Roof Rack Side Ladder

[MT-PTK]

Mot, Mot, Mot.....

Tempting me so much with the Holidays coming up.

I like the stainless bling look of the ladder. And I'm still running a stock OEM bumper in the back that's in great shape...nice and shiny. But the SROR bumper on the front and the rack on top are black so I might have to consider powder coating it black....but stainless is so, so shiny......

Thank you for posting the pictures. PM coming your way shortly.


William

 

[mot]

William,

Ladders and lights are my weaknesses!

I have a few ladders and I have been meaning to thin the herd a little (A LOT).

So, I'd love it if you took one off of my hands!

 

[sirenmoses]

yes, those pix make it very hard to resist.

maybe if Will buys a full-length ladder I'll have to pick up a shorty, just to keep up w/da bling...

 

[mot]

SM,

William is interested in the shorty and is trying to get the nod from his wife.

I'll let you know if the deal does not materialize, but if it does you can still have either one of the first two.

 

[roalco]

Thought I'd just post what I did for a sidemount. I built my low profile full deck rack a few years ago and found that a ladder, while not always strictly neccessary, is definitely handy. Found this light aluminum job in a scrap yard, made a couple of turned aluminum lugs to fit in any of the side rail cut-outs, and used a piece of 3 inch foam on a 1 inch piece of plastic pipe as an adjustable stand off. It works a treat for me (6', 220lb). I usually locate the stand off roller to fit in the body relief ridge, very solid there. For carrying, it sits on the deck, held on by a side bolt and nut (S/S). Even with the ironman HD suspension I'm still a hair under 6' 6" clearance, nice for undergrounds!

 

[mot]

That's ingenious!

Nice work!!

 

[MT-PTK]

here are a couple pics of mine. hangs on the top of the rear hatch. sort of clamps to the bottom of the rear hatch. (needs to be powdered coated black. not chrome)

only problem i had with mine was I had to take off the hatch to install it. pulled the roof liner at the rear to get to the bolts holding the hinges on. too tight of a fit. and it is tapered, so it only goes in a specific place along the hatch. too far to one way or the other, it rubs when it is opened.

makes a great handle for opening and closing. if not used as a handle, it makes a great head whacker!

slow boat shipping takes awhile. but, glad i have it. can't get on the roof without it.

I just got mine from Mot. He is great to deal with, the package was packed exceptionally well, and it arrived in only in about two days from Japan.

Question:

Like yours, I found out that the gap is too tight to mount it with the door attached. I wonder if I can just undo the hinge bolts at the door instead of pulling the liner and doing it from that side? Any reason not to do it this way?

William

 

[mot]

William,

Just received and replied to your PM.
Again, very sorry that there appears to be fitment issues with the ladder!

I hope jfnall might have a tip for you that would make the ladder fit properly!

If not, as I've said in my PM, I'll take care of you!

 

[jfnall]

i repositioned it 2 times. the first time, i took off the 2 bolts visible on the hinge. This is a 2 man job!!

on a suggestion from 2mbb, i tried to lower the entire hinge as to how it mounts on the body. the only way to do this is the 3 bolts that come from the inside. not that big a deal getting the headliner so that you can access it.

i was able to move the hinge down just slightly on the body, had to do both sides. you will just loosen them and try to lower it. do have to take it off.

this is also a 2 man job. if you take off the shocks, this thing weighs a million lbs! gets alittle wobbly with the shocks on, but with some extra arms, you can control it.

once the ladder is on, then i re-tightened hinge mount screws. it still rubs slightly when opening it, but not near as bad. mine is made to go in a specific position along the slight slope of the top of the rear hatch. you'll just have to play with it and see.

if i want to take the ladder off, i have to go through the same steps to remove it.

i also found the rubber that MOT installed for me to help it not rub actually made it worse, so i removed it where needed.

good luck. pics are good if you need more advice. i have several pics of my install if you need them. PM me.

jeff

 

[mot]

... i also found the rubber that MOT installed for me to help it not rub actually made it worse, so i removed it where needed.

It won't be the first/last time!

Thanks, Jeff, for chiming in! It makes me feel better that there's hope! I don't want those viewing this thread to think that this happens to all of the ladders I sell though, as this is the second time (that I can recall ) that this has happened with any ladder. Both times are on the 60/62, however!

William,

I wish I were there to lend you a hand!

I hope you'll have somebody stronger than your wife/kid(s) to help you out. Unless your wife looks like Nat's.

BEST OF LUCK and please keep us (ME) posted!!

Yours,

Motoomi

 

[Mark W]

I have done a few side ladders. Do a search for Jeff Eastgate's '60, Bruce Millers '60, and Todd K's '62. AKCruiser Owns Bruce's '60 now. Not sure who has Todd's rig. I now have all the steel work off of Jeff's rig, installing it on another '62 in couple of weeks


They can come off in moments if the trail is too tight for them.



Mark...

 

[MT-PTK]

It won't be the first/last time!

Thanks, Jeff, for chiming in! It makes me feel better that there's hope! I don't want those viewing this thread to think that this happens to all of the ladders I sell though, as this is the second time (that I can recall ) that this has happened with any ladder. Both times are on the 60/62, however!

William,

I wish I were there to lend you a hand!

I hope you'll have somebody stronger than your wife/kid(s) to help you out. Unless your wife looks like Nat's.

BEST OF LUCK and please keep us (ME) posted!!

Yours,

Motoomi

No worries Mot. I would buy product from you again in a heart beat.

Just one of those things. It's mainly for my wife for easy access to the rack. I'll let you know when I can wrangle up a partner to help me out.


William

 

[doug720]

I also needed a ladder to access my roof rack. But did not want a permanent mounted ladder, as it is only needed a few times on a trip, and seldom around town.

I made a ladder out of very thin wall aluminum sq tube, it only weighs around 3 lbs and is quite strong. It works great and stows inside out of the way.

I used a nut-sert/riv-nut and a rod with a plastic knob to secure on the side wall. The ladder slides into an aluminum bracket in front near the rear seat.

I think it's a clean and functional design.

Doug

 

[roalco]

Nice to see another removeable unit, I was always worried about fixed ladder liability if you park it and some idiot decides to climb onto your roof and then falls and gets hurt. Some people will sue at the drop of a hat, ie. the coffee at McD's is too hot..... or maybe they just want to get up and dance on your roof (ouch), these aren't the highest critters on the food chain.

 

[doug720]

Roalco,

I agree on the removable ladders.

I have a buddy with two Half's (StyerPuch's) here in LA. Cool little vehicles. He also had a Pinz 6 wheeler. Too bad you sold yours.

Doug

 

[alaska60]

I am also not crazy about the super shiny ladder....
it reminds me of a swim platform ladder on a boat.............USS landcruiser! (insert sound of one prolong blast of a horn from a ship leaving dock!)

 

[MT-PTK]

I am also not crazy about the super shiny ladder....
it reminds me of a swim platform ladder on a boat.............USS landcruiser! (insert sound of one prolong blast of a horn from a ship leaving dock!)

http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/freesounds5/tugboathorn.wav




William


PS: Powder coat black?

 

[jfnall]

doug720 --- what's all the rack system you have inside the rig. more info on this please.

 

[jfnall]

I remember using the hinge mount on the inside, behind the headliner, was less abuse and potential abuse to the weatherstrip seal along the top of the hatch. To get to the two simple bolts on the hatch, u have to move the rubber out of the way slightly, breaking the seal.

 

[doug720]

jfnall,

The racks in my 60 are a storage system, dog barricade at the rear seat and two side sliding window guards for the dogs also.

The main rack is aluminum and holds an ice chest, water jug and misc. with two removable drawers below. I was tired of stuff moving around, wanted more storage, and too give our 3 dogs as much room as possible when traveling. It works well and can be removed with 4 screws in a couple of minutes. All mounts use nut-serts.

The dog barricade is all aluminum and stops just below the rear seat backrest. This allows room to sleep without removal.

The side windows guards are also aluminum with two on each side sliding window. The height was set so our dogs (Vizsla, German Shorthair Pointer and a Jack Russel) can put their heads out between the bars, but they can't jump out.

We do a lot of day trips and fishing from our base camp, so this set up works very well. If camping in the 60, the main rack removes easily and the dog barricade is not in the way.

Doug