Outside Ladder.

mslater

Well-known member
since reading these complaints i have walked around the rv park I'm staying in this winter in fl. …. i have observed every Heartland product (i would guess at least 25 )here has bent stanchions and many have broken parts, except mine because i refuse to use it except for drying towels on it …. the atwood rep that says only a few complaints vs. the number in service clearly hasn't heard from all the people that have a problem and just live with it ….. wake up …they make a good real ladder carrier or clothes drying mount . thats it
 
Sorry to say, it may just take a serious injury before heartland is forced to take action. When i called customer service on a related issue, i was told there is no safety problem with their ladders! I will continue to update on my progress with fixing heartlands problems concerning safety issues!
 
The new ladder on the cyclone 2013 models is an upgrade to the unstable, and unsafe ladder previously installed on earley rigs. I will post photo's soon, to show the upgrade. The jury is still out on the new ladder, it looks better, but as you know field testing is the best way to determine long term safety and durability!
 

Ellie

Member
I refuse to allow my husband (260 pounds) to climb the rickety ladder on our Bighorn. My terror of heights was overcome by my desire to NOT be a widow, and I do the climbing when necessary. We use our 3670 as a cabin during the summer, therefore I have access to a six foot stepladder in our shed that I set very carefully next to the "scary ladder" and from that ladder I gingerly hoist my 115 pounds onto each step of the trailer ladder. I can see it flexing and hear it creaking as I go up the rungs, but I am assuming it will hold. Maybe not? I check the hardware regularly and have not seen evidence of stripped or absent screws, so I agree with all of the above who state it is an under-engineered design and an accident waiting to happen. Heartland, are you listening? By the way, I am always very grateful for the community of owners on this forum who have helped me so much with maintaining and enjoying our beloved "Moose".
 
Check out the cyclone 2013 updated ladder design, looks like a good retro-fit on many heartland models. Any thoughts on this.......
 

sengli

Well-known member
Stopped by a local RV dealer the other day, and was looking at SOB. One of the first things the sales guy asked was if I wanted to climb up the ladder and see how the roof was built. The ladder on this SOB was the same scarey setup my big horn has. They also had a new big horn on the the lot unsold, and the ladder was ripped clear of the unit. Apparently they asked if another customer wanted to check out the roof on it. At 240lbs, there is no way I would trust the OEM ladder to hold me. It flexes just when I grab it. On my big horn it looks as if it is just screwed into the rear fiberglass cap. Like one of the previous posters said, these ladders are just decorative. How in the world do other people trust them to point where they hang bikes on them going down the road?
 
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