A ladder is a tool, right?: Should I keep a ladder outside?

[reader2580]

I have always kept my aluminum extension ladders outside exposed to the four seasons of weather. They have always been just fine. One of my aluminum ladders is broken so I picked up a new fiberglass extension ladder. Is it a good idea to keep a fiberglass ladder outside, or is the UV going to get to it eventually? For the $600 I spent I hope it lasts the rest of my life.

I badly need to clean out my garage, but other projects like re-roofing my house take priority. I would have to spend some time rearranging the garage to store it in the garage.

 

[Axel207]

The time spent in the garage will be well worth it. You know you need to anyway…!
Seriously, friend of mine has fiberglass ladders that live on top of his work van, so badly faded and flaky I’d be scared to use them.

Plus the steel bits (brackets and springs etc.) will be rusty in a few years if outside in the weather.
I’d say get your roof done and use the rainy days to make space in the garage…

 

[reader2580]

It is very hard to clean out my garage on a rainy day because I need to move lots of stuff out on the driveway to make space. We have had maybe ten days of decent weather so far this year since the snow melted and I have been cleaning up my yard instead of the garage. I spent several of those decent evenings replacing the rear brakes on my car.

It sounds like I should store the ladder indoors. One thing did with my aluminum extension ladder was just leave it up all the time while working on my roof last fall. I should probably put the fiberglass ladder away when done with the roof every night, but it is a pain to take it down and put it up every day I work on the roof due to the weight.

 

[Toomanytools?]

A fiberglass ladder should be kept out of the sun.

 

[Stelzer]

I've been a Painting Contractor since 1998, moved into this house in 1999, and have roughly 20-23 ladders on my vans and trailers outside year-round. They don't care. Replace wearable items and inspect the rest. Interior space is precious, so if you don't have an overabundance of it, keep only the ladders you'll use inside in your garage and let the rest play outside.

 

[zktk01]

I work for a phone company fiber glass ladders out on ladder racks all year long they spray them with clear about every 6 months to keep the fiber glass splinters at bay. If you can store inside you won't have to worry about that.

 

[humber2]

My experience is that ladder thieves will go to any lengths if left outside.

 

[reader2580]

My experience is that ladder thieves will go to any lengths if left outside.

My aluminum extension ladders have been sitting outside between my garage and my motorhome for years with no theft. No fence or anything like that. It seems the reason to keep the fiberglass ladder inside is to prevent UV damage.

I am worried about damage to the ladder from being outside, not any possible theft.

 

[LWB]

Do you have a shady area?

 

[Toomanytools?]

Do you have a shady area?

The whole neighborhood is shady....

 

[mike93lx]

My experience is that ladder thieves will go to any lengths if left outside.

Not everyone lives in a place where all your stuff has legs.



My aluminum ladder stays outside, tucked behind a shed, but that's really a matter of size and storage space. All of my fiberglass ladders, any ladder that ever goes inside my house, and my bakers scaffold are indoors. In an unlocked shed and a garage that's unlocked most of the time

 

[ItsNemo]

This is simple, do you need to? No. Is it better? Yes.

The number of people who store more junk in their garage and leave good things outside to rot boggles my mind.

 

[cowboy73]

Fiberglass ladders should be stored out of the sun to prevent UV damage. UV light breaks down the resin that makes up the fiberglass.

 

[decableguy2000]

All the ladders at work are fiber glass and live on trucks. We have an outside company come in once a year inspect, replace ropes, pads, feet, etc, and they spray them with a clear coat.

 

[demarpaint]

I've been a Painting Contractor since 1998, moved into this house in 1999, and have roughly 20-23 ladders on my vans and trailers outside year-round. They don't care. Replace wearable items and inspect the rest. Interior space is precious, so if you don't have an overabundance of it, keep only the ladders you'll use inside in your garage and let the rest play outside.

I agree, been doing it since 1978. I have a ladder rack which I store them on outside to keep them off the ground, and chain them together.

 

[Jmellc]

I work for a phone company fiber glass ladders out on ladder racks all year long they spray them with clear about every 6 months to keep the fiber glass splinters at bay. If you can store inside you won't have to worry about that.

Someone told me about doing that. Went to work next day & suggested we do it. The safety officer started babbling that we’d have to get a statement from the manufacturer that it was safe for the ladder. I reminded her we had the company name painted on them & asked if she had verified the paint. She glared at me & wouldn't speak to me for a week.

 

[housewolf]

I have always kept my aluminum extension ladders outside exposed to the four seasons of weather. They have always been just fine. One of my aluminum ladders is broken so I picked up a new fiberglass extension ladder. Is it a good idea to keep a fiberglass ladder outside, or is the UV going to get to it eventually? For the $600 I spent I hope it lasts the rest of my life.

I badly need to clean out my garage, but other projects like re-roofing my house take priority. I would have to spend some time rearranging the garage to store it in the garage.

If I had a nice ladder like that I might sleep with it. Seriously, I need to upgrade that old widowmaker I have

 

[reader2580]

This is simple, do you need to? No. Is it better? Yes.

The number of people who store more junk in their garage and leave good things outside to rot boggles my mind.

I have lots of stuff in my garage. The majority of stuff in my garage would be destroyed if it was outside in the weather. My aluminum extension ladders aren't being hurt by being outside in the rain. It won't hurt the fiberglass ladder to be outside for a week or two until I can make room for it in the garage.

I already have a mental list of what is going into the garbage in my garage.

 

[MR2FC]

Security-wise, it's not just about losing the ladder, it's also about the ladder being used for nefarious tasks!

So if it has to be outside, it needs locking to something solid

 

[Kevin J.]

Not many areas are truly safe from theft. I only leave range markers outside all year.

 

[mike93lx]

Not many areas are truly safe from theft. I only leave range markers outside all year.

Does that work well? I find it easier to keep range cards with holdovers for each likely rifle by all the 2nd floor windows. Knowing to hold 2 mil low with the 300 win mag to the white oak makes it simpler

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

Some people choose to keep their refrigerator on the porch. Guess it all depends on where you live and the size of the meth head and scrapper population.

 

[lardy1]

Some good (if conflicting) answers here. I contracted for years and have years of observing this in my experience. I know this to be true. My fiberglass ladders have always been kept inside. Some of them are 30 years old and the glass is in good shape. Others I know that kept them outside were in terrible shape. The glass begins to splinter, feather and ultimately disintegrate after just a few years.

The main culprit is sun. If you can even keep it under a tarp it will be much better than exposed to the light. My nephew gave me a fiberglass 12 ft. stepladder that his company retired because it basically spent five or six years outside on the roof of a van. I painted the glass and use it sparingly.

 

[Copymutt]

If u have a large exterior wall either on the north side, add hangers to hold the ladder horizontally. If on a sunny side do same & consider tarping it.

 

[cgrutt]

Agree with others inside would be best but wrap it with a tarp and bungies if you are worried about UV. I wouldn't be concerned about leaving exposed for a few days/weeks while doing your roof. I keep my fiberglass ladders in the shed.

 

[kaymccampbell]

My aluminum extension ladder lives, mostly sheltered, hanging on the back of the woodshed. Its original home was on top of the woodshed. It looks like new. My fiberglass ladders spend their down time on the wall in the milkhouse. The months of their lives they spent outside, on the job, has weathered them significantly. I'll need to try the clearcoat thing. Especially on the attic ladder, which spends its life on the back deck.

 

[lardy1]

If you're going to use a clear coat on fiberglass, I strongly suggest some compatibility research. Solvent based may break down the glass faster than the UV rays.

 

[MongoTA]

Fiberglass, it can be outside without worry if you protect it from UV exposure. Mine had always been outside, but out of the sun. I replaced the pulley and pull rope on mine maybe 4 or 5 years ago, I think I bought the 36' extension back in '95 or '96.
I was interweb shopping for a 40' aluminum Louisville this morning.