Reinza habitation doorstep sagging.

I am wondering if any other Reinza owners have had a problem with central habitation doorsteps.
The problem with my van is that there is no integrity on the floor that this step is mounted on.
 (This is Between to door well and the rear wheel arch on a section of floor that is at best only 4"wide.)
The step sags when even the lightest weight is put on it and I fear that this slim bit of flooring will give way.

Any advice to remedy this would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,
Re my sagging Reinza doorstep.
 I have been under the van to have a good look round. 
It would appear that the doorstep relies on the rigidity of the nearside black polythene wheel arch which is close to the doorstep box (which is also Polythene) for support.
 My van is a 2002 model and this wheel arch is cracked along its full length on the inside edge.It is also showing signs of cracking on its outside edge close to the habitation door.
 I now have the option of stripping out this wheel arch and replacing it with a new one,
Or, fabricating an outrigger and welding this to the chassis at a point just between the wheel arch and the door. (or doing both).
 Could I ask if any other mid door Rienza owners have had this problem?  many thanks,

Hi Hutchie,

Ours was repaired when we bought it six years ago and have to agree the step does give or sag a little under weight.....  but still functions ok.   We use it occasionally and make our main use via a strong free standing 2 step which sits in the habitation footwell when traveling. It requires minimal effort to put in place and the reassurance of a firm platform to stand on when entering or exiting.

Hope that helps in some way.

Peter.

Peter Parkes wrote:Hi Hutchie,

Ours was repaired when we bought it six years ago and have to agree the step does give or sag a little under weight.....  but still functions ok.   We use it occasionally and make our main use via a strong free standing 2 step which sits in the habitation footwell when traveling. It requires minimal effort to put in place and the reassurance of a firm platform to stand on when entering or exiting.

Hope that helps in some way.

Peter.

Hi Peter,
Thanks for your reply.
The retracting step works fine, but the main step still sags under weight.
I have the bracket made and will fix this next Monday. I will let you know if this improves matters.


Regards,

Hutchie.

Problem solved.

The heavy metal bracket that I made is now bolted to the chassis and gives rigid support to the doorstep (with or without the step extending.)
   I am surprised that the makers did not do this as standard during manufacture as it was a cheap and easy fix.
 What central door entrance Reinza owners should look for if they are having a similar problem is the nearside plastic wheel arch splitting along the screw fixing holes under the van. (the wheel arch edge closest to the prop-shaft).
 It would appear that the designers have relied on these wheel arches for rigidity, something that may have been OK when the van was new but my van is 20+ years old and this plastic is now very brittle and also needed repairing.

kind regards to all,
Hutchie.