Rear Entry Tour Step Option

[ExpeditionImports]

Hi Guys,

For tour operators that put a lot of passengers into their vehicle we were looking for a better option. Here it is coming out of fabrication.

A sheet of plywood to work on conceptual design.......first

Cheers,

Scott

[ExpeditionImports]

From Conceptual we went into fabrication.....

[berger]

Awesome!

[4x4Pinz]

looks nice and off the floor like the accordion RV steps I have seen installed. How does it make up for height variants of the ground? I assume a tour operator would be parking on fairly level ground when loading and unloading anyway.

[ExpeditionImports]

The ladder will flex a bit, but in this case the customer will be loading and unloading on reasonably level ground. If someone were expecting majorly uneven ground then you would use a single point of contact instead of 2 points of contact. Personally I prefer two breasts coming off the back of my truck versus one.....

Cheers,

Scott

[4x4Pinz]

It should be a nice addition for the tour trucks. I know I have had people express a dislike for the single step, thought the first step was too high.

Makes me think of my favorite bumper sticker "lift your trucks, fat girls can't jump"

[Twin Pinzies]

Wow, that step looks awesome!

For my tour company, http://www.tellurideoffroad.com I use the single flip down style step (from CWR) and the original door latch mechanism.
After eight seasons of constant daily (summer) use, the only necessary modification was to weld reinforcement to the right rear body panels to take the abuse of repeated door slamming. Also, the sliding spring hook part of the step ended up cutting clean through from use.

The single step seems to work really well for just about everyone. After all, you can only step up with one foot at a time!

[milesdzyn]

I like those latches where did you get them?

Miles

[ExpeditionImports]

Latches come from Germany. Commonly used on trailer side boards in Europe. They are very nice and very heavy. Ran about 40 EUR each. I'll try and dig up the website.

Cheers,

Scott

[milesdzyn]

Thanks Scott, look forward to the info if you can locate it. I'll give google a work out and try to find them as well.

Miles

[totaljoint]

Locks are cool, yes. But the entire side panel looks beefed up, and with a grab bar too. Is this a standard
718 side panel, or another EI fabrication?

[undysworld]

They're welded to the tub too. My guess is EI fabbed it up.

[ExpeditionImports]

Yes the rear tail panels were fabbed from scratch in order to stiffen the rear structure. Keep in mind these trucks were 718's which had already had the original tail panels cut off them by the military. We aren't a big fan of the original bolt on tail panels for tour operations as they don't usually hold up to commercial use. The bed sides are still removable, but the tail panels stay in place.

On the latches:

http://archus-neumeier.de/

Download their manual and go to page 26.

I hunted for sources on these style of hinge and was only coming up with Chinese light weight crap until we found them. These guys also sell some great hardware for building custom folding bedsides, etc.

Cheers,

Scott

[ExpeditionImports]

Update on the rear step.......

[pcolette]

Very, very nice Scott! Looks like it should hold up very well for tour use.

Happy New Year!