JayDee
Free Member
Hello all,
I was chatting to a chap at the Stratford Bard's Birthday meet and he was describing the rather dodgy acrobatics a man of his (and my
) age needed to perform to get up onto his MH roof.
It occurred to me that it wouldn't be out of the question to bolt / clamp a socket on the side of the top of the ladder that would take a stanchion that you could hang onto while swinging your leg up onto the roof. (stanchion is a nautical word for an upright pole that usually constitutes part of a railing or barrier and when used on a gangway has rope threaded through for a handrail). The only potential problem that I can foresee is that if one put a lot of weight on it the leverage could distort the ladder and thus the rear of the motorhome. :thumbdown:
His other difficulty, not age related, is one of traction. If the roof of the MH is wet :rain: it is going to be slippery. I remember feeling very insecure climbing onto the roof of my Autosleeper Amethyst. I discovered that skateboarders have similar problems which they remedy by applying a rough faced sticky back sheet onto their boards. It looks a bit like Fablon but is tougher and has a rough 'sandy' surface. It's available in all sorts of colours including white and clear and is about 200mm wide and probably 600mm long. I stuck a half sheet on the roof at the top of the ladder and felt much safer.
Now you don't go onto your roof wearing shoes do you? Even the smallest bit of grit caught in the sole will scratch and damage the finish. Bare feet will allow you to feel any sharp stones, plus they grip better than practically any footwear on the market.
Just a couple or three thoughts. Hope you find them useful
John
I was chatting to a chap at the Stratford Bard's Birthday meet and he was describing the rather dodgy acrobatics a man of his (and my
) age needed to perform to get up onto his MH roof.It occurred to me that it wouldn't be out of the question to bolt / clamp a socket on the side of the top of the ladder that would take a stanchion that you could hang onto while swinging your leg up onto the roof. (stanchion is a nautical word for an upright pole that usually constitutes part of a railing or barrier and when used on a gangway has rope threaded through for a handrail). The only potential problem that I can foresee is that if one put a lot of weight on it the leverage could distort the ladder and thus the rear of the motorhome. :thumbdown:
His other difficulty, not age related, is one of traction. If the roof of the MH is wet :rain: it is going to be slippery. I remember feeling very insecure climbing onto the roof of my Autosleeper Amethyst. I discovered that skateboarders have similar problems which they remedy by applying a rough faced sticky back sheet onto their boards. It looks a bit like Fablon but is tougher and has a rough 'sandy' surface. It's available in all sorts of colours including white and clear and is about 200mm wide and probably 600mm long. I stuck a half sheet on the roof at the top of the ladder and felt much safer.
Now you don't go onto your roof wearing shoes do you? Even the smallest bit of grit caught in the sole will scratch and damage the finish. Bare feet will allow you to feel any sharp stones, plus they grip better than practically any footwear on the market.
Just a couple or three thoughts. Hope you find them useful
John