Prime Design Rear Door Ladder for Ram ProMaster

As part of our upcoming rooftop tent install, We decided to add a Prime Design Rear Door Ladder to our Ram ProMaster.

A portable telescopic ladder is a great van accessory, but a permanent ladder has the most convenience. Keep reading to hear our thoughts and how we installed a…

Prime Design Rear Door Ladder on our Ram ProMaster

Why We Decided To Add a Permanent Ladder.

Telesteps Telescopic Van Ladder

Before installing our Prime Design Rear Door Ladder, we were happily using the Telesteps Telescopic Van Ladder. The Telesteps Telescopic ladders are great, and not just for using to access the roof of a van. They are also convenient for setup and tear down at camp, hanging tarps, cutting down branches, etc. With that in mind, we can and will keep using it as a supplement for our new fixed ladder.

Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent (RTT)

As mentioned in the intro, we will soon be installing a Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent on the roof of our Ram ProMaster Weekender Conversion Van. The plan is to mount the RTT on the front portion of the roof space and access via the rear of the van across a small deck area.

Check out how we Installed a Roofnest Falcon XL Roof Top Tent on our Ram ProMaster

 

Side Mount Van Ladder VS Rear Mount Van Ladder – Pros and Cons

Here are some of the Pros and Cons we used to make our decision to buy a Rear Mount Van Ladder over the seemingly more common Side Mount Van Ladder

• Extremely easy install. The Prime design ladder is so easy to install. 
• No Drill. Unlike other rear mount ladders and most side mount ladders, there is no drilling involved.
• Lightweight. Very lightweight yet strong design. No problem holding a full-size adult.
• Easy removal if needed. There may be times when you need to remove your ladder. This is easily done in 10 minutes or less. 
• Available For. Sprinter, Transit, and ProMaster. 

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Unboxing Our New Prime Design Rear Door Ladder

Rather than opening the box on the ground, I sat the box on some work stools and opened our new Prime Design Rear Door Ladder box at a good workable height. The ladder is well packaged with the instructions and mounting hardware nestled in boxes securely inside the rung holes. It is well packaged for shipping by careless freight workers.👍

First Impressions 

Black Anodized coating. Talk about bling 🤑. The Black Anodized coating is nice. Better looking than a black powder coating. How durable is it? Time will tell.

Build Quality. I am very impressed, the build quality is premium. This is not a cheap poorly built product. A1

No Weld Design. I was very intrigued to see the Prime Design Rear Door Ladder is not welded as part of the construction. Instead, the ladder is riveted together using large, heavy-duty aluminum rivets.

What’s In The Box

• Ladder
• Hanger brackets
• Mounting Hardware 

Check The Hardware. 

ProTip: It is always a good idea to make sure all the parts are there before you start. 

Installing the Prime Design Rear Door Ladder on our Ram ProMaster – Video

Step-1: 🤓 📖 (Read The Manual)

This looks easy enough, You don’t need to read the manual? Wrong! As simple as something can be to an experienced installer, it is easy to overlook an important step or recommendation. Always read the manual before starting a new project. 

As per the instruction manual, the Prime Design Rear Door Ladder for ProMaster must be installed on the passenger side door.

We want to mount the ladder on the lesser-used door. This is disappointing as nowhere in the manual does it say the ladder can be mounted on the driver’s side rear door. It does say, however, that if you deviate from the instructions, the ladder manufacturer will not be held liable. We chose to continue with our plan and install it on the left (driver’s side) anyway. More on this later.

Step-2: Pre-Assembly 

This ladder is very easy to assemble. We installed the upper and lower Mounting Bracket Assemblies using the supplied Stainless Steel hardware. The instructions say to torque the bolts to 90 in-lbs. Our Torque Wrench has its adjustment marks in ft-lbs, so we adjusted to the closest setting. (10 ft-lbs) Click Click💥💥

#Pro-Tip: 90 in-lbs is not very tight. Don’t get it confused with 90 ft-lbs. That would be bad☹️

Step-3: Hang and Tighten 

As mentioned previously, we wanted to install our new Prime Design Ladder on the driver’s side rear door. Now the instructions give measurements for the correct location for installation on the passenger side. The bad part is these instructions don’t transfer to the driver’s side door.

Problem #1

The door latch mechanism causes the bottom pinch weld to be different on the DS Door. Because of this, the measurements given for the PS door will not work. The bottom ladder hanger will not fit onto the pinch weld in this location.

Solution 

Move the ladder over enough to clear this protrusion. It does work, but unfortunately, there are more problems, some easily fixed, and some not so easily fixed. ☹️

Problem #2 

The tolerance between the top of the door and the rear door gutter was not big enough to clear the upper Mounting Bracket. This meant the hanger would scrape on the gutter when closing. 

Solution

Cranking down on the Lower Mounting Hanger Rod bolt would not change this clearance, and the space is visibly less on this door. I decided to take a rubber mallet and use a little gentle persuasion to beat the section of the gutter up to make enough clearance. Problem solved!

Problem #3

The bumper bolt hits the bottom hanger. This issue is not so easily solved. And prevents the rear door from sealing completely. The door closes, but it is held out enough to see a small amount of light through the bottom seal.

Solution

I could move the ladder over more, but then it will block the license plate. Another possible solution is to remove the bolt. This bolt is not structural and only holds on the plastic bumper cover. For now, I will just live with it and update if I make any changes.

Final Step – Stand Back And Admire The Beauty That Is, a Prime Design Rear Door Ladder on our Ram ProMaster!😂

The Prime Design Rear Door Ladder is a beautifully designed piece of equipment. It is extremely strong and gives the van a more utilitarian look and definitely draws attention. Two thumbs up 👍 👍

Look back for a follow-up review once we have climbed it a few hundred times.

Interested In Some Of Our Other Cool Van Projects?

• Mounting Robe Hooks To Our Van UniStrut Rails
• Installing Our Van Mini Safe
• Van Window Trim
• Campervan Kitchen Pod – Mini-Prep Area

Check Out These Major Exterior Projects

• DIY Van Conversion Window Installation
• Van Roof Vent Installation
• DIY Unistrut – Superstrut – Powerstrut Van Roof Rack

Thanks for reading, I hope you get some value from this post. Take the road less traveled, be original, and stay true.

Weekender Van Life – Van Life Blog – weekendervanlife.com