Ladders

[Skye]

Has anyone ever had a side or back mounted ladder permanently installed on their Ollie?

I find it odd that one is not included with every trailer.

[Mike and Carol]

I don’t think it is odd.  First, you don’t want to be walking around on top of an Oliver.  The structure is strong enough but there isn’t much flat space that isn’t covered with solar panels and utilities.  Second, where would you mount it?  In the back you don’t have much space on either side of the spare tire and window.  If you could, there’s no place to step once you got up there.  Mounting on the side would look plain ugly and would not be able to provide any access to an accessible area.

A lot of owners have a collapsible ladder that can be moved to where you need it without having to stand on the top.  If you haven’t seen an Oliver in person I recommend you do so and you will see that a permanently mounted ladder would not be practical.  Mike

[SeaDawg]

Any functional, useable ladder on the rear would likely block a portion of the rear egress window.

 

[Ramsey]

So what ladder do you all use. And how do you safely lean the ladder against the side of your Ollie so you don't fall and the Ollie remains scratch free?  I've seen alot of pictures of the innards of the A/C or the fan but I'm not sure I'd feel safe working on those without a well thought out plan for how to get up and down.

[John E Davies]

Any good quality telescoping or folding ladder will work, I really like the Werner articulated ones. If you swing the solar panel up and out of the way using extension arms, there is plenty of room to get around. I use a blue corrugated foam Coleman camping pad, cut in half lengthwise, as a kneeling pad, in the hollow between the awning and the upper roof surface... It prevents slips too.

Pad the ladder top with foam or a towel, bungee it to the awning and it won’t slip off and leave you alone up top without your cell phone. 😳

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2791-how-to-solar-panel-extension-arms/

John Davies

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

1 hour ago, John E Davies said:

Pad the ladder top with foam or a towel, bungee it to the awning and it won’t slip off and leave you alone up top without your cell phone.

Yep - pool noodles are your friend.

When I store my ladder in the Oliver closet, I simply store the pool noodles right in there with it.

Bill 

[Geronimo John]

I like the TeleSteps Climbing Latter Type 1, Model 1600E, OSHA Compliant.  They make two models of the 1600 ladder.  One is 250 pound rated, and the other is 300 pound rated.  If you are over 200 pounds dressed, I would get the 300 pound version.  It's about $40 more.  I store it in the front closet on the front facing wall.  It is padded with extra towels that we carry, but rarely use.  The Pool Noodle is a good idea.  It would need to be removeable to adjust for different locations on the trailer and varying ground levels.  For storage putting the noodle on top as a cushion would be logical.  PS:  the  cloths on the rod sort of hold the ladder foreword when traveling.  I have had zero issues with this ladder in the past four seasons covering over 21,000 Oliver trailer miles.

There are cheaper ones out there, but the vast majority are not OSHA rated.  So be sure to compare them well.