RTT Ladder Padding

[brentbba]

Trip report - pipe insulation was certainly an improvement over bare aluminum. Bare feet, good. Don't even step on lower rung to get something out of sleeping platform and twist while wearing shoes - it'll rip the insulation! Doh! The remaining rungs held up just fine. A little more all purpose duct tape over the one rip and I think it'll be good to go.

All in all - not bad. A pool noodle would probably hold up better since it's a little more dense and mfg for at least some abuse in a pool compared to pipe insulation.

 

[MILLENIUM FALCON]

Tennis racquet over grips. hold up pretty well and are cheap.

 

[Mushin_Noshin]

Pool noodles wont hold up. Hope depot rope wrapped around each rung works great has held up for well over year n a half and multiple trips.

 

[kb7our]

Pool noodles wont hold up. Hope depot rope wrapped around each rung works great has held up for well over year n a half and multiple trips.

Crazy simple and secure (won't move/twist) - I need to try this. What holds the open end in place?

 

[theBostonianX]

Pool noodles wont hold up. Hope depot rope wrapped around each rung works great has held up for well over year n a half and multiple trips.

I like this idea the best. Im going to try it out.

Cheap and effective.

Noodles are great but not as pretty and some rope.

And if youre ever in a pinch to setup a tarp, bamm, youve got rope!

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[Mushin_Noshin]

Yea don't do noodles, the edges on the steps will cut thru them, tried them already. The ends are tucked under the first and last wrap and pulled tight. Then cut any excess and heat end w a lighter and while it's still melted smoosh it down it will melt into the wraps and be locked n place. I think I used one 100 foot thing of rope from home depot. Cost 8 bucks

 

[RMFD1548]

Great suggestion with the rope. I may have to try that on my kayak rack. I did the pipe insulation and it lasted one loading session.

 

[Expedition.Report]

I honestly didn't realize that this was an issue for so many RTT owners, I never experienced this issue myself, but I must say that the rope wrap would probably be the only way I would go to get this sorted out if I was having this issue, the rest would look far too DIY or wouldn't last a weekend!

 

[theBostonianX]

I did the rope wrap this weekend.

Works like a charm.



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[stingray1300]

Well, an update report on the rubber garage-bottom on my RTT ladder rungs: after a month on the road, I can happily say that we will keep the rubber strips on the rungs. While not perfect of course, they proved to be a HUGE improvement. No plans on doing anything further.
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FWIW

The barbell pad is a pretty expensive solution (>$9 for each of 8 rungs? Ouch!) But hey, if it works for ya, then 'awesome'!
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I found something, that while not perfect, sure makes a huge difference as to how the rungs feel. I bought a garage door bottom liner (door sweep) for a 9ft door. Plenty enough to do 7 rungs (14" each). We don't use the top rung anyway. I used 3M all weather adhesive tape on top of each rung, then put a cut piece of the rubber on top, drilled a tiny hole and used the ring-shank nails provided. Each rung is now 1/8" thicker. 5/8" total (the 2 bottom rungs on a telescoping ladder aren't close to each other). So it doesn't change how it stows. But boy does it feel better on the feet!
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The blue tape is just until the 3M tape cures.
View attachment 241832

 

[ColoDisco]

I tried the pipe insulation with Velcro straps, only held up for 2 trips and cut through.

Going the rope route next.

 

[landsharkman]

What about bicycle handle bar tape

 

[brentbba]

My pipe insulation is doing ok after a couple of trips. Small rip in the 2nd from bottom rung that really sees the most use and ripped it tying a shoe! I think some sort of wrap, bicycle, tennis grip tape, etc that's got a little substance to it would work over the pipe insulation to keep it from ripping easily. One bicycle grip tape is cork - it's held up for years on my golf push cart. Downside as I recall is the stuff isn't cheap! Neither is the Tournagrip tape for tennis. Perhaps some sort of surgical gauze?

 

[Mike S]

Can anyone be specific as to the brand model of the tent/ladder that is causing the problem? There are a lot of different RTT ladders and configurations to deal with.

Personally, I keep a pair of slip-ons handy and wear them when entering or exiting the tent. They cushion the soles of my feet, provide a good grip in the ladder rungs, even if wet with dew, and protect my feet when I am on the ground.

 

[concretejungle]

Mike, my ladder with the James Baroud i think is the same kind of ladder the Autohome/Maggiolina tents use. It's a two piece extending ladder.

I thought that all the talk about hurting your feet was rubbish until i camped in mine this summer a lot and got in and out barefooted. It really did hurt like hell.

I don't think the rope trick will work on these types of ladders or else they probably won't have the clearance to slide closed because of the rope. Just a guess.