Zydeco Joe Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Had one of the hinge pins on our OMNI STEP shear this morning, ending with my wife falling out of the van, she is ok, shaken and a little bruised, but ok. The step on our 55 Autotrail Tracker had shown no prior problems. I spray it with a type of WD40 oil on a regular basis as we all know the step gets a lot of road grime and water on it. This looks like metal fatigue, is this a known problem? We are in Spain on Camping Eden at Peniscola. The site is nearly full with mainly German and Dutch motorvans with just a few Brits. One of the German campers helped us out with his electric drill and a nut & bolts. We had to drill out the aluminium pin from the connecting metal lever but the pin came out of the step part as it was rotatable and free to be pushed out. The guy had a bolt that was the correct size for the hole in the brackets (about 10mm) which he used two nuts on the inside to retain it. All works ok at the moment as it opens and retracts fine but can you get a replacement aluminium pin from Omni, bearing in mind that we are in Spain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I ask myself, do you want the same thing to happen again, I would stick with steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 This any good http://www.omnistorawnings.co.uk/department/omni_step/ Dave Just looked at the price of the repair kit £26.40 I'd stick with not and bolt 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Thanks guys. The nut and bolt looks like it will have to stay put till we get back home at least. have images of it will try and upload when I have internet time left as I am about to run out now ............. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Probably best to send your pic to Rose or Hillview, as both show the available spares, but neither reference what looks to be the pin that has sheared. This gives the impression it may not be sold separately. It may be worth replacing both as one has gone. The potential problem with the bolt is that the threads will begin to open out the pivot points and, being steel, it is liable to corrode and sieze fairly quickly. Good bit of first-aid, though. Well done that man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 'Joe, is there any clearance between the two arms(as shown in your photo)? because really the bolt(s) could do with being tightened up solid onto the main arm by means of a slim locknut, so as to form a rigid "stub" pivot.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 chas - 2013-12-17 3:37 PM I ask myself, do you want the same thing to happen again, I would stick with steel.And don't spray it with WD40. It's not a lubricant it's a release agent and contains an acid. Use a spray on grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Agree with Peter wd40 is a not a grease and can actually increase the amount of mud etc if used over much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 If it works ok with the bolt in Place, why not just get a Stainless Steel replacement (A4 marine grade), My motto is, if it breaks, repair it Stronger than it was in the first place. And I agree, use a spray grease, preferably a white lithium one. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Rayjsj - 2013-12-17 9:32 PM If it works ok with the bolt in Place, why not just get a Stainless Steel replacement (A4 marine grade), My motto is, if it breaks, repair it Stronger than it was in the first place. And I agree, use a spray grease, preferably a white lithium one. Ray Not a good idea, aluminum will corrode at an alarming rate when in contact with stainless steel, you get galvanic corrosion where the aluminum becomes a sacrificial anode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 lennyhb - 2013-12-17 10:22 PM Rayjsj - 2013-12-17 9:32 PM If it works ok with the bolt in Place, why not just get a Stainless Steel replacement (A4 marine grade), My motto is, if it breaks, repair it Stronger than it was in the first place. And I agree, use a spray grease, preferably a white lithium one. Ray Not a good idea, aluminum will corrode at an alarming rate when in contact with stainless steel, you get galvanic corrosion where the aluminum becomes a sacrificial anode. Oh no, don't do it Lenny, now the thread will turn into a metallurgist debate, similar to the woodburner thread. :D but surely they are not just aluminium, an alloy perhaps, would the result be the same ? to be honest how these rather flimsy steps don't collapse on a regular basis is a mystery to me, given their exposure to the elements, and some of the loads they have to deal with. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank McAuley Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Slightly off-beam: 2years old Autotrail; Omni step never seemed to work properly,viz always seemed to "stagger" in and out but eventually ceased to function this summer in middle of French trip. I had the greatest of difficulty in silencing the alarm but eventually resorted to strongarm tactics with plastic ties to silence it. The step was eventually replaced last month but its 10 amp fuse has blown a number of times since. I think the cause is water ingress somewhere but not sure. If this is indeed the cause are there any preventive measures I ( or the dealer) can take . I must say I feel pangs of panic when some of my "weight challenged" friends mount this step as it has always appeared somewhat fragile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granddad Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 when we park up 4 say 2or more days we put a folding step under neath to take the weight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 This may vary depending on date of manufacture, but the instructions with our van are not to oil or grease the Omnistep, as this causes grit etc to adhere. The advice is just to keep it clean and free of grit. This is a single step, non-cassette type. But, it has moving parts, so it seems some lubrication should be of advantage. I think the best type of lubricant is probably a silicone spray, used fairly frequently, but with any surplus wiped off. The best preventive measure seems to be to shield the mechanism, as far as possible, from grit. Not necessarily easy when it is mounted under a vehicle, and far more difficult if just to the rear of a wheel. The previous van had a cassette step that was prone to pick up grit and graunch, so I eventually made up a three sided, open bottomed, sheet aly box to keep the worst of the crud at bay, and made a point of keeping the slides clean and lightly coated with silicone spray. Thereafter, it was trouble free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 lennyhb - 2013-12-17 10:22 PM Rayjsj - 2013-12-17 9:32 PM If it works ok with the bolt in Place, why not just get a Stainless Steel replacement (A4 marine grade), My motto is, if it breaks, repair it Stronger than it was in the first place. And I agree, use a spray grease, preferably a white lithium one. Ray Not a good idea, aluminum will corrode at an alarming rate when in contact with stainless steel, you get galvanic corrosion where the aluminum becomes a sacrificial anode. My understanding was that it was the 'Pin' that was aluminium not the whole lever/ step assy. ? Aluminium Pins are not known for their strength. Anyway a steel Bolt would not shear as readily as an aluminum Pin. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 The step on my 08 plate Tracker failed in the same way this summer after 5 years service, so it is probably not an uncommon problem. I decided to fit a new step and keep the old one to attempt a repair. The swivel pins rotate in plastic bushes to prevent wearing the alloy arms. I haven't been able to find bushes of the correct size yet. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pampam Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Being a hefty pair we use a caravan step if staying in one place for any length of time .i try to descend ""lightly "" and ask hubby to do same ,he hates using it fearing its gonna snap and he's going to do a flyer : so we only use it if just briefly stopping .pp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 To directly answer the OP, no it is not a common failure but it does happen occasionally. To be brutally honest I don't see how it can not have been showing signs for quite a while. If you look closely at the photo there is very clearly corrosion around the pin edge and the plastic bush it sits in is split, I would expect the step motion to be slow and possibly creaky/jerky. The pin sheared because it siezed in its plastic housing and from then on the pin has been twisted till it sheared off. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Well Dave you did service the van in August so I can only blame you then LOL.... It did not have any problems just worked fine.but you can see as Dave said the marks but how do you spot them in the real world ????. The image shows the bolt in place, used 2 nuts locked as best as we could as the bolt is a bit short needs 10mm more. Have not got the nylon bushes as the one close to the shear point got damaged trying to get it off as we did not know how it worked and it was hands to the pump sort of....... It does work but as we are on a site am not retracting it just using it to get in and out. Will try and get a longer bolt but as its close to Christmas !!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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