Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 10, 2025 ...

Lower door step

July 26, 2021, 09:36:05 pm

So been in and out of the coach a bunch in the last week and noticed that the condensate water from the air conditioners was draining into the front doorstep. Had rust streaking on the outside of the fiberglass. Pull the step off pulled the fiberglass off. Guess I need to do some routine maintenance on it. Pressure washed the big chunks off and sandblasted/painted bottom. Used Chucks magic bar tenders friend cleaning powder  to remove rust stains off fiberglass. Will be ready to install once I bond the two together and seal to prevent this from ever happening again. Will also drill drain holes out to 3/16 from 1/8". They were all plugged with dirt from Arkansas
Scott

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Re: Lower door step

Reply #1 – July 26, 2021, 10:41:24 pm

Mine looked like that several years ago. I had it powder coated. The powder coating shop suggested I seal the gaps between the rails to prevent water getting in there and rusting. I used some black rtv sealant.

Mark

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Re: Lower door step

Reply #2 – July 26, 2021, 11:06:31 pm

WHAT— no stainless steel replacement
I'm disappointed. Lol
Chris

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Reply #3 – July 27, 2021, 12:10:22 am

The thought of 1/4 aluminum did cross my mine then passed. So blasted painted and reassembled using  100% layer of epoxy on plate and fiberglass. Scotch weld Working time was 10 minutes, sun was setting almost put off till tomorrow. So step is like 2 1/2 feet wide and 8 inches deep. So that roughly six feet on each side to apply scotch weld epoxy on both parts so 12 feet. Taped both parts to cut clean lines in epoxy during last stage of activation. This epoxy is white. Nice. So mixed up about a hardball amount of epoxy. Set clock to keep track of time. So mixed and spread both parts and at assembly time was at nine minutes already. Note drain hole are on the hinged side. Used the rest of mixed epoxy to fill all the seams 100%. Pushed down flat with second set of gloves. Should of put three pairs on when I started instead of two. Pulled tape and looked like a good seal all the way around. I feel if these had been bonded when new they would never allow water in. I doubt it would be removable without destroying it now. Will drill out drains in the morning before resealing hinge bolts and reinstalling.
Scott

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Reply #4 – July 27, 2021, 07:54:49 am

I bought a new one from FT 7 years ago , powder coated it, still looks like new . No sealer on the cover, just 4 large head rivets to hold it on.

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Reply #5 – July 27, 2021, 04:04:20 pm

I left mine without sealer as well. Just riveted the cover on.

Mark

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Reply #6 – July 27, 2021, 05:24:26 pm

I'm sure either way will work fine, still make sure your drain holes are open to allow to drain so it won't pond water inside like mine was doing.
Scott

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Re: Lower door step

Reply #7 – July 28, 2021, 12:30:38 pm

Installed

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Re: Lower door step

Reply #8 – August 25, 2021, 06:37:03 pm

Thought I had marked the entry step off the repair list and while seeking a short in the ground effect wiring I noticed that the pop rivets on the lower step could allow moisture to go through the center of them. Took an old small tie wrap tail  and checked the centers and found two of them that were wide open to the inside of the step. Sealed each one with a small dab of RTV. Think its got to be finished. I'm sure every other step built this way shares this same issue. Easy to fix
Scott

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Re: Lower door step

Reply #9 – August 25, 2021, 07:16:38 pm

I did mine in aluminum.  It actually was pretty cheap to have fabricated. Used stainless screws and rivets and never have to worry about rust again. I too enlarged the drain holes and used black polyurethane to seal around the fibreglass

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