Henchman Ladders for Roof Cleaning. Anyone bought these?

[marchie]

These ladders are advertised in the CAMH Club Magazine this month [with a free pair of gardening gloves, allegedly worth £25, though how these will work with gold plated fingers hasn't been explained ...]. The Ladders are on a tripod base, with all legs adjustable independently to allow for uneven/soft ground in 2 different planes and have a double width inset step at about 5 feet height to form a small platform, allowing the hips/pelvis to rest against the ladder frame top, so that both arms are free to use a brush to clean the motorhome roof safely.

The 8 feet version gives a working height of just over 3 metres/10ft 6ins [based on a 1.8m/6ft tall User], so should just about be high enough for safe working at just below shoulder height for me. I'll need to speak to the company before ordering to confirm that my measurements/assumptions re safe working height etc are correct, but if anyone has bought a set of the Ladders, I'd love to hear your opinion of them before I flex the cretin card again!

Steve

 

[wildebus]

These ladders are advertised in the CAMH Club Magazine this month [with a free pair of gardening gloves, allegedly worth £25, though how these will work with gold plated fingers hasn't been explained ...]. The Ladders are on a tripod base, with all legs adjustable independently to allow for uneven/soft ground in 2 different planes and have a double width inset step at about 5 feet height to form a small platform, allowing the hips/pelvis to rest against the ladder frame top, so that both arms are free to use a brush to clean the motorhome roof safely.

The 8 feet version gives a working height of just over 3 metres/10ft 6ins [based on a 1.8m/6ft tall User], so should just about be high enough for safe working at just below shoulder height for me. I'll need to speak to the company before ordering to confirm that my measurements/assumptions re safe working height etc are correct, but if anyone has bought a set of the Ladders, I'd love to hear your opinion of them before I flex the cretin card again!

Steve

I recommend you get them. And then bring them to Lochore to check for compatibility with Autotrails (I will be happy to take photos whilst you demonstrate )


Have you a link to the ladders? I am intrigued to see how they would work. I am visualising how a free-standing ladder would be a benefit for a roof when there would be tendency to learn into the side when cleaning and then you are on just 2 of the three legs and when no longer leaning you would "bounce back" onto the 3rd foot and get a wobble maybe? Like I said, trying to visualise and could be totally wrong.
I use a telescopic ladder that leans against the side in use so that top is the "third" support. Works fairly well (I don't really like going up ladders so no solution will be 'good' for me ) and I find the biggest problem is middle of the overcab area which is so hard to access due to the bonnet. Would this tripod ladder help with that area at all?

 

[tonybvi]

Bought a Henchman a few years back for cutting our high hedges. Just couldn’t believe how stable it was and I now use it for all sorts of things including getting up to clean the motorhome roof. It really is a good piece of kit and I would recommend it to anybody who needs to work at height. I bought the 8 ft version with all legs adjustable. Not cheap but we’ll worth it in my opinion.

 

[marchie]

I recommend you get them. And then bring them to Lochore to check for compatibility with Autotrails (I will be happy to take photos whilst you demonstrate )


Have you a link to the ladders? I am intrigued to see how they would work. I am visualising how a free-standing ladder would be a benefit for a roof when there would be tendency to learn into the side when cleaning and then you are on just 2 of the three legs and when no longer leaning you would "bounce back" onto the 3rd foot and get a wobble maybe? Like I said, trying to visualise and could be totally wrong.
I use a telescopic ladder that leans against the side in use so that top is the "third" support. Works fairly well (I don't really like going up ladders so no solution will be 'good' for me ) and I find the biggest problem is middle of the overcab area which is so hard to access due to the bonnet. Would this tripod ladder help with that area at all?

Hi David,

The link is Tripod Ladders with adjustable legs. There is a video on the site that 'walks you through' [no pun intended] the design theory and the actual use. There is a photo of someone trimming a large tree sideways on, on the website, so it must be OK as an advertised use of the ladders! There are also photos of the Ladders being used at the base of a slope to a Castle Arch, and also over a small hedge and one leg then being lodged on a stone step to show the soft ground/ uneven terrain in 2 planes.

Being above the roof height with both arms free should help with the roof and overcab area enormously. I'll be using the Leifheitt Window Cleaning Extending Brush, and can just about reach from the [much too small] stepladders. I anticipate that the additional height and reach will result in it taking me longer to set the ladders up than it will take to clean the roof, which is probably not a bad thing; and it will certainly be a damn sight safer! The only drawback [apart from the cost] is that the ladder frame is 8 feet tall, so carrying it to Lochore is impossible! The ladder is made to be stored outside, with appropriate security, so it won't need to hog all the space in the Shed [it is quite bulky at 0.2m protusion because of the splaying design]

We're still mulling over Lochore at present. Another Hospital Appointment Letter arrived over the weekend! The Stroke Workshop doesn't appear to be a predefined Programme, and the various Consultants/Physios et al seem to be adding their 'bit' of the process in a modular fashion, so the question of 'where and when does the process end?' appears to be a closely guarded secret! Perhaps if I tell them that I've been doing the soft shoe shuffle on the top of an 8 feet high ladder, they'll sign me off the Programme, as being either fit or insane [or both]

Steve

 

[marchie]

Bought a Henchman a few years back for cutting our high hedges. Just couldn’t believe how stable it was and I now use it for all sorts of things including getting up to clean the motorhome roof. It really is a good piece of kit and I would recommend it to anybody who needs to work at height. I bought the 8 ft version with all legs adjustable. Not cheap but we’ll worth it in my opinion.

Thanks very much, Tony. Yours is the model I'm looking at! 'Cheap' and 'Ladders' are words best kept miles apart IMO, and at £399 including delivery, I'm content that it's a decent price for a piece of kit to do the job safely. The Roof cleaning will take place at our On Street Parking, alongside the A921, so the more I can reach safely from the pavement, the better!

The adjustable legs will help for the working at the back of the M/Home in the parking space where the road camber makes the current stepladder usage a bit of a gamble against gravity! And I prefer Spike Milligan's Eccles sketch that involves his being told by the Phsics Teacher to jump into the air, and explain why he returned to earth. Eccles reply was, of course, 'Because that's where I live'

Steve

 

[Val54]

I have a set that were bought for gardening as I was banned from using ordinary ladders for tree pruning. I have used them to clean the van roof and confirm they are very stable when setup correctly. I would offer two cautions, the tripod leg means that you can't get very close if set at 90° so you need to set them at an angle which means you need to be careful not to mark the van and they are quite cumbersome to move around because of the very wide base.

 

[runnach]

Any chance of cleaning mine Steve, it’s looks a tad dirty from up here

 

[marchie]

Any chance of cleaning mine Steve, it’s looks a tad dirty from up here
View attachment 66460

Should have gone to Specsavers, Terry! Brunhilde's roof is a wee bitty dirtier than your Arto's, not least because of the road camber causing the road dust and rain to gather at the join where the roof hump begins. Each time I do the 'blind' roof clean by dragging the brush along the top edge between wall and roof, I get rivulets of muddy water everywhere! And I don't have that smart roof access ladder either.I'm just a poor lost wee soul ... And Elaine keeps cursing the person who finds me ...

Steve

 

[marchie]

I have a set that were bought for gardening as I was banned from using ordinary ladders for tree pruning. I have used them to clean the van roof and confirm they are very stable when setup correctly. I would offer two cautions, the tripod leg means that you can't get very close if set at 90° so you need to set them at an angle which means you need to be careful not to mark the van and they are quite cumbersome to move around because of the very wide base.

That's very helpful, Val, thank you. I'll need to be vigilant for the pedestrians who can't walk without guidance from their mobile phones. so that they don't crash into the frame! I'll have to set the ladder a wee way away from the kerb edge anyway [the kerbstones are all shapes and sizes, like crinkle cut chips ...] and I'll need to park Brunhilde an inch or so out from the kerb to avoid marking the bodywork. Trial and error exercise, but not too much of the latter!

Steve

 

[maingate]

I always used a short double extension ladder with a broad base for safety. I used a small piece of old carpet between the MH and ladder and it was very secure to work from. I could even use it resting on the overcab.

 

[HurricaneSmith]

I bought a Henchman tripod ladder a few years ago for my high hedging and also recommend them. I find I can get quite close to the van's roof by angling the legs.

When I purchased mine, the rubber shoes were an extra, but I asked for them to be included at no charge, and they did.

 

[marchie]

UPDATE: Emailed Henchman last night to check dimensions, especially the width of the bottom of the ladder to check pavement access, so that I don't get knocked off by mobile phone cripples and baby buggy pilots. Just about enough access, so order placed today, for delivery Monday 3rd April. Rubber feet included FOC and quoted the CAMH Magazine promo code to get my free set of garden gloves!

Henchman said the 1 adjustable leg model [£60 cheaper than the 3 adjustable leg version] would be OK for the M/Home cleaning; but we may as well pay the extra for the 3 adjustable leg version for Gardening where the rear garden slopes both front to back and from side to side. Last tree trimming resulted in that sinking feeling as the stepladder leaned towards the neighbour's wall, and an undignified exit on my part, plus a collection of expletives that were not suitable for a Sunday afternoon

Steve

 

[wildebus]

.....
Henchman said the 1 adjustable leg model [£60 cheaper than the 3 adjustable leg version] would be OK for the M/Home cleaning; but we may as well pay the extra for the 3 adjustable leg version for Gardening where the rear garden slopes both front to back and from side to side. Last tree trimming resulted in that sinking feeling as the stepladder leaned towards the neighbour's wall, and an undignified exit on my part, plus a collection of expletives that were not suitable for a Sunday afternoon

Steve

Does the new ladder come with a Benny Hill sountrack as well

 

[Val54]

Does the new ladder come with a Benny Hill sountrack as well

You mean the one where Steve leans over on the ladder to get a better view of the sunbathing babe next door ....................

 

[marchie]

Does the new ladder come with a Benny Hill sountrack as well

No, but I do have the bald head for the Benny Hill slapping in those speeded up films ...

Steve

 

[marchie]

You mean the one where Steve leans over on the ladder to get a better view of the sunbathing babe next door ....................

Shhhh! Elaine didn't twig to that, so she was all concerned and compassionate ...

Steve

 

[trevskoda]

Far less difficult to use, two lightweight builders type trestles and a few planks.

 

[marchie]

Far less difficult to use, two lightweight builders type trestles and a few planks.

Too late, Trev! The Ladders have arrived in Edinburgh, so I waiting on the 'Out for Delivery' notification! I'll also need to use the Ladders in the garden where the lawn slopes both front to back and across the slope too, which is why I opted for the 3 adjustable leg model at £60 more than the 1 adjustable leg version

Steve

 

[GMJ]

I've seen those advertised too Steve. Let us know your thoughts on them when you have used them a few times please.

 

[marchie]

I've seen those advertised too Steve. Let us know your thoughts on them when you have used them a few times please.

Will do, Graham. I hope that I will be above the roof, stabel on the mini platform, and using the brush at just below shoulder height, rather than on a rocking stepladder 1 step higher than is really safe and still at about eye level, clinging onto the edge of the roof, and trying to use the brush with one hand with a shelf dusting action instead of a cleaning rub!

Steve