05.07.2013

Long ladder truck mount

Spotted in Crieff, Scotland a man looking to gain access to the gabled end of a house, with a long ladder.

Clearly the hedge prevented him from setting the ladder up at the ideal safe angle for the job, although if he was planning on doing any work apart from inspection, a ladder at this height would have been less than ideal even if he was able to set it up properly.

His solution use his pick-up truck parked in the street and set the ladder against the side and accept the low angle for which the ladder is not designed. He looks to be carrying something in one hand as well – never a good ideal on a long ladder.
Please register to see all images

While this ladder may be firmly footed this is far from safe or sensible

In the words of our reader: “My colleague sent me a picture this morning that I think is eligible for your death wish series. The picture was taken in Crieff, Perthshire up here in bonny Scotland. I'm not sure what company he works for but there are plenty of places in the area to rent some sort of access equipment.”

In all reality the fact that the ladder is jammed into the loading bay of the truck will keep the ladder firmly in place. However at the low angle it will not be so easy to hang on to the ladder while doing whatever work this man is setting out to do, meaning that he could easily fall off. The three stage ladder will also be subjected to stresses that it was not designed to take. So all in all a definite Death Wish.

The alternative?

This would have been a perfect job for a small self-drive truck mounted lift or a mobile scaffold tower set up inside the hedge next to the wall, there might even have been room inside the garden for a small spider lift?

Assuming he got away without falling this man would of course felt smug about saving the cost of proper access equipment, on the other had if he had fallen, the costs and trauma would have made the price of a day’s rental of the right equipment, and the effort to organise it look like the bargain of the century.

Is it worth rolling the dice when your life might be at stake?
People are still doing it in their thousands every day of the week.

The market for powered access is far from being anywhere near saturation