Rope Ladder

[atron]

Ok I'm trying to make a rope ladder to be used for various UE trips and caves. I would like it to be about 15-20' long Im having trouble coming up with what I should use for rungs, or even maybe not using rungs and making the rope into rungs. If anyone knows how to do this or has some suggestions on a light rung material, or has any experience at all with rope ladders. Post your info, thanks!

[Kit]

http://www.seascouts.ca/documents/ladder.pdf

[Sertile]

Not to sound like a cheater, but is it possible to just buy a rope ladder? I know a lot of the playground/treehouse-type kids stuff they sell at home improvement stores has rope ladders, so it seems like they should be available just by themselves in some shape or form. I can see how it might be more fun to make one, though.

[White Rabbit]

Not to sound like a cheater, but is it possible to just buy a rope ladder? I know a lot of the playground/treehouse-type kids stuff they sell at home improvement stores has rope ladders, so it seems like they should be available just by themselves in some shape or form. I can see how it might be more fun to make one, though.

One of those kind would be pretty easy to make with few pieces of wood and some rope. I actually should just make a really long one of those and keep it rolled up in my trunk just in case I need it.

[ropingk]

I think you can get that nylon ski rope pretty cheap and if you made it about 50 feet long it would'nt be real bulky and should reach most places

[Kit]

i just dont know if the playground / home improvement places are going to sell a 15-20 foot rope ladder... And if they did it would seem they would charge a lot for it because of the length.

I will look around here later. I really want to go take some pics of a small personal grave yard here in town for you guys before it gets dark

[atron]

I found some emergency escape ladders at Lowes a 13' for 39 bucks but its all steel and bulky, I found a really nice nylon one at ACE that I may get and test out. Thanks for the PDF Ill have to try that too.

[S1L3N7B0B]

Not the cheapest things, but I've always wanted one of these.

Here try this link http://www.professionalequipment.com/xq ... efault.htm

Similar item as before... Sorry bout that.

[tyler]

Your own Home Depot page?

[White Rabbit]

Not the cheapest things, but I've always wanted one of these.

Home Depot Link

Er, yeah, actually... What was that link supposed to point to? It doesn't show what I think you wanted to show. I didn't screw it up either

[White Rabbit]

Okay, I had a brilliant idea about the rope ladder thing today. The ladder I built for the first cave was about 8ft tall. The drop into the other cave is even bigger, maybe like 10-15ft. So, I started wondering how the hell I was going to haul a 10-15ft ladder up to Springfield, much less actually get the damn thing inside the cave. And a rope ladder wasn't a good permanent option, either, because in the wet environment the thing will rot in no time.

Then I got the solution. I went by Lowe's and checked some prices, and I can get cable that will hold over 350 lbs for 58 cents a foot. If I get lots of that, and some cable clamps, I can make a rope ladder out of the cable using metal bars.

I'll try to describe it, because it might be a little hard to visualize. I'm going to take two strands of the cable and run them side by side. Then, I'm going to take some metal bars (or maybe pipe) to make the steps, and thread the cable through the ends of the bars. Then, I'm going to use the cable clamps to hold the bars in place.

After that, you'll have a nice rope ladder made entirely out of non-rotting metal.

Awesome idea, eh? I think I'm going to make a second one just to keep in my car for when I need it.

[Sertile]

Yeah, I can see that. It sounds like it should work, too. About the clamps, though, I'm thinking that if the cable is malleable enough you might just be able to tie it around the steps like they do on those kid's stepladders with the wooden rungs. It might be easier, if it's possible.

[White Rabbit]

Yeah, I can see that. It sounds like it should work, too. About the clamps, though, I'm thinking that if the cable is malleable enough you might just be able to tie it around the steps like they do on those kid's stepladders with the wooden rungs. It might be easier, if it's possible.

Some of the thinner cable is bendy enough to do that, but most of it's only rated for about 150 lbs. In reality, it'd probably hold a lot more weight than that, especially with two strands of it. But, if I'm going to leave it in the cave to stand the test of time, I'll probably just go with the thicker stuff just in case.

[Kit]

The only thing i think of with this is ... when wet it would be pretty slippery you might want to think about something on the metal rungs to give it grip..

of course i say this because just thinking about climbing that makes my hands clammy lol

[White Rabbit]

The only thing i think of with this is ... when wet it would be pretty slippery you might want to think about something on the metal rungs to give it grip..

of course i say this because just thinking about climbing that makes my hands clammy lol

That'd be pretty easy, I think. You could get some of that non-skid stuff for bathtubs.