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Ladder levellers

4K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  rrolleston 
#1 ·
Are the Werner ladder levellers any good anyone use them with good results?

I just picked up a 32' ladder because it seems that so many services are way too high for my 24' ladder and I have found myself having the POCO put the last couple straps on the conduit a few times. I was looking at levellers and wondered if they are any good.
 
#2 ·
Oh yeah. I've had them on all my extension ladders for years. Don't know how I ever got along without them.
 
#4 ·
I've never seen an osha approved ladder leveler. We had a big debate on this topic at our shop.
And the safety guys conclusion was if it wasn't an osha approved product we would not be using them. Doesn't matter if they solve a problem. Just be cautious if your shop falls under osha's strangle hold.
 
#5 ·
I've never seen an osha approved ladder leveler. We had a big debate on this topic at our shop.
And the safety guys conclusion was if it wasn't an osha approved product we would not be using them. Doesn't matter if they solve a problem. Just be cautious if your shop falls under osha's strangle hold.
So what's his solution then? Don't do the job? Stuff 2x4's under the feet?

This is the problem with most safety guys I've ever met. No common sense or critical thinking skills. I have no idea if levelers are "OSHA approved" but I do know they are safer than the alternative methods that I've used and seen in the past.
 
#12 ·
The Werner levelers are the best ones. They have a rod linkage that goes through the hollow of the bottom rung to make the levelers work opposite of one another. You pick the ladder straight up and sit it down and each leg automatically accommodates the terrain and locks out. I got mine about a week after I started to see them featured on the power company's extension ladders. That was years ago.
 
#14 ·
They sell 'em at Lowe's.

You'll need some guts, though. You need to cut the bottom 6" or so off your ladder to install them. They come with the template and instructions. They essentially replace the feet and some of the side rail of the ladder.
 
#15 ·
Rooting through some of my old pics, I was trying to find an image of the Werner automatic ladder levelers in use. This was the best one I found.

 
#16 ·
I had to access a small chandelier in a foyeur of a house. I needed to set up a ladder on the stairs. Thankfully my brother in law who owns a roofing company was slow that day. He brought his ladder leveler. Worked out awesome. This particular one wasn't the easiest to adjust tho. It didnt look like the one in pic.
 
#17 ·
My research shows that Werner makes two. The one Marc posted that is automatic but requires your ladder to be cut. And a second one that is manual but doesn't require you to cut the ladder. You just bolt a rail onto the sides of both legs and put an extension leg on whatever side is short.
 
#18 · (Edited)
You want the automatic one. :thumbsup: You end up looking like a dork trying to hold the ladder level with one arm and manually adjusting a leg with the other arm if you have the manual one. I'm not even sure it's possible to manually do them yourself in all cases. Get the automatic and your ladder will always be level without any effort.
 
#22 ·
Are the Werner ladder levellers any good anyone use them with good results?

I just picked up a 32' ladder because it seems that so many services are way too high for my 24' ladder and I have found myself having the POCO put the last couple straps on the conduit a few times. I was looking at levellers and wondered if they are any good.
I'm okay with that. A 32' ladder would scare the living $hit out of me :) .
 
#23 ·
I have barely enough strength to set up a 32 foot extension ladder myself. I'm not especially worried about working off one. I'm worried about killing myself trying to erect it.
 
#24 ·
I wish I could have the PoCo do that, but unfortunately they don't come around for months or years. We've got to tie all our service changes in. But luckily, I've been able to do all of mine from my 20' ladder. A few jobs I had to set the ladder up in the bed of my truck for an extra 2', but I was comfortable with it since I see nothing unsafe about that.
 
#25 ·
MDShunk said:
They sell 'em at Lowe's. You'll need some guts, though. You need to cut the bottom 6" or so off your ladder to install them. They come with the template and instructions. They essentially replace the feet and some of the side rail of the ladder.
i don't know that I like the idea of cutting the ladder. I could Definetly see an OSHA violation there and I took the OSHA 30. Pretty much if it's not factory installed and tested its non compliance according to OSHA. Although I do agree it's better then some 2 x 4's and plywood or rocks to solve the problem. Our safety guy told us if it was on dirt to dig it level. On concrete, we never got an answer on that.
 
#26 ·
It'll be okay. I teach/taught the OSHA30 at a local community college, and most of what they have to say on ladders is adoption by reference. These are in compliance if they are installed on a Werner ladder in accordance with the field instructions.
 
#27 ·
Hack Work said:
I wish I could have the PoCo do that, but unfortunately they don't come around for months or years. We've got to tie all our service changes in. But luckily, I've been able to do all of mine from my 20' ladder. A few jobs I had to set the ladder up in the bed of my truck for an extra 2', but I was comfortable with it since I see nothing unsafe about that.
you must be from Long Island !!! I grew up there and had my own business there. I then moved to deleware. Down here you get a fine if you touch their lines or meter. They are great though. If you call them their normally their in 30 minutes or less. The longest I ever had to wait was 2 hrs.
 
#31 ·
daveEM said:
I tried to flip up a 16 foot step ladder 6 months ago. Told the property manager to call me when his people had the scaffold built. He did and I fixed the lights. I like my 4 foot best. I didn't even really like the scaffold but toughed it out. Gone are the good old days...
I have a 16' al step ladder. Its a monster and its impossible for 1 guy. I can barely get it on/off the van alone.
 
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