So I'm trying to find a ladder suited for a very specific task

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/12/2018 at 10:00 • Filed to: None

So far not too much luck. The closest thing I’ve found is this telescopic industrial ladder that earned an 8/10 review on some painter’s website. Oh yeah, but it has a tendency to COLLAPSE WHEN YOU’RE ON IT. Is AVE the only guy with any integrity in the review business?

So I need something that will allow me to reach interior skylights in all sorts of crazy houses, without renting a boom lift because that’s... Frowned upon. And expensive. If you don’t know, skylights are often placed high above tubs, staircases, or in weird parts of vaulted ceilings 20+ feet high that make it quite tricky to reach.

Standard extension ladders are either too wide to fit the skylight opening, or too large to maneuver. Or the small ones (16ft, 20ft, etc.) are just too short to reach the skylight in the first place.

Little giants would be a *step* in the right direction since they can be placed on a staircase in step ladder orientation.... But it’s a bit sketch, and insanely heavy. I hate little giant style ladders. The one below probably weighs well over 100lbs despite being aluminum, takes forever to get into position, takes up a metric shit-ton of space, and while it can be set up as a normal non A-frame ladder.... It’s inferior to an extension ladder in quite literally every way. They’re also super uncomfortable to stand on and the locks are finicky . Hard pass unless absolutely necessary.

So what I’m looking at now is telescopic ladders. You can get a 20ft “commercial grade” one that’s OSHA approved blah blah blah for about $500. Not cheap, but worth the price if it solves this issue. Take a look below

Pros: folds down incredibly small, easy to maneuver in weird places inside a home. Seems to be a bit narrower than a standard W erner extension ladder.

I have some issues though. First is the feet. They’re completely flat, without any kind of swivel. This means that you’re losing surface area of your main gripping surface the more you angle your ladder on setup. That’s.... Bad. I’m not finding any telescopic ladder that addresses that issue though.

Second is the rungs. None of them are angled. They should be angled in such a way that they’re flat when you have the ladder at the *OSHA approved angle*. Again, that gives you the maximum contact patch between your feet and the steps. Kind of important.

Tl:dr

I need a ladder that’s tall, narrow, takes up minimal space, and is robust. Having trouble

DISCUSSION (19)

Chuckles > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 10:07

Last week at work, we were subjected to almost an hour of YouTube videos from The American Ladder Institute (a real thing!).

Nobody at work except the facilities team ever uses a ladder, but everyone from the CEO to the janitor had to watch these videos.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 10:09

I was going to say I like my Werner “Little Giant” style folding ladder, but I agree with everything you said about them. Great for a homeowner as I can have one ladder that does everything, but, like an all-in-one printer, it isn’t better than a dedicated ladder for any task. Also it isn’t even the largest one and it is exceptionally heavy.

I’d maybe poke around some of the werido big box stores in your area. For us that would be Sutherlands and some of the agricultural supply places, but I don’t remember enough about the PNW to say what your flavor is.

Also maybe Amazon, as weird as that is to say...

adamftw > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 10:10

All I can say is I’ve used those little giants before and they SUCK. I had on in my company supplied Chevy HHR (don’t ask) and had to use it all the time and hated it. Super sketch. I hate any tall ladder than isn’t a fiberglass A-frame. If I knew I had to get to a tall camera or something I stopped a the office to borrow a full-size van with a ladder rack so I could use a more normal ladder. I huck a 6ft onto my first floor roof to get to my second floor roof because extension ladders also freak me the fuck out.

Not afraid of heights at all though. Just ladders.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chuckles
12/12/2018 at 10:14

I love that type of training. Especially when they are so serious about it. We get a ton of that stuff.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 10:20

clearly what you need is a harpoon gun with a rope ladder attached

^.^

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/12/2018 at 10:25

And it was basically the exact same video, but shown 3 times for different ladder types.

facw > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
12/12/2018 at 10:27

Jetpack...

Ash78, voting early and often > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 10:40

I have a 26' Gorilla ladder that was about $250. It’s basically a beefier Little Giant, so it’s heavy AF (guessing 65#) but I’ve never felt too sketched out on it, even at full extension. You just have to get used to some flex because they just don’t have the rigid I-beam construction of a dedicated extension ladder. In A-frame mode it’s absolutely bomber. I’ve used it to paint tall stairwell where one foot was on a landing and one was on a stair tread. Very solid.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 11:09

#1 con on those collapsible ladders -- which are AWESOME by the way -- is that you cannot skip arm day, ever. They are so freaking heavy.

Stapleface > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/12/2018 at 11:14

Funny you say that. I had a contractor at my house a couple of months back who had one of them and he was tossing it around like it was a 6 foot a frame. I assumed it was light. Guess the guy was just really strong. lol

AestheticsInMotion > Chuckles
12/12/2018 at 11:23

That is hilarious

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/12/2018 at 11:24

You're talking about the telescopic ones? Hmm.... I might buy one to test. I just see so many points of failure :/

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 11:26

Yeah for what you do, I can see the cautionary... uh, cautiousness. But I’m a guy who’s not getting on any ladder over 8'... Except for the hundreds of times I’ve been on ladders well over 24'.

WiscoProud > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 11:37

I have a werner little giant . Mine isn’t nearly as big as the one in the picture, but is rated for 300 lbs. You’re 100% right about the weight, its ridiculous despite being made of aluminum.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 12:14

You need some sort of lightweight, quick to assemble, slightly portable while assembled scaffolding haha

daender > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 19:20

Funny thing when I was reading this at work...I work at a company that builds ladders (kind of a heritage thing, we build access equipment as our primary focus due to much higher profit margins ) that might suit your purpose. However, we’re a bit on the heavy side (because internal reasons) but damn- durable provided the shop doesn’t split the rungs like idiots. I dunno if you looked at our stuff, but it might be out of your price range (we’re a bit on the pricey side).

*coughAlco-Litecough*

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 21:59

I have a 12’ Extend Climb telescoping. It works very well for what I need. Fits well in the MINI. As long as you make sure the locks set (they’ve been very reliable on mine) no worries about it coming down. The feet are rubbery and curved, so they have excellent grip on any angle close to where you should be using it.

Agree the lack of angled steps could be a bummer; I don’t need to stand on mine for long periods of time.

AestheticsInMotion > daender
12/12/2018 at 22:17

Yikes, the weight figures scared me away! That said I'd love to swing by and by and sample pretty much every thing you guys make. Wouldn't work for my business, but they all look absolutely bomber. That's funny, before looking into ladders I was getting a refresher on what it would take to finish the currently on hold path to the fire department. Your company seems to bridge both of those things!

AestheticsInMotion > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
12/12/2018 at 23:17

Thanks for the info! I think I'll take the plunge and try one out