Another Bighorn ladder mod

[rod_s]

I just finished reinforcing the ladder on my Bighorn and thought I would post some pictures. Having been a professional furniture/cabinet maker for a part of my earlier life my approach to making the split clamps had to be wood. What you see in the photos are split clamps made of red oak spray painted in aluminum color, screws are stainless and the supports are 1/8" X 3/4" X 2' or 4' aluminum.

I placed clamps under each step and also used them to transfer the weight from the vertical tube to the cap. I now feel very comfortable climbing this (no sag at all). It is important that the angle supports attach close to the cap wall and near a horizontal standoff. It would be nice to see clamps like this available in aluminum.

Yes, this rig does need washed and I still need to make supports for the top two steps. Hope this helps someone.

 

[John T Bettencourt]

If it works and makes you feel safe while climbing it that's great. I know I step lightly on mine and put most weight with my arms. It is sad that we have to put up with company cost saving measures.

 

[bsuds]

I had screws rusting out on my ladder so I replaced them all with heavier lag bolts. It's much stronger now but I like the looks of your mod as well. May have to copy that sometime in the future.

 

[MTPockets]

If it works and makes you feel safe while climbing it that's great. I know I step lightly on mine and put most weight with my arms. It is sad that we have to put up with company cost saving measures.

Nice job. Looks like it would do the job well and looks good too. If anyone wants to do similar, split collars are available in a variety of materials, including Aluminum and Stainless - Inch and metric sizes. I don't know the pricing as it's been a lot of years since I handled these, but can be had from an industrial supplier, Motion Industries with 500 stores in every State. Do you think Heartland will ever get the message and do something about these flimsy ladders?