Storage under / behind steps

[NorCal C&H]

Has anyone out there cut an opening into the entry steps to access the area for storage?

Several coach manufacturers install either a lift step tread or open front riser for shoe or misc storage. Our mid door Alpine has a lot of wasted space I'd love to have access to.

If anyone has done this could you post or send pictures, details, etc?

Thanks

[billyb]

yea , i would like to know the same thing as i have 3 big steps that are inclosed underneath with a metal box. sure would be nice to use that space like my old mh that had a lift up door.

[NorCal C&H]

After looking more closely at the step enclosure there really isn't enough space behind the steps to make it worth the effort of trying to make a storage area...Oh Well - another good idea that didn't work out!

[John-D]

The salesman on my coach was surprised that there was not tool storage below one of the steps..

Well.... A saw, A hammer, A Screwdriver and some hinges and.... there is now

[zinom]

Another storage option in mid-doors is the area in front of the curbside front tire. There is enought room there for a whole compartment. On my 36mdds threre is also the capaactity for additional weight. Has anyone explored that?

[NorCal C&H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinom Another storage option in mid-doors is the area in front of the curbside front tire. There is enough room there for a whole compartment. On my 36mdds there is also the capacity for additional weight. Has anyone explored that?

I asked Ron Doyle and an engineer at WRV why they didn't give us a storage compartment in front of the front wheel. They said "because we (owners) would load it up with too much weight".

This is related to the story WRV started that Toyo was getting out of the RV business and wouldn't sell tires to WRV - when the REAL STORY was that Ron didn't want to buy the bigger heavier rated tires and was at the upper carrying capacity limit of the Toyo tires. If we loaded up the front compartments - like they knew we would, the coach would be way undertired....if there is such a word..

[JWT]

I heard the one of the reasons Toyo was got out of the RV business was because of Country Coach's law suit against them.

[Rick Coleman]

I have a friend with a 40' mid-door that did convert the area in front of the tire to a storage area. He said the panel is already hinged at the top, so after you unbolt the bottom it will swing up. That panel, however is fiberglass, not metal like the other storage areas, so working on it takes a more delicate hand when you cut through the vertical seam and cut the hole for the handle/lock. You need to build a floor, and you need to strengthen the remaining narrow panel in front of the tire with a metal strut of some kind. He is really talented and ingenious, but I'd guess if one worked slowly and carefully it can be done. I just completed a perforated metal storage shelf to fit in front of the propane tank on the passenger side. I built a cardboard mock-up, then a fiberboard/wood mock-up to fit, and finally had a sheet metal guy replicate it in metal. I got the idea from a previous thread on this forum.

There is a lot of unused storage to be had on these coaches. Lots of ways to carry even more things that we ought to leave at home!!!

[NorCal C&H]

On the subject of adding space.

On our 2003 36FDDS Alpine I was able to extend the kitchen side silverware drawers and the one below the oven by about 10", add another drawer in the bedroom below the TV and other drawers where the inverter / charger is located and add a shelf for blocks, water and safety cone in the battery compartment adjacent to the leveling jack.

On our 2006 36MDDS I have added a shelf and storage for a 5 gallon and two 1 pound propane tanks in the LP storage bay, storage for fishing and flag poles behind the main slide (in the area behind the slide when it is out), water, oil, funnel and antifreeze storage on the chassis frame just inside the rear engine access door, and added a shelf inside each of the living room and bedroom overhead cabinets.

C&H
2006 Alpine 36MDDS
being pushed by a
2006 Jeep Liberty Diesel

[NorCal C&H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWT I heard the one of the reasons Toyo was got out of the RV business was because of Country Coach's law suit against them.

Toyo never got out of the RV business they just didn't want to continue to sell tires to manufacturers that routinely under specified the tires so the tires were carrying the maximum load (or above) - Toyo knew when the blowouts and lawsuits started they would be sued along with the RV manufacturer.

NorCal C&H
2006 Alpine 36MDDS
being pushed by a
2006 Jeep Liberty Diesel