As I said in a previous post, I've had all these ideas bouncing around in my head for access to the upper cab. At first, I was thinking about running the doors lower and putting toe holes behind them but that would have made it all but impossible to get to the engine. I'm hoping that I don't have to do much to it being a totally stock and a good running engine and transmission with only 38k miles on it, but things seem to happen.
I spent a fair bit of time on the internet looking to see if someone else had come up with a solution to my challenge. But all the COE crew cabs I found had flat floors. The extra 22" step to the best of my knowledge is a pretty unique thing.
Before I started working on the doors, (previous post). I knew it had to be a two-part solution. I could only add about 11" to the doors and still get under the cab with it tilted comfortably. That left me 40" from the floor to the bottom of the doors. That would require at least 3 steps maybe even 4. Plus, I had to be able to remove them or somehow get them out of the way to access the engine.
My first thought was to build a set of steps almost like a ladder and put it on a receiver like a trailer hitch that would slide in and out. But that left the underside of the back cab and frame exposed. Then I looked at somehow extending the steps from the front cab back but still needed to pick up another foot in height. This seemed doable but the weight of it would make it imposable for an old guy like me to remove it by myself. So, I needed to figure out how to fold it down or swing it out of my way. Folding it down still left it in the way, so I opted for swinging it. The weight and the length meant that whatever the pivot for them had better be stout and I would still have to support the other end from sagging when someone stepped on them or even just from bouncing when driving down the road.
I had planned on using a 2X6 tube steel to run around the perimeter of the rear deck, so I installed the piece across the rear of the cab and re-installed the front fender and step on the front cab. This gave me the boundaries for the back stairs.
Then I started on the mock-up. I ran a string line from the front fender along the running board back to the front of the deck to establish a straight line. Then I grabbed some clamps and a bunch of pieces of small square stock and started piecing it together. When I finally got it to where it looked like it was going to work for the stairs, I went to work on how to hinge it on one end and support it on the other. The original steps on the COE cab needed to be supported too (the acetone can filled with water wasn't a long-term fix). I remembered I had a piece of "T" steel from a building that we had Demolished laying in the back corner of the shop. The legs on it were 1 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick. I inverted it and made an "L" bracket out of it and bolted it to the frame. One side would support the step from the front cab when it landed from being tilted and the back stairs would pivot onto it when they swing into place. On the back end of the stairs, I welded a "C" channel to the tube steel at the front of the deck and to that I welded a piece of 1/2" plate vertically with a 1" pipe welded to the other side to receive a pin. That would create the hinge for the stairs. From there I could fab the frame for the stairs and tie them into the ones on the front cab. I was pleased with the way they turned out and they functioned well.
At this point I wasn't sure how I wanted to skin or cap them until I got further along with the rest of the truck. That challenge solved for now on to the next. The roll back.
Last edited by COCOE; 10/21/20231:22 AM. Reason: to add photos
