Has anyone used or looked at these steps that mount inside your door entry and fold back inside the closed door when traveling. They are a new product made my Torklift usa and none of the Australian agents keep stock it seems. Would be keen to use them in a new build but i can not find decent measurements any where as to whether they will work or not.
Torklift Glowstep Revolution Uprising Steps
- Thread starter trackadda
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Ultimark
Active member
I looked at them, contacted the USA manufacturer for how I could obtain them in Australia. They don't have anyone selling them, getting them down here with the current AUD was not going to happen unless I mortgaged the house.
Looking around and in our case, having a set of bespoke steps made up, sort of like a ladder but running at a reasonable angle, we have gone with these. The downside is that we have to store the steps, but we have a place to put it externally so we are good. Our steps have a drop of 1249mm to contend with, they come out 750mm while our steps are 210mm apart. The step tread is 150mm deep.
blackadda.com.au
Check out their clip.
Looking around and in our case, having a set of bespoke steps made up, sort of like a ladder but running at a reasonable angle, we have gone with these. The downside is that we have to store the steps, but we have a place to put it externally so we are good. Our steps have a drop of 1249mm to contend with, they come out 750mm while our steps are 210mm apart. The step tread is 150mm deep.
Black Adda – Safety Ladder Leveller
blackadda.com.au
Check out their clip.
Only have 160mm space under the door without lowering the ground clearance of the rock slider bar. May have to make up some thing to fit into this space but we need 2 steps and most store bought ones need 200 mm plus
Gait, would you have a photo of your set up, might help us out
gait
Explorer
pics - steps down
half folded, the slot, there's a spindle and a bearing that slides in the slot, the curved over bit is deep enough for steps to stay in place when down. Similar curved end to slot to locate steps when up.
and folded away - there's a small bolt with a brass bush for the over centre latches to hold on to
the rungs below the steps give us access when steps are up - an obstacle leapt out and clobbered them.
it took a few iterations to find steps that worked well. I would have liked a little more length when extended. Important is that top step is same step height as all the others. Recently we've developed "hips and knees", I'll probably have to add handles / rail.
They've had a hard life - but then that's what we built the truck for.
half folded, the slot, there's a spindle and a bearing that slides in the slot, the curved over bit is deep enough for steps to stay in place when down. Similar curved end to slot to locate steps when up.
and folded away - there's a small bolt with a brass bush for the over centre latches to hold on to
the rungs below the steps give us access when steps are up - an obstacle leapt out and clobbered them.
it took a few iterations to find steps that worked well. I would have liked a little more length when extended. Important is that top step is same step height as all the others. Recently we've developed "hips and knees", I'll probably have to add handles / rail.
They've had a hard life - but then that's what we built the truck for.
gait
Explorer
all the steps are parallel (top is not different), in the pic there is a slight lean downwards (it would be nice if the sandpaper stuff covered the edge). I always (except when there's a fence in the way) extend the steps to full and sometimes add something (wood at the extreme or just a bit of soil/convenient stones) under the bottom end. I occasionally think of adding something permanently, even adjustable, but haven't got round to it.
I originally had the steps attached with draw slides, which were just a little bit lower than where the top currently pivots, so steps were all parallel when on level ground. Just a couple of cm higher was enough to create a lean on all the steps. More steps would have given a tilt back.
Karl of Oz
Observer
I had an aluminium step made that is bolted to the door entrance on two hinges. The steps themselves fold neatly in half and then the whole lot swings back into the door entrance space when not in use. Far better than fiddling around with the extendable Torklift things I first tried and much more sturdier (no flex, no movement). The bottom legs of the steps have internal extenders for when on uneven ground. Takes about 20 seconds to deploy. I never fitted hand rails as I found you can practice getting balance by drinking lots of vodka, then when sober, getting in and out is far easier .....
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Thanks for that Karl, i just might pinch your idea as it is the most practical set up. I will only need 3 steps as i already have 2 steps inside the door entry that are built in.
Thanks for all the input and ideas every one, at last i got a reply with measurements from Torklift and 3 steps would fold up to 330mm deep by 533 high which would make them impractical to fold up inside a door way that has steps built into it. More suitable to a slide on or van that has a full floor inside the door imo
gait
Explorer
one of the problems I met with an early version of steps was movement of the truck on its suspension while stationery. My first attempt at steps was "telescopic" which used to compress a bit over several hours with lots of small movements. The drawer slide approach to mounting the top of the scissor steps meant in some circumstances the scissor would progressively compress, the bottom walking back towards the truck, the step angle changing. A minor annoyance, overcome by stretching the scissor every morning if we were staying put.
The vertical length of the top "hook" in my current slot is sufficient to allow the body to move against the steps without compressing them and without the steps unhooking and sliding down the slot. I'm quite pleased with that bit ............
The movement of the body was also why I avoided cantilevered steps, for someone inside while a second person uses the steps the movement can be quite uncomfortable. The longer the steps the greater the lever and movement.
The vertical length of the top "hook" in my current slot is sufficient to allow the body to move against the steps without compressing them and without the steps unhooking and sliding down the slot. I'm quite pleased with that bit ............
The movement of the body was also why I avoided cantilevered steps, for someone inside while a second person uses the steps the movement can be quite uncomfortable. The longer the steps the greater the lever and movement.
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