Ladder racks

[gtblum]

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Ah, yes! The red flag. Never have understood the point of this.

Especially on a red ladder!

Anyone ever been pulled over for not having one? How would a cop know you didn't have one, if he couldn't see the lumber or ladder to begin with?

Yeah, a buddy got fined $150 for having a plank sticking out over the tailgate. It was a roughcut slab from a portable mill he was running. The slab was worth about $2. []

Loaded logging trucks here have to have a red flag, usually a dirty brown rag jammed into the dirty brown log with a screwdriver.

Well, the good news is, they found out what caused the nonsensical thinking, the reason behind stupid laws like this, and put and end to it. No more cupcakes in school.

[Inspectorjoe]

I had decided to go with the Weatherguard rack (with the trademarked red tips!), but it wasn't available in black. I found what I wanted at Vantech - aluminum painted black. I ordered a set online from the manufacturer last Sunday night. When I came home mid-afternoon Tuesday, the box was on my porch. It was $329 and no shipping charge or sales tax. I'm guessing they're made in the US, in Brooklyn, but where they were made wasn't printed anywhere. It's really good-quality.

The brackets are made to fit a flat roof - which my van doesn't have. Since they are made of aluminum, it was easy to bend them to fit the contour of where they were going. I ended up spending about 8 hours installing it. I could have done it faster, but I spent a LOT of time making sure everything was just right before drilling 8 - 7/16" holes in the roof of my new van.

I bought the high profile model. That has the ladder about 10" above the roof, which allows the liftgate to open nearly all the way. It's a struggle to get the ladder up there and over the side brackets, but it will be easier when I dump the three section fiberglass ladder for a two piece 28' aluminum one. With a two section ladder, the liftgate won't open so far, but I'll still be able to open it enough to get stuff in and out. The rack comes with a stop for the front bar to prevent forward ladder movement and a guide for the rear bar to prevent sideways movement. A Velcro strap secures it. I bought a cable lock for added security from movement and theft.

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[Inspectorjoe]

One final note on this. Since I no longer need to put the three section ladder inside the van, I bought a 28' Fiberglas two section ladder today. It's 15 pounds lighter. That will be helpful lifting it onto the van, but even more helpful when extending it, since that weight won't be way overhead.

Anyway, I paid for it at the Beth-Allen Ladder showroom, then drove a few blocks to their warehouse to pick it up. Two guys were waiting outside with it when I pulled up. I got out as they were walking toward me with it when one of them says very seriously "I can't load this ladder onto this van". I knew immediately what he was getting at - Beth-Allen is a Weather Guard distributor. He was kidding of course. They looked at the Van Tech rack and went ape over it. They said it looked a whole lot better-built than the racks Weather Guard makes for mini vans.

So if anyone is looking for a rack, I heartily endorse Van-Tech.