OK, maybe I’m not so perfect… I was preparing to load up before out last trip (A weekend in Oscoda MI) and as usual I back up to the carport so we can load clothes and food. Now, I have backed up to this carport many, many times before. I suppose some little gnomes could have moved the carport a couple of feet to the east and it’s really not my fault at all.
Anyways, as you can see the ladder met the eve of the carport and I have to say the ladder was quite impressed. (OK, bad joke) The stand offs, treads and fiberglass were fine, just the vertical pipes were injured.
I emailed NL and got a price for a new ladder and another price for just the upright pipes, $150 plus shipping from Canada to Michigan was the lowest option. I also looked into generic ladders but didn’t like what I found.
So I decided to make my own, I already had a flat metal bender and just needed the proper dies to bend pipe. (I just love a reason to buy more tools.)
With a little bit of straightening I was able to use one of the bent pipes for a template.
I got the new dies and some Aluminum stock, bent the pipe and just have to cut everything to the correct lengths.
To drill the holes for the treads I mounted the pipes to the camper and cut a block of plywood the correct size to use as a spacer and held it in place with spring clamps, set a tread on top of the block and drilled the holes, moved the spacer up and drilled the next set...
After removing the ladder and disassembling everything I took it to be powder coated.
Got the painted pipes back, reassembled and installed, just like new again for a fraction of the cost (not counting the dies) but if this ever happens again, I’m ready to go.
I did exactly that with my first camper. I now have a metal stop on the concrete that will not allow me to back up far enough to hit the roof overhang.
Nice repair.
Dale
Dale Cavin, Marianna, FL
1997 Ford F-350 crewcab dually, 7.3L Power Stroke Turbo diesel.
Torklift tiedowns and SuperHitch.
2004 Lance 1121..... Just gettin' started ....
Hey Spott now the key question. What have you designed to prevent that from happening again? Sure nice to see workmanship like that. Remember in the old days you could put "feelers" on your fenders to locate the curb? I'm always nervous of overpasses. I had a near miss many years ago with the three kids sleeping above the Model C cab. Didn't hit, I stopped in time (it was at night) and got out to look. I would have sheared the top bunk off if I had continued at 50 mph. So now I think about that all the time in our Lance. Nice job, maybe you should take orders!
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Nice work Spott!! One of those darn gnomes ripped my awning a few weeks ago. Luckily it was in a spot that it was easy to repair.
