2nd step to the early day 303s since we have only one step.

Thanks, for sharing how to remove the step plates......I forgot about the screws from underneath.

Dan

**Paul & Deb** · 03-11-2020, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Juiceman

I was looking to take my bottom step off and re-build the underside to store shoes.

How do you get the tread off?

I did this to store our flip flops and daily shows. It works great. I was going to do the hinge suggestion but as I was taking things apart this seemed a better choice for us as we can just step into the trailer and kind of kick our shows off into the storage area without bending down. Just a matter of choice.

**Maximus216** · 03-17-2020, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by Poppy's 5th Wheel

I did this to store our flip flops and daily shows. It works great. I was going to do the hinge suggestion but as I was taking things apart this seemed a better choice for us as we can just step into the trailer and kind of kick our shows off into the storage area without bending down. Just a matter of choice.

did you do a complete redo like suzhou did, or just the bottom step? i noticed the middle step has been removed.