Hey guys. I have another question. I have an employee right now doing pretty much all of the window cleaning. Unfortunately he only has a Chevy Cavalier. I don’t have a truck and can’t afford to buy one right now. I’m pretty much focusing on residential and he has no place to put a ladder. I bought several poles including the 30 ft. Unger pole and it works great. But, there will be times that he’ll need a ladder. We actually have a job coming up where he’ll need a ladder. Do any of you have experience with this problem of only having a car? What did you do? Do any of you have experience with fold up ladders? Are there racks that you can put on top of cars that can carry the size ladders we need? Thanks for any help.
There are tons of racks for cars that are sturdy enough for ladders. Well maybe not a 40 footer. But I started out in a VW Bug and 5 sectional ladder pieces.
I personally don’t like the Little Giant (fold up) ladders, but a lot of people do.
Hey Seth,
You beat me to it. I started my business with a VW Jetta and my 24ft sectional fit inside, 4 and 1/2 pieces. It’s all I need and all I use for all 2 story jobs and many 3 story. Oh! I do have a 2 foot step ladder for some situations inside homes. Sectionals are great inside homes when you need more than a little step ladder.
The little giant ladders are a very heavy and difficult to work with. IMO
24 foot sectional fit inside a jetta? wtf? I’m sorry maybe im confused and have never heard nor seen a 24 foot sectional … where do you get those and how much are they ?!
PS… my truck got tboned a few weeks back so im in the same boat now… I have to use a dodge stratus…
I personally do like the Little Giant ladders. If you are strapped for cash you can get a LG much cheaper than a comparable set of sectionals. Having said that I will probably get a set of sectionals next year to add to my LG knockoff.
The back seat folds down and the front passanger seat pushes forward. The ladder pieces fit in from the back through the trunk door so to speak. Sectionals have a high price tag but [I]don’t confuse price with cost[/I]. They are actually by far the least expensive ladder a window cleaner can own.
[QUOTE=mdefiel;52737]Hey Seth,
You beat me to it. I started my business with a VW Jetta and my 24ft sectional fit inside. It’s all I need for all 2 story jobs and many 3 story. Oh! I do have a 2 foot step ladder for some situations inside homes.
The little giant ladders are a very heavy and difficult to work with. IMO[/QU
Do you know the manufacturer? I may have to look into that. Can you get these at home depot or any of those types of stores or do you have to order them online?
Hey Kurt,
I guess you are new to the business. Do a search on this forum and you should be able to find a lot of info on sectionals. They are ladders made for window cleaning. Here is a link to their site.
Window Cleaning Ladders by Metallic Ladder Manufacturing Corporation
I started out working out of my mazda3. A 22 foot little giant type ladder fits in most cars just fine. I now have a work truck now but I still use my werner mt-22
[QUOTE=Kurt;52741][QUOTE=mdefiel;52737]
The little giant ladders are a very heavy and difficult to work with. IMO[/QU
QUOTE]
Time to start hittin the weights man!
I used a gorilla ladder (24’) and I had it in a nissan sentra. I actually took a sawzall to the back seat metal to make it fit with the back seat down.
Yes indeed! Weight lifting has been a big help. I should really get into it.
Yes, there’s a place for ladders.!! Here’s a another way to do it!! A pole and a swivel ledger. And a fixey clamp fore detailing. Theres more to it but e-mail me at [email protected] stan , pro window kleening 26 years in the bus.
I started out of my car like many too! It will work but it can be very annoying at times.
I had a 19’ LG ladder fit in the truck of my Acura Integra GSR. I just folded the back seats down of the coupe and off I went. Cleaned windows in style too:) lol
Then I broke down and just bought a pickup with ladder racks. I would hold off as long as you can. You will know when it’s time to upgrade. Look at ski racks(Thule brand) as they are alot stronger and can hold 24’ ladders. I would personally get a knockoff LG like the Werner and when u have enough money, get the ski rack and put a 24’ or 28’ Aluminum Werner ladder. Coupes are trickier though and I would not recommend hauling ladders on top unless the work load is safe. Call Thule and tell them what you need it for.
And don’t do what I did and sell your car. Cars are great for route work or for sending a reliable employee to do jobs. And the added bonus is they are great on gas. Of course, I am partial to Honda as they have always been a very reliable vehical for me.
I’ve got a cheap version of the little giant ladder (brand is Gorilla), best ladder out there in my opinion, yes it is a little heavy, (about 15kgs) but the verstility of it more then makes up for the bulkyness, small enough still ti fit across the back seat when I’m feeling to lazy to strap it to the roof racks.
I have never used anything but the four section folding werners, so I can’t comment on any other “folders”. The werners might not be quite as versatile as other folders but they are tough. I know the smaller size will fit in the backseat of my buddys corolla sedan.
Good luck,
I think I’m going to go with the Werner MT-22. Do any of you know if you can put the Werner quick click ladder stabalizer on the MT-22? If not, are there any stabalizers out there for the MT-22. I’m not finding any on the internet.
If a MT- 22 is a LG knock off perhaps the LG ladder stabalizer will fit the bill. LG has a nice little leg leveler for sale as well.
Mike is right. I use the LG leg leveler on my Werner MT-22. The stabilizer will work as well.
Great!. Thanks guys.
hey tony what about the costco 5-1 lg knockoff ladder that comes in 17 and 22 foot that they carry at walmart and menards?? is that a good one? just seems like those folding lg knock off ladders including the lg dont seem stable once u start climbing/standing above the bending joint piece that locks or w/e… im only 155ibs though 
