40 Ft Ladder..... Lost my Nerve

[RobertN]

This is red, would match your Farmall's, you have expierience on them, and it would reach anywhere on your house

eBay Motors: 1964 Oren 65 foot Ladder Truck Fire Apparatus (item 290166559934 end time Oct-10-07 09:13:56 PDT)

Sheesh Curly,
Man you aint supposed to have anyone holding that rope !!! That rope is supposed to be tied back off to the ladder in case the rung pawls decide to let go, like an added safety feature ! If you want to do what you did with your wife you need to have her foot the ladder with her putting pressure against the lower rungs ! The next thing your gonna tell me is that you put your ladder in your FEL !

 

[TwinWillows]

Heights used to not bother me much at all either.. Now 25' to the top of the barn ridgecap is more than high enough for me. 40' up on a ladder = no way.

 

[scott_vt]

This is red, would match your Farmall's, you have expierience on them, and it would reach anywhere on your house

eBay Motors: 1964 Oren 65 foot Ladder Truck Fire Apparatus (item 290166559934 end time Oct-10-07 09:13:56 PDT)

Mornin Robert,
Ohhhh yeah just what I need !!! If you can convince Kathleen Ill enter a bid !

 

[4sarge]

This is red, would match your Farmall's, you have expierience on them, and it would reach anywhere on your house

eBay Motors: 1964 Oren 65 foot Ladder Truck Fire Apparatus (item 290166559934 end time Oct-10-07 09:13:56 PDT)

We could all pitch in and buy this baby, pass it around when needed and save ladder time

 

[ore540]

This is red, would match your Farmall's, you have expierience on them, and it would reach anywhere on your house

eBay Motors: 1964 Oren 65 foot Ladder Truck Fire Apparatus (item 290166559934 end time Oct-10-07 09:13:56 PDT)

I dunno, these things aren't a cure-all. There's always something a bit too tall.

A story - my dad was a small-town fire chief. When they bought their first aerial ladder truck, it's first demonstration was on the old 6-story hotel in town. Found the ladder to be about 3 feet short of reaching the roof. Dad, since he was the boss, got to be the first up. Said that going up wasn't bad but coming down he had to hang over the parapet and feel for the top rung with his feet. Said he didn't like that so much.

I don't like the top step of a 6' ladder. Maybe it was burned into the family's genetic code after that experience.

 

[Bird]

What's all this talk about 40' ladders? The longest I ever owned was 20', but a time and two I had to use my Dad's 28' aluminum ladder. And anything that's too tall for a 28' ladder is just simply going to remain out of reach.

 

[RobertN]

Or, too soft... A neighboring fire district has a 100' ladder truck. Over the last few years, it has been pulled off the pavement a couple of times, only to have the front end sink to the frame on moist springtime ground. Once they're off the pavement, all bets are off.

would still be fun to have though

I dunno, these things aren't a cure-all. There's always something a bit too tall.

 

[curly]

The next thing your gonna tell me is that you put your ladder in your FEL !

Wow, I don't need a 26ft ladder. Thanks for the tip.

 

[N80]

I hate ladders. I don't like heights but can handle it. Used to climb telephone poles and hook up the occasional tree. Didn't love it, but I could do it. I can do climbing walls, repelling, recreational ropes courses etc and have no fear as long as I'm tied to something. I've cleaned my gutters, about 24" on the back side of the house, but I hate it and I'm scared the whole time. I've given that up.I don't feel secure on a steep roof.

But ladders, for me, are the worst. I never feel secure on a ladder. Even when I was climbing poles and working in the boom truck bucket I hated being on a ladder.

So scotty, I completely understand. It has made me feel a little un-manly at times and a little embarrassed at other times, but I just don't go much higher than 15 feet on a ladder anymore.

It doesn't help that I have two friends who have been injured on ladders. One with a broken elbow who completely recovered, one a much younger fellow with me who fractured his heel and foot in mulitple places and he will have a permanent limp.

 

[LBrown59]

Then I started staining one side every year !

Next year I'd start with vinal siding.