How to Build Wooden Steps For a Camper (Free RV Step Plans)
Easy as pie. At least that is what some owners describe building steps for their trailers. If you know how to get the step dimensions right, then building a set of stairs is not that difficult. It is like building a set of outside stairs for a traditional home. Just do not attach the stairs to your trailer.
The design depends on your trailer’s location and you may or may not use the fold down set that is attached to your trailer. The key is to use treated wood (2 x4 & 2 x 6 sizes), pier blocks for support, and use some pre-cut step stringers to make the job simple and easy.
To learn more about how to build wood steps for a trailer, just continue to read our article. It has the information you need to do a good job and get those steps just right. Make sure to measure accurately for a perfect fit.
RV Wooden Steps 101
How To Build RV Stairs
The design is ultimately up to you and how your steps look will depend on your location, the terrain, and your preferences. Some people make a little deck step on before they go down the stairs while others use the foldout steps and added wood steps to those because of the slope of their camping area.
The pre-cut stringers, each side of the steps, are the easiest to work with as they already come with the angles, etc and all you have to do is nail some 2 x 4s onto them and you have your steps.
When putting together wood steps and other wood products, it is always a good idea to use glue. This will help the nails hold the wood in place, stop the squeak and keep the steps solid.
You will also need a power saw, a level, and a hammer to complete this project. Just cut the wood to size and once that is done you do the gluing and nailing. You will need more than two hands until you get the first two steps nailed into place.
Can You Add a Step To Your RV Steps?
Yes, this is possible and you would need to use lag bolts or regular ones to do the securing of the wood steps. But it would be best to build a little deck at the end of those trailer steps. Just make the deck self-standing so you do not have to bolt the trailer steps into place.
It is hard to say if the trailer steps are going to be strong enough to hold onto a deck or a set of stairs. That will be your judgment call but one reason you do not do this is when you want to leave, you have to spend time unbolting the steps from the trailer steps and this can take some time
We should say that there are products called 'add a step' and they will attach to your current RV steps. However, their cost in some locations is over $130 and they are made of metal.
If you only need to add one step, then this would be the way to go. These metal steps would be lighter than wood, and they can easily be attached to your current system.
Finding Free RV Step Plans
As usual, this is not going to be a difficult job to do. There is the old-fashioned method of going to your local library and looking up some Do-It-Yourself books. This is a free option and all you would need is a library card.
The books will provide step-by-step instructions as well as give you lots of photos of how your steps should look when you are done. If you do not have a library card or are out a ways from the city, then you go to the modern alternative.
Just put free RV wood step plans in your search box and you should be able to come up with a lot of plans to choose from. Some of the websites that pop up may not give you any images so you can bypass them if you want but they still have good instructions.
Also, the good thing about working with wood, is that it is not hard to adapt any plans you find to meet your needs and preferences. Wood is very adaptable and you can make some great angle cuts if you need to with ease.
DIY Folding Camper Steps
One of the more time-consuming parts of this project will be adding in enough hinges in the right places, to make sure the steps fold up and can be put away for travel. However, wood may be too heavy and bulky to act as a temporary fold-up step.
Most of the examples of folding camper steps were not made of wood and were already pre-assembled. The only DIY part of the task was bolting them to your current steps, platform or trailer.
You can buy these pre-made folding steps just about anywhere. Amazon has them and it is a sure bet that the big box home improvement stores will have them as well. We would recommend that you take this option as there is a lot of work in making your own folding steps.
You may not have all the tools needed to make them especially if you are going to use metal pieces for strength. Most folding wood step plans that we saw were for traditional structures and too long for RVs and trailers unless you are going overboard with your wood deck designs.
How To Build Wooden Steps For a Camper
The first step in the design is to make the steps free standing. By that, it is meant that the steps are not attached to your camper in any way, shape or form. Many owners who did this project were emphatic about this point.
Then, the secret to building good steps is that you are making the same as you would if you were making them for your traditional home. The designs are the same just on a smaller scale.
Use treated wood, pier blocks, glue, and screws if they are long enough. The stringers should be 2 by 6 in size as a minimum. Once they are cut, you can attach support 4 x 4 beams to them to make sure they are sturdy.
Then glue and screw the 2 x4 steps into place followed by the risers. You can build a self-supporting deck and attach the stairs to that to give you more entry and exit room. Just make sure to measure accurately before you start making your cuts.
You want everything cut to size before you start building.
DIY Portable RV Steps
You can build these out of wood if you want. Those small plastic options you can pick up cheap at a big box store are not going to be strong enough to handle different step situations.
To make one out of wood, you need to use boards that are at eats 1 inch thick. Anything smaller may not hold the weight of the people using the step. Cut the boards to the length that you need and you will need 2 boards the exact same length for the step.
Next, you will need to cut the legs to the height you want minus the thickness of the step boards. When you attach the legs to the step, use glue as end grains do not hold nails or screws. After gluing you can put screws in but the glue provides the real hold.
Then cut 2 supports at 45-degree angles and glue and screw them to the legs and the steps. Before attaching the legs and the supports, you should cut a handle in the step for easy carrying. This can be done with a drill, jigsaw, and finished with a router bit to round off the edges.
To make the legs look good, you can cut out a portion in the middle with 2 45 degree angle cuts far enough apart to keep the strength, stability, and integrity of the legs. Once all this is done, you can assemble the step using glue and screws.
Next, You Need To Cut Your Legs
Cutting the legs is not hard. You just need to cut them to the height of the step minus the thickness of the board you are using as the step. This is for portable steps. It takes accurate measuring to make sure you get the right height so you do not have a long drop between steps.
If you are going to make stringers, it is best to buy pre-cut options. That saves you a lot of measuring and figuring. If the stringer is too long, you can just cut one of the steps off and shorten it.
This will not harm the integrity or strength of the stringers. The key is not to cut too many steps off as you won’t be able to put them back on in any way that will be strong or safe.
How To Measure RV Steps
This is not a hard task and the first step will be to measure the width of the opening between the flanges or door frame. The second step will be to measure from the ground to the floor, leaving room for the door sill height and width.
In other words, all you need is the height of the drop and the width of the door and you should be able to make your steps to fit accordingly. One key in making steps is getting the riser height and the step width accurate.
You want the risers to be at equal height so the steps are equal and you want the steps to be wide enough to accommodate all feet sizes.
How Wide Are RV Steps?
This measure is a standard 24 inches. It seems this is one aspect of RV building that all RV makers use. The doorways have to be wide enough for people to get out in a hurry when an emergency arises.
DIY RV Step Covers
What you want to do here is buy some rubber treads to place over the steps. You want to have safe steps and having rubber is one way to achieve that objective. These can be bought in long enough lengths to cover all steps and you just need to cut them to size.
If you live in a dry region of the country or have an awning over your doorway, then you can use carpeting if you want. Carpet is a great way to keep people from slipping as they go up or down those steps.
There are some powerful adhesives you can use to attach both materials quickly and safely.
Homemade RV Step Support
You can buy different types of step stabilizers so the trailer or RV does not rock when someone enters or exits the camper. But if you do not have the money at this time, you can always use your bottle jack. It should stabilize those steps and stop the rocking.
Or you can use a scissor jack and do the same thing. What you would need to help stabilize those steps and keep them from bending would be a piece of 2 x4 to reinforce the steps.
Some Final Words
Building a set of stairs for your RV or trailer is not going to be difficult. The method is the same as building stairs for your traditional home. Only on a smaller scale.
There are plenty of free ideas for you to use and you just have to go to your library or use the internet to find a set of plans that suits your needs. Some owners add a deck first, then the stairs so they have plenty of room to maneuver when going in and out of their camper.
