How should you transport your ladder?

Lifting and moving the ladder

Transporting ladders begins of course with lifting and moving the ladder correctly. First of all, it is best to know beforehand where you are moving the ladder to. Check the route that you need to take. The ladder does not always fit through every doorway, hallway or room. Next, it is very important that you lift the ladder in the centre, behind the centre of gravity. This prevents the ladder from falling forwards or backwards while lifting. The front of a ladder can stick maximum 2.5 metres above the ground, which gives you the best view.

If the ladder weighs more than 25 kilograms, lift it with two people. Each person grasps an end and make sure you are both holding the ladder on the same side of your body.

The best way to transport your ladder

To safely transport a ladder on the roof of your passenger car or commercial vehicle, you will first of all need roof racks. If you want, you can secure your equipment to the roof racks with lashing straps. This is a good way of tightly securing your load. You can get good lashing straps for just a few euros.

Another option is the SafeClamp. The SafeClamp is suitable for practically all Altrex ladders (maximum width 439 millimetres) and can be used on roof racks with cross bars that are maximum fifty millimetres high and sixty millimetres wide. Because you secure your ladder with SafeClamp in one move, you are done five times sooner than when you use lashing straps.

Transporting on a vehicle roof is not the only solution. A trailer can also be a good solution. If you don’t have a trailer or roof racks or if you prefer not to transport a ladder on your vehicle roof, then choose the Altrex telescopic or folding ladder. A telescopic ladder can be completely extended and retracted and therefore takes up less space. A folding ladder also takes up far less space than most ladders when it is completely folded. Thanks to the compact format, you can easily place all your equipment in a van or trunk.

What you should look out for when transporting your ladder

First of all, it is good to know that a ladder is an indivisible cargo. This means that you cannot divide the ladder into two or more cargos without excessive costs or risks of damage. Several rules apply to indivisible cargos with regards to how much they may protrude from a trailer or the roof of a vehicle. The rules with regard to cargos on the roof of a car can also be divided into rules regarding passenger cars/commercial vehicles up to 3,500 kilograms and passenger cars/commercial vehicles heavier than 3,500 kilograms.

Rules for passenger cars/commercial vehicles up to 3,500 kilograms:

• The cargo can protrude up to one metre on the front and back of the car.
• The cargo does not need a sign.

Rules for passenger cars/ commercial vehicles heavier than 3,500 kilograms:

• To the back, the cargo can protrude no more than half the length of the vehicle and maximum five metres from the centre of the rear axle.
• The cargo must have a sign if the cargo protrudes more than one metre to the back.
• To the front, the cargo can protrude no more than 4.3 metres from the centre of the front axle.
• A cargo protruding to the front does not need a sign.

Rules for transportation in trailers:

• The cargo may not protrude to the front of the trailer.
• To the back, the cargo can protrude no more than half the length of the vehicle and maximum five metres from the centre of the rear axle.
• The cargo must have a sign if the cargo protrudes more than one metre to the back.