I need a extention ladder but I’m limited on space in my cargo van. What are your thoughts on the lattle giant ladder and would a 15 ft heigth be enough?
Im not sure about the Cali market, but assuming it’s not that different to New England, 15ft would be a little small, A 24ft extension ladder would comfortably reach most 1st and second floors
Is there a reason you can’t put a ladder on the roof, if so, a sectional ladder may be the way to go. 4 6ft pieces would get you to about 21ft which should suffice
I have a 22ft version of the little giant ladder I cxan reach 98% of glass needed to reach with that ladder. And it fits very well in the back of my dakota.
We’ve got everything from a 40ft down (except that elusive 32) and doubled up on most of them, and if your doing residential work it actually speeds things up having the proper size ladder for whatever you come across instead of making what you have work, but when I started a 28 was my go to. Probably because of the slopes we work on I needed a little more than the 24 to reach some 2nd stories, but now the 24 is probably the most used.
If your thinking 15 foot giant, you might as well get a 16 foot extension, it would take up less room than the giant and weigh much less, I never liked folding the giant out as an extension, it weighs too much on the top end and doesn’t have claw feet for security. And if your hoping to double up as a stepladder, its really much faster to haul around a fiberglass that you can pick up at walmart for $40.
Im out in Cali and my work horse ladder is a 20’ Werner. I do have bigger but rarely pull it out. For your situation though I would either get a set of stack ladders, or a 20’ extension ladder. I agree with the above posts about the little giant, they are really heavy and a pain in the butt.
Off the subject though, since ive been WFPing, i cant remember when i was ladder come to think of it…wow…
If I was on a limited budget with limited space I would go with the Werner version of the LG. I have one that is four years old and still works great, you just need to hit it with some lubrication every once and while. If you want to lighten it up for first floor work you can just slide the outer legs off and use it as a small straight ladder.
I think the best setup for residential work would be to have a 32’, 28’, 24’,20’, a 6ft step, a 4ft step and a LG type on the truck. Its good to have at the shop a 36’ and 40’ they usually don’t get used that much. You will generally know in advance when you need something that big. While I appreciate the functionality of the sectional ladders I’ve never really felt comfortable on them when I used them.
Depending on your home style, the 8’ step is actually very valuable, Chalet style fronts you can hit the peaks with a 24’ and then hit the middle row (2nd story) off of the 8’ because of the deck and that saves you from breaking out the 20’ just for its lowest level. I’m sure there aren’t many chalets in Boston, or most of California, but it gets used more than any of my other steps. Plus when you get the “While your up there, can you change the batteries in my smoke detector” requests:D
I’d have to agree with Pat’s suggestion. I like to carry only one ladder. I’ve got a four and one half piece set of sectionals. I’m good to go from 4 ft. up to 24 feet and everything in between. The only ladder designed and manufactured for the professional window cleaner. Over 24 feet I would recommend using an extention ladder.
Can you always maintain three points of contact when you use the 8’ step ladder as described above? Or, are you standing on the very top level?
Thanks for the input. The reason I have limited space is that I run a carpet cleaning business the window cleaning is going to be a add on. Its a franchise and window cleaning cannot be part of it. So Im trying to fly under the rada,r a ladder rack would be a dead give away.
Have a ladder rack installed. Or buy section ladders.
This is one of my regulars, and I can’t do the second set completely with the 8’ because their height is stretched more than most of them, so I hit the top half with the 24 from the original placement and can easily hit the lower half (or 3/4) with the 8’ without standing on the top. The top of the 8’ sits right at the fascia on those side rooflines. But this one is in the minority as it has a true 2nd/3rd story most of the chalets are just loft uppers so each window sets are 2-4 feet shorter. (When I say I, it should say me and my guys, one guy with a 24 and another with the 8, assembly line style, you could always drop the 24 down and do the lowers but time is money)
On the ladder rack issue:
I don’t own any sectionals but it sounds like that might be your best bet for going rogue.
If you are going to buy sectionals they are available now with the Levelock ladder levelers already installed. They like to use a middle section instead of a base section to mount the levelers on. Much better, more compact. Three and a half sections would go up to 19 feet and I think they would fit in your van nicely.
