Guide to Loading and Transporting Ladders on Trucks

Guide to Loading and Transporting Ladders on Trucks

Most ladder damage does not happen on the wall. It happens in the truck: rails bouncing on a bare rack, rungs taking the weight of a toolbox, and feet dragging on the deck for a thousand miles. Loading and securing a ladder properly takes an extra minute and it is what keeps a ladder in service for years. Dallas Ladder supplies the covers, racks, and replacement parts DFW crews use.

Support It, Do Not Balance It

A ladder should ride on a rack with support at both ends, and on long ladders, a third support in the middle. Two contact points on a 28 ft extension ladder lets the middle sag and work the rungs loose. If your rack is short, buy the rack that matches your longest ladder rather than letting it overhang unsupported.

Strap it at each support point, not just at one end, and use a strap with a cam buckle rather than rope. A ladder that shifts under braking is a ladder that ends up on the highway, and that is a reportable incident on most commercial job sites.

Protect the Ladder and the Truck

Ladder covers are the cheapest upgrade on a work truck. Our Werner AC19-2 extension ladder covers at $15.99 keep road grit out of the rungs, stop the rails from chafing on the rack, and keep paint, caulk, and grease off the ladder so crews can handle it bare-handed.

Pad the rack contact points too. Bare steel on fiberglass is how you get the chalking and rail damage that ends a ladder's life early. A wrap of rubber or a padded rack section costs almost nothing.

Storage Between Jobs

At the shop, store ladders flat on a rack, supported along their length, out of direct sun. Do not hang a ladder by one end, and do not store anything on top of it. Fiberglass degrades fastest under UV, so a shaded rack pays for itself.

Before the truck rolls, run the pre-use inspection: rails, rungs, spreaders, feet, and hardware. Ladders that ride outside take more abuse than anyone expects, and our extension ladder line and stepladder line cover replacements when one finally comes off the rack for good.

Pickup at 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, delivery across DFW. Call 972-331-1090.