Carrying a Ladder

Its a 4 section extendable ladder folds to 1.2mtrs and extends to 3.4mtrs. I use it to get up and clean the solar panel, check the air con drain holes for wasp nests, check the pop top and gas struts etc.

Hi Des,
The ladder is as per above follow up. I was carrying a two step folding one which fitted nicely on the draw bar behind the gas bottles. But bought a bigger one while on the road due to having to replace gas struts, bugger around with a stuffed air con and clean the solar panel etc.

Cheers

Very nice Gone Bush, wish I had seen that one earlier. Who stocks them?

cheers

GB

Yes me too, where did you get that, with my hip I need something to get up on the troopy.

Richard

I got it from this place in Melbourne:

http://www.txp.com.au/shop/home.php

I actually rang them to confirm the price and it ended up being cheaper over the phone than on their website. They gave it to me, without any prompting, for $200 including postage.

I have seen one on another website but this had better specs and was cheaper. It arrived last week and is a beauty.

cheers,

Hi Gone Bush - Was is the load capacity? Most standard step ladders are for up to 100 kgs only - no good for the big boy. I have seen telescopic ladders advertised before but i think different to yours - probably cheap stuff on one of those on line imported goods vendors.

Motherhen

150kgs MH.

When we get to say hello you'll understand why I went for that one.

Thanks Gone Bush, I'll check them out

Cheers
SCFA

Same when you see the Old Rooster or my sons GB. I'm the runt of the chicken litter.

Mh

Just to confirm, this is an actual photo of the one I got from TXP.

Image Could Not Be Found

Extends to 3.2 metres and copes with 150kgs.

How much does it weigh mate? I've seen one at Bunnings but it weighs many, many kilos.
Mark

Mark, from the link 10.3 kgs. How doesthat compare?

"Utilizing innovative ‘Telescopic’ technology and a smart automatic locking mechanism, TXP’s Telescopic Ladder Range are lightweight, compact and strong. All TXP Telescopic Ladders feature the "SURE LOCK" sytem which prevents the ladder from contracting while in use. From the contracted position simply pull the rungs to extend your ladder up to 3.2m high; or any height in between!

TL320 – 3.2m VERTICAL Extended height = 320cm’s Contracted height = 71cm’s Width = 52cm’s Max Load = 150kg’s Weight (approx) = 10.3Kgs Colour = RED European Standard EN-131 "

MH, not sure, will have to check at Bunnings. Pretty sure the Bunnings ladder is the same as the one in Gone Bush's photo. My guess is that it is perhaps closer to 15Kgs, but I'll check.
Been looking for some time for a 'lightweight' ladder so I can clean solar panels etc. I've seen one half of an extension ladder, shortened, mounted across the back of a van that looked just the trick. Been looking for one, without going to the expense of buying a new ladder, just to break it up!
Mark

How often do you want to clean your panels or access the roof Mark? We had to replace our solar panels when in the Kimberley last year and borrowing a long and sturdy tradesman type ladder for a couple of weeks was easily accomplished. It is a long way up to the roof on our van. We like to be independent for tools and parts in case of a breakdown, but accessing the roof is usually not critical.

Mh

You are right MH, we could probably do the same, ie. borrow one. Its just that our solar capacity is just sufficient for our needs. A ladder to keep the panels at peak is cheaper than additional panel(s) ;-) .
Will most probably go for another panel when our Super comes up for a breath.
We are looking at a gennie but are loath to use unless we are really stuck.
Mark

Mark, our panels shake off as much dust as they collect, so really keep themselves pretty clean. An occasional shower of rain does the rest.

Until we went to the Kimberley last year, we didn't know that the little bit our panels were putting in was low as it was all we had ever known, and even in Tasmania it kept up to our needs. We were in fact operating on around half a panel. Kyocera Solar replaced all four under warranty. They did have a faulty batch, and of course Murphy deemed we'd have them. What panels do you have and how many batteries?

Mh

MH, we've found that the dust does get shaken off as you say, but even a heavy dew sticks the dust like glue. Even thought about using something like Mr. Sheen to improve 'shedding', might not be as silly as it sounds!

We have 2 X 85W panels (Suntech) on the van, a fold-up 80W (Kyocera) and 2 X 100AH Fullriver Gels in the van.
We also have a 130W (kyocera) mounted on the Patrol roof dedicated to charging a 120AH auxiliary battery which runs our Waeco in freezer mode. All works very well, generally batts. full by lunchtime, but don't want too many cloudy days at all, and sometimes you can't find a good spot in the open to camp.

Thanks for your interest MH, we'll get it sorted somehow.
Mark

Mark, is there any way you can swap the panels - or even plug the car 130 w into the caravan system when stopped. The 130 w must be overkill for one battery. We have used 80 w for the vehicle, and we have now added a second 100 ah battery to try it. You could then probably charge three batteries in the caravan and be better equipped to last a couple of dull days.

We do carry a genny for the air con and emergencies power tools, and last year for the first time needed it to charge the batteries when the solar panels let us down.

Mh

Mh, I hear what you are saying. What I have done is set the system up so that I can 'network' all of the panels, including the foldup, to feed the van batteries, alternatively we can feed the tug freezer from the van system while the 130W gets on with charging the DC battery.
Interconnection 'in' and 'out' of the van is via Anderson plugs secured behind those dinky little lock-up doors once used to access the water tank fillers. Used this setup for 6 weeks to Birdsville last year, worked well. Bright sunny skies every day though, so no real test of the 'margins'.

Mark

Sounds an ideal system Mark. What was the lowest your batteries got down to? Do you need a lot of power?

We tried to run two Engels, one as a freezer, from the 80 w panel and the one 100 ah battery. We had clouds and rain chasing us all over the countryside, and the experiment failed. Next time i will keep the smaller Engel under the caravan bed as a freezer. With the new 4 x 130 w panels, we have changed over to four 110 ah Full Rivers. The van is parked, and i have the built in 150 litre fridge running on low and nothing else going (we have mostly LED lights now and they use next to nothing). Batteries go onto float early in the monring, and even on dull and wet days, they are full.

Apologies to FCFA for hijacking the thread away from ladders.

Mh

ROTFLMAO

Needed a good laugh

Cheers

Yes same here.. ordered mine last week... Troopy and van.