Trying to decide which method to adopt for accessing the roof from the outside. Standalone/folding ladder seems typical but ladders attached onto the rear are appealing. For added security, having the bottom rung 5'-6' up is a reasonable deterrent. Short portable, stowed ladder for access to fixed upper ladder.
Extending ladder is another option but consumes bay storage. The folding ones seem bulky as well. The telescoping design is novel but the standard model cost $$$.
We use a telescoping ladder. Get one longer than you think you need - ours is 16' and is long enough to safely get on the roof. It straps to the side of the bay. You can see the feet to the right of the folding bike in the photo.
I got one at an RV salvage and mounted it so that it stopped at the top of the engine doors. Then I carried a 6 foot step ladder sitting on the bumper and strapped to the roof ladder. The step ladder was really handy and got used for everything including occasional roof access.
I'm thinking about using the emergency exits for roof access. No more than I will use it, maybe I can even build steps (shelves) into the cabinetry. I also plan to install ventilators of some type in the hatches themselves and something to prevent them from opening all the way to where they lay on the roof. Makes them hard to close from inside. Possibly gas struts could work.
Jim
How about this? ;D
Sure, and you could loop the belay line around your roof air.
Jim
Don
Real close to you on West Elcamino. He will have most of the RV parts you think you ever need. He have many ladders up on the wall in the back. You can go through the place and make sure you go upstairs too. New and used parts. :D
http://rvdoctorgeorge.com/parts/
@richard - It seems of the extending ladders, the style you have is most compact but also more costly.
@bob - your setup is what I am considering but I'm still trying to squeeze a few more quarters for a folder but cheap is hard to break.A simple extending ladder might be an option but storing is not great.
@Jim - There is a roof vent for access but mostly for emergency escape, not for main roof access. Dragging tools and supplies through the bedroom and jumping on the bed are at best a rare event in my coach.
@Dave - definitively will check out RV service/parts ally on W El Camino. Thanks
We have the permanently mounted fold down steps (4) on our bus with a grab handle on the roof. The rear tire gets you started off the ground to the 1st fold down step. It's great cause it's always there & ready to climb.
Dan, I can't see the ladder on the bus?
Any type of permanently mounted ladder is going to be limited in its value. It will only serve to get you on the roof. That's all.
True, the telescoping ladder cost a few dollars, but to me the added value made it worth while. If you can only get on top of the bus with your ladder, it will be useless when you have to work on things which are not on the roof but which are still too high to reach from the ground. I've used my dozens of times to do things like reseal under marker lights, replace bulbs, etc. It also comes in handy when I need a ladder at a campground to hang a light from a tree or trim a branch which is in our way.
10-4 on permanent vs. portable. We stow a three step fold down stool that can reach anything on the bus below the roof line. As far as the bus " roof access ladder" is concerned - from the bus roof standpoint permanent is invaluable. Portability is peripheral to this post's title. When on the home front near the bus barn we have our choice of ladders from 2' step ladder to 40' extension ladders. We toot a different horn when traveling...
WT look between the rear awning arm and the long sliding window. There are three small fold down steps on the side wall above the rear duals, another small fold down step on the roof curvature, and a grab handle farther up from the top fold down step on the curvature. The steps are unfolded as you climb up on the roof and folded back against the body on the way down if it's only one trip. The steps are spring loaded to hold either the fold down or fold up position. We love them. No storage needed. They're right there where they belong and IMO don't degrade esthetics at all - in fact they are quite the conversation point during their use otherwise they are hardly noticable! Lol
I recently bought a used 13.5' telescoping ladder for less than half new price at an auction. I also see them occasionally on FB Marketplace. Keep an eye out for one.
I used to carry an 8' ladder in the baggage tank against the wall. Hardly uses any space.
A little 3' step ladder is handy too.
JC
Quote from: windtrader on June 19, 2020, 09:26:09 PM
Dan, I can't see the ladder on the bus?
Dan's system of fold down steps is very discrete, and will keep slackard's from climbing up on the roof. Those fold-downs were used in one of my Eagles for getting into the bunks inside.
DE thanks
Forgot to mention that the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd steps (if you need that many) prior to stepping on the first fold down step is - 1 - bottom of tire rim, 2 - top of hub cover, & 3 - top of tire... then onto the first fold down step. They've been on the bus for 40 years.
I guess if you spend a lot of time on the roof then a ladder is a necessity. My old S&S had the usual ladder at the rear and you could get to it via the bumper and spare tire. But it had AC and storage pods on top and no basement. Some rigs have an observation deck. Or other stuff that needs maintenance work like solar cells. Me, I'm just paranoid enough about roof leaks to not be adding any more than is absolutely necessary up there so I don't plan on frequent trips topside. For those I do make I suspect the escape hatches may do the job, and not having an outside ladder means I do not have to secure them from outside access. Which also means they can continue to be escape hatches. (No point in giving a potential second story man a ladder.)
But I totally understand not wanting to jump on the bed. Though it might be handy on the return. I was thinking more in terms of the forward hatch but I will have to look at where it is in relation to where everything else is going. It helps that I have been waiting to build the interior out until the leveling system is done.
For roof access here, I just climb up on the shed roof and step across. I could even put in a door from the shop mezzanine if I wanted to, but I don't think it'd get enough use to warrant it.
Jim
You can buy all types of mast climbing steps from a marine supply they don't look to bad mounted on a bus ,best to buy the SeaDog Stainless climbers for 20 bucks more each if you go that way the Nylon climbers are junk,I think I saw climbers on Gary Hatt's bus
Here is one way, not that I would.
Yeah that would work real well on a fiberglass cap LOL!!!
I'm with Richard in this one. Telescoping ladder has worked for us for 10 years now. Don't overthink this. And don't mount stuff to the bus. As someone said, you completely limit yourself with a mounted system. Just get the telescoping ladder and you can use it for literally anything and everything and trust me, we have. I had two and just gave one to Jack Conrad. You can find them used cheap.
In the 30 + years of bus ownership I have never carried a ladder and never needed one,on the Eagle I installed a Taylor hatch skylight in the bathroom just in case I needed on the roof never used it,the CC came with a nice telescoping ladder it is laying in the shop I don't plan on carrying a ladder
Lots of different ideas - different strokes for different folks. ;)
Quote from: dtcerrato on June 21, 2020, 07:12:50 AM
Lots of different ideas - different strokes for different folks. ;)
Yep some of the older Blue Birds had carriers on the roof with a permeant mounted ladder on the rear from the factory I owned 1 way back
Super comments showing every bus owner has their own needs for roof access. Just being such a cheap @$# put me off on the telescoping style but overall it provides the most function in the smallest package.
If I had reason to access roof on a regular and frequent basis a fixed ladder would be more appropriate but in my case it is hopefully just needed to do some solar maintenance or other roof task.
Being a cheap @$#, humm.. said that before. :) Any brands offering great value?
Quote from: windtrader on June 21, 2020, 10:47:23 AM
Super comments showing every bus owner has their own needs for roof access. Just being such a cheap @$# put me off on the telescoping style but overall it provides the most function in the smallest package.
If I had reason to access roof on a regular and frequent basis a fixed ladder would be more appropriate but in my case it is hopefully just needed to do some solar maintenance or other roof task.
Being a cheap @$#, humm.. said that before. :) Any brands offering great value?
Cheap is not the way to go on a ladder pay the bucks cheap @$# and get all the certifications
Is it true that most ladders are made in America?
Jim
Quote from: Jim Blackwood on June 21, 2020, 11:22:37 AM
Is it true that most ladders are made in America?
Jim
Nope a lot of Chinese junk in ladders out there they usually cost around 100 to 125 bucks vs the 300 to 400 buck ladders made in the US one brand I know of is the Thad ,Costco sells Chinese made ladders I see with the phoney stickers
Personally, I wouldnt trust those little flip down steps. At my age, a fall doesnt heal quickly. And if wet could be slippery. Some roofs have enough curvature, that a longer ladder is needed to get high enough to safely step on and off. Harbor freight has a Little Giant copy that is reasonably priced when on sale. Also, if you weigh 250 + pounds, you may want to stay off the roof. For installation projects at home, scaffolding with planks over to top is best.
14 ft telescopic. Love it. I have had to use it 5 times but great to have. Once for a lightening strike that cut the power to the ac on roof. Had to rewire on the road. Another time in Redding in August the dam in the AC got blocked and the condensate was dripping into the coach. Had to go up there pull off the cover and clean it up in 109 degrees. Lights needed replacing on the road and not going on roof but needed the ladder to do it. ;D
Up against wall in first bay.
me to
16 ' telescopic ladder
use it all the time for everything
dave
We use a telescoping ladder also. It does not take up any room at all strapped to the side of one of the tanks. Some things that I consider poor about using a permanent ladder is that you are forced to climb absolutely vertical rather than at a nice incline, and the body of the bus restricts your feet from getting a deeper perch on the rungs.