Easy Up, Easy Down Ladder Storage

Easy Up, Easy Down Ladder Storage FARM HOME Miscellaneous 28-4-10 Storing long extension ladders in a garage can be very annoying. If you hang them up overhead, they're difficult to get down. Richard Bergman, Chippewa Falls, Wis., solved the problem by coming up with a pulley and counterweight system that lets him store his 20-ft. extension ladder out of the way above his overhead garage door. The ladder is held up by a counterweight that goes up and down easily. "It's always ready to use, and it's so well balanced I can pull it down with just one finger," says Bergman. The system consists of two pulleys, a rope, and a 5-gal. pail partially filled with sand. The bucket counterweight is actually over in the corner of the garage. A rope runs from the corner to a pulley at the center of the garage, above one end of the ladder. The end of the rope has a hook with a quick-release strap (an old seat belt) attached to it that Bergman can reach from the floor. The other end of the ladder hangs from the rafters on a metal hook. "It's really handy. It works something like a spring-loaded stairway," says Bergman. "Once I unhook the strap from the ladder, the counterweight goes back down and brings the rope up with it so there's never anything in the way. With just the right amount of sand in the pail, the ladder will come down easily and also glide right back up into position for storage," he notes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Bergman, 16201 120th Ave., Chippewa Falls, Wis. 54729 (ph 715 288-6031).

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