Export thread

how much 'cushion' weight do they give you on aluminum ladders that have .....say a 250#weight rating ? ...say i'm a 230# guy and i'm carrying a load of 30#up the ladder, are the rungs going to fall apart or what

LandN said:

how much 'cushion' weight do they give you on aluminum ladders that have .....say a 250#weight rating ? ...say i'm a 230# guy and i'm carrying a load of 30#up the ladder, are the rungs going to fall apart or what

Click to expand...

Aluminum will bend, not break...I have, numerous times, overloaded a 200# duty ladder by 50 pounds with no problems. IMO the weight ratiings are for CONTINUOUS AND FREQUENT USE which is why commercial duty ladders have a higher weight rating. Some years ago Consumer Reports did a ladder test, they reported that even the lowest grade household ladders that had the 200# rating could sustain a 50% greater load, (300 pounds) AS LONG AS THE LOAD WAS PROPERLY DISTRIBUTED. That means using two feet on the rung, evenly spaced, not balancing all your weight on one foot in the center of the one rung. Commercial duty models would likely have far greater than 50% overload capacity.

I never cared much for "household" grade aluminum ladders! :thumbdown: They're just not stable enough to suit me. I went to a commercial grade fiberglass. More expensive, but how much does the emergency room cost? I spent 29 years as a firefighter, so I've spent some time on "quality" ladders. ~~ grnspot

grnspot110 said:

I never cared much for "household" grade aluminum ladders! :thumbdown: They're just not stable enough to suit me. I went to a commercial grade fiberglass. More expensive, but how much does the emergency room cost? I spent 29 years as a firefighter, so I've spent some time on "quality" ladders. ~~ grnspot

Click to expand...

The household ladder I mentioned is rarely used, I just mentioned that as an example. And it is strictly an indoor use ladder. My outdoor stepladders are all fiberglass, Type 2, Type 1, and Type 1A in the highest one (10 feet). Before he retired, my dad worked for the state occupational safety division here in Michigan. He had a favorite saying:

"A cheap ladder can be the most expensive tool you will ever own"

BTW, I doubt if ladders fail very often because of just overloading...I am willing to bet most accidents happen because the ladders are damaged and became unsafe and if the user was careless and did something unsafe that caused the accident.

JDgreen said:

"A cheap ladder can be the most expensive tool you will ever own"

BTW, I doubt if ladders fail very often because of just overloading...I am willing to bet most accidents happen because the ladders are damaged and became unsafe and if the user was careless and did something unsafe that caused the accident.

Click to expand...

Both statements are very true!:thumbsup:

LandN said:

how much 'cushion' weight do they give you on aluminum ladders that have .....say a 250#weight rating ? ...say i'm a 230# guy and i'm carrying a load of 30#up the ladder, are the rungs going to fall apart or what

Click to expand...

You will have a lot of margin... BUT the first chance you get to up grade ladders, do as grnspot110 suggests: Get a good grade fiberglass... I'm a big fan of electricity... and fiberglass is always happier around electricity, regardless of what you are doing on it. :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

You will have a lot of margin... BUT the first chance you get to up grade ladders, do as grnspot110 suggests: Get a good grade fiberglass... I'm a big fan of electricity... and fiberglass is always happier around electricity, regardless of what you are doing on it. :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

All my stepladders are wood or fiberglass. I do not like lightweight aluminum stepladders. I do have one 20 foot aluminum extension ladder, it gets used maybe 4 times a year, just wish the fiberglass type were not so costly.