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Old 06-06-2021, 09:17 AM   #41
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YES! Had a full timer neighbor that placed his doggie door under a kitchen cabinet! Thru the wall, built steps, put up clear plexiglass along one side of the steps as the pups (3) were leery of going down. Steps were high, but in sections in order to adjust for varying heights based on leveling.
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Old 06-11-2021, 03:08 PM   #42
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doggie door and steps

I can't help you with the doggie door part but you should look at the "port-a-steps". We have them for our dogs because going up and down the trailer steps was risky for them (too much danger of getting bumped off and breaking a leg). The port a steps fold up so that you could take them with you on all of your travels. We bought the deck and steps for our dogs and love it. The dogs have no trouble navigating the wider, deeper steps and the deck allows all of them the space to be at the top of the steps until we get up there to open the door. The port-a-steps are expensive but we wouldn't be without them. We also show dogs and use a "yard" system (several x-pen panels set up to make an enclosure). We are at campgrounds often and have not had any trouble using this system although we don't let the dogs out by themselves. With the port a steps deck set-up and our enclosure we can just open the trailer door and let the dogs out to take care of business. It works great.
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RIP - Cesare and Cincia

Chevy Express 3500 van
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Old 06-12-2021, 11:06 AM   #43
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Originally Posted by cincia View Post
I can't help you with the doggie door part but you should look at the "port-a-steps". We have them for our dogs because going up and down the trailer steps was risky for them (too much danger of getting bumped off and breaking a leg). The port a steps fold up so that you could take them with you on all of your travels. We bought the deck and steps for our dogs and love it. The dogs have no trouble navigating the wider, deeper steps and the deck allows all of them the space to be at the top of the steps until we get up there to open the door. The port-a-steps are expensive but we wouldn't be without them. We also show dogs and use a "yard" system (several x-pen panels set up to make an enclosure). We are at campgrounds often and have not had any trouble using this system although we don't let the dogs out by themselves. With the port a steps deck set-up and our enclosure we can just open the trailer door and let the dogs out to take care of business. It works great.
Sounds perfect. I'll do a search for them and see what they look like.
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Old 06-24-2021, 12:35 PM   #44
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Originally Posted by cincia View Post
I can't help you with the doggie door part but you should look at the "port-a-steps". We have them for our dogs because going up and down the trailer steps was risky for them (too much danger of getting bumped off and breaking a leg). The port a steps fold up so that you could take them with you on all of your travels. We bought the deck and steps for our dogs and love it. The dogs have no trouble navigating the wider, deeper steps and the deck allows all of them the space to be at the top of the steps until we get up there to open the door. The port-a-steps are expensive but we wouldn't be without them. We also show dogs and use a "yard" system (several x-pen panels set up to make an enclosure). We are at campgrounds often and have not had any trouble using this system although we don't let the dogs out by themselves. With the port a steps deck set-up and our enclosure we can just open the trailer door and let the dogs out to take care of business. It works great.
I'm very impressed with the "port-a-steps." Can you tell me more about the one you chose? We have two entrance doors that are 31" in width. I see that the port-a-steps come standard in a 23" x 31" platform and 23" width steps. I'd like to see if they can build a 31" x 31" platform and 31" wide steps. I think we will need five steps because our doors are 40 inches high.

Where do you stow the platform and steps when traveling? We think we might be able to stow them just inside the front entrance door and still avoid the kitchen slide-in. We would prefer to lay them in the bed of the truck when traveling, but the truck we have on order is a short bed (6.5 feet). If we purchase an Anderson Ultimate 5th wheel hitch, it will take up most of the bed space. But if we could lay the port-a-step on it's side just behind the cab, it might fit without disturbing the hitch. We do not have a receiver on the back of our camper and the camper hangs ten feet behind the rear axle, so I'd prefer not to start welding a receiver on the back that could possible drag on the pavement while entering or exiting parking lots or gas stations.
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Old 06-24-2021, 03:15 PM   #45
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port a steps

wayfaring, I think they could customize the size of the deck and steps. It says on their website that port-a-steps can be built to custom widths. I think this is a small company that builds the steps, etc. themselves. You can order more or less steps depending on the height that you need up to the trailer. the steps are a little heavy but I'm a 60+ yr old woman and can manage them (although its much easier to set up with 2 people). Since we have very little pass through space our steps and deck must be stored inside the trailer. We put the deck tops (4x6 ft? 2 sections of 4x3ft) into fabric bags we made for them (made from moving blankets from harbor freight) and they slide behind the couch. the stairs are folded up and put in a rubbermaid bin then put into our bathroom for storage. the deck support is the hardest to store. It folds up to about 10/12" X 10/12" and about 4.5 ft tall. I built two square wooden boxes to slip on each end (these are held on and to each other with a couple of bungees). I set this on end and it is set against the far wall of the tt and cinched to the wall. I put eye hooks on the wall (2 - one on each side of where the deck support goes) and we use a cinch strap with S hooks to secure it next to the wall. We have traveled with it like this for 4 years and have encountered no problems, other that it does get in the way until we take it outside. We are VERY pleased with the deck and steps. They clean off easily, set up and take down quickly and easily. Maintenance is easy also - I just clean it off with a rag and spray some silicone lube on the moving parts every year. We have italian greyhounds and a broken leg from one of them falling off the steps would cost much more than the deck and stairs cost us. The dogs have no trouble walking up or down the steps and they often lie up on the deck (we have carpet that we cut to size for the deck). We both agree that, although it was expensive, this has been one of the best purchases we made for our trailer.
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Lisa and my furry kids - Dante, Capucine, Scout, and Riata
RIP - Cesare and Cincia

Chevy Express 3500 van
Palomino Solaire 251RBSS
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
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Old 06-24-2021, 04:47 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by cincia View Post
wayfaring, I think they could customize the size of the deck and steps. It says on their website that port-a-steps can be built to custom widths. I think this is a small company that builds the steps, etc. themselves. You can order more or less steps depending on the height that you need up to the trailer. the steps are a little heavy but I'm a 60+ yr old woman and can manage them (although its much easier to set up with 2 people). Since we have very little pass through space our steps and deck must be stored inside the trailer. We put the deck tops (4x6 ft? 2 sections of 2x3ft) into fabric bags we made for them (made from moving blankets from harbor freight) and they slide behind the couch. the stairs are folded up and put in a rubbermaid bin then put into our bathroom for storage. the deck support is the hardest to store. It folds up to about 10/12" X 10/12" and about 4.5 ft tall. I built two square wooden boxes to slip on each end (these are held on and to each other with a couple of bungees). I set this on end and it is set against the far wall of the tt and cinched to the wall. I put eye hooks on the wall (2 - one on each side of where the deck support goes) and we use a cinch strap with S hooks to secure it next to the wall. We have traveled with it like this for 4 years and have encountered no problems, other that it does get in the way until we take it outside. We are VERY pleased with the deck and steps. They clean off easily, set up and take down quickly and easily. Maintenance is easy also - I just clean it off with a rag and spray some silicone lube on the moving parts every year. We have italian greyhounds and a broken leg from one of them falling off the steps would cost much more than the deck and stairs cost us. The dogs have no trouble walking up or down the steps and they often lie up on the deck (we have carpet that we cut to size for the deck). We both agree that, although it was expensive, this has been one of the best purchases we made for our trailer.
cincia, Thank you for that explanation. I imagine we could cover the pieces in blankets and find a good place to stow them. I'd like to try just one set of steps for a while and see if that is sufficient, rather than purchase port-a-steps for both entrances. We feel fortunate that you responded to the thread and gave us the name of a company we had never heard of before.
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