While ladders are one of the most useful tools and pieces of equipment tradesmen use in their day-to-day work, they can also be the most cumbersome to transport.
The longer the ladder, the more difficult it is to transport and travelling around in a vehicle can also be hazardous if it is not secured properly. Here are a few ideas of helping you transport ladders around safely whilst making sure you always have the right one for the job.
Whilst extension ladders can retract, they are still a long piece of equipment and therefore difficult to transport. Few cars are able to transport an extension, even some of the smallest varieties on the market, so transporting extension ladders should only really be done with a van.
They can be secured on either the roof, or the side of many vans but there some key points to remember. When the ladder is strapped down you need to remember the forward and backwards momentum of a vehicle so you should ensure it can’t slip under the straps. The ladder, also, shouldn’t extend further than the length of the vehicle; if it is dangerously overhanging it can be dangerous.
A roof rack is perhaps the safest and secure method of transporting long ladders like extensions.
Step ladders have a great advantage when it comes to transportation in that they fold-up. Most cars can carry a set of step-ladders either on the roof, using a roof rack to secure them from other road users, or in an estate or hatchback car they can be laid inside. If you are carrying ladders inside the car it is still important to remember to secure them – especially if they are laying on the back seat. A sudden stop, or accident, could lead to the ladders flying forward and causing injury to you or another road user.
Alternative solutions
There are more collapsible ladders that are designed for ease of transportation. Surveyors ladders can fold right down and fit in the boot of most saloon cars whilst several types of combination ladders fold quite small too so if you only have a small vehicle there may be a collapsible solution.
