Wanna Keep Your Ladder Level? I Know How
Written: Aug 28 '08 (Updated Aug 28 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: secure, adjustable, and (fairly) easy to install
Cons: heavy
The Bottom Line: Spending a few bucks on a set of RPM Ladder Levelers could spare you a nasty surprise some day.
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| scmrak's Full Review: Ladder Levelers by RPM |
Anyone who's ever climbed a ladder knows that feeling of panic that seizes the gut when the ladder shows the first signs of slipping. If you've never experienced that feeling, it's one I suspect you'd rather leave off you life list - whoever does your laundry would appreciate it, too... While ladders are inherently stable when the two surfaces they contact are flat and level, the world has a disturbing tendency to be anything but level. Outside, the ground under your feet is uneven, and inside... well, have you ever tried to paint a stairwell? There are two ways to make the ladder vertical with both feet on uneven ground. On the one hand, you can level the ground with blocks and bricks and whatever else you find in your scrap pile, but that's not necessarily going to create the most stable surface. On the other hand, you could shorten one leg of the ladder to even things out. That seems extreme, though, cutting a chunk off one leg pretty much makes the ladder worthless the next time you use it.
But wait: you could use a pair of RPM Ladder Levelers! Yes, "ladder levelers": a pair of telescoping legs that let you lengthen one or the other leg so that it's just right. What a concept!
The levelers are square, hollow heavy-gauge steel tubes that bolt onto the back side of the legs, one on each. They clamp on with a pair of U-bolts and regular nuts, so that you don't need to drill any holes (and thereby violate your ladder's warranty). Each tube has a support at the bottom to keep the ladder leg from sliding downward. They'll fit almost any aluminum, wood, or fiberglass straight or extension ladder; though according to the packaging you may need an adapter for certain styles of Werner fiberglass models. I've only mounted mine on an aluminum extension ladder.
A solid square steel slider bar with a foot welded on at one end slips into each mounted stationary bar. The foot has a grooved, non-skid rubber pad on one side and is molded with sharp, wedge-shaped teeth on the outer edges of the other side. It's mounted so that you can flip it: rubber for solid surfaces, teeth for soft ground. The slider bars are drilled with ten holes about an inch apart; the stationary bar is drilled with two holes approximately 1½ inches apart, meaning you have approximately 9½ inches of reach in half-inch increments - enough to place a ladder at the correct angle to a wall with the legs on two adjacent stair steps. The sliders are held securely in position with ¼-inch captive pins. Even so, RPM states that the maximum load is 350 pounds (which is more than either of my ladders, come to think of it).
Installing the RPM Ladder Levelers is tedious but simple: the stationary bars fit on the back of the ladder, and have guides for placing the U-bolts that are tightened down with an ordinary wrench. Slip the sliders into the stationary bars, pin them in place, and the ladder can be used as normal. When you find an uneven spot, just pull the pin on the "short" leg, pull out the slider until it's the proper length, and thread the pin through stationary and slider bars. Make certain the feet are in the right position (those wedges are mighty tough on wood floors) and you're ready to mount the ladder as if it were on a level surface. A ladder with the levelers mounted is as stable as one without - maybe more so, since all that steel makes it a little bottom-heavy.
Therein lies perhaps the only disadvantage of the ladder levelers: they're heavy, maybe even heavier than my sixteen-foot aluminum ladder (which is actually pretty light). Their extra weight makes it somewhat awkward to carry and hang the ladder, but tell you what: I'll trade a bottom-heavy ladder that's stable on uneven ground for a well-balanced one propped up with a couple of bricks and a two-by-four any day!
Recommended:
Yes
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