How To Remove RV Steps When The Bolt Is Spinning And You Can't Access The Top Of The Bolt
Updated 07/17/2024 | Published 07/10/2024
Question:
2014 Thor Ace 29 motorhome I have a problem with the electric step on my equipment. I need to remove the set of steps. It appears to be attached with 4 9/16 nuts under the bottom fixed step of the motorhome. However, when these nuts are turned, the entire bolt rotates. How do you access the bolt heads inside the bottom step of the car? I removed the rubber mat material from that step, but the bolts are still buried under a piece of plywood with no visible means of removing this material. Thanks for any help.
asked by: Aldo L
Expert Reply:
Hey Aldo, sorry about your troubles, that sounds frustrating for sure. While that is not super common, I've heard of it happening from time to time. Sometimes the manufacturers weld the top of the bolt in place or press it in so that you can't access it when replacing, which is super annoying. If you watch the video I attached below, Kevin was able to get the nuts off while leaving the bolts in place so that the new steps could attach in the same manner with the same bolts. Being that your is just spinning, sometimes you can spray a penetrating oil on there and take some vice grips to hold the bolt in place while trying to free up the nut. A last case scenario would be to use a nut splitter tool to remove the nut and keep the bolts in place and then go to the hardware store to get new nuts for those bolts. You may also be able to feed more bolts through the flooring but it doesn't sound like your RV was designed for that.
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Replacement Step, Motor, and Control for Kwikee RV Electric Steps - 28 Series - 23-5/8" Wide
- RV Steps
- Motorhome
- Electric Step
- 24 Inch Wide Step
- 24-1/4 Inch Wide
- 1 Step
- 7 Inch Drop/Rise
- Steel
- Kwikee
more information >
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Aldo L.
7/17/2024
Hello Andres. Thank you very much for your answer. How good it is to have professional companies like etrailer. Regarding the problem I had with the electric steps, let me tell you that they try everything to remove the nuts without damaging the bolts. It was impossible… nothing worked. I used W40, I made a small cut on the bolt so that the screwdriver could enter and try to move the nut and nothing worked. In the end I had to cut them and make new holes in the metal base. To secure it use the 3/8 and 2 1/4 inch hex lag bolts. In total install 6 of them. Four in the corners and 2 in the center of the metal base that is attached to the RV. It is incredible that the manufacturer has not considered this problem... again, I appreciate your response.