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Best way to secure ladder leaning against a palm while trimming?


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Posted

On really tall palms like my 50' coconut palms, I pay a landscape service to do the trimming.

However on shorter ones like this Chinese fan palm who's top of the trunk may be only 20' tall, and my brick deck is another 2' above it's base, I can set an extension ladder leaning against it to make some cuts of the fronds but mostly it's the fruits/seeds I am trying to remove since it's raining down every day onto the deck.

The top of the extension ladder is just leaning on the palm, with lots of the older leaf bases that I jam the top of the ladder against.  Those are not very secure as some are kind of loose and can shift as I put weight on the ladder or try to reach a frond a bit to the right or left.

Is there some gadget to use to secure the top of the ladder against the trunk better?

IMG_20241209_104602.jpg.45404038e46383ebd9459a5fb6768c92.jpg

IMG_20241209_104507.jpg.28059eecae10bedb8a818871a995bc60.jpg

IMG_20241209_104619.jpg.4f49faa5173ab55261857f0a6c98c25e.jpg

Posted

Ratchet strap around the trunk and ladder to lock it tight in place. I would also use a harness on another strap secured around the trunk for your safety. 

  • Upvote 2
Posted

Fixing a stabilizing bar underneath the ladder so that it can't move to the left or the right?

  • Upvote 1
Posted

I'm with @Fishinsteeg234, I'd use a rachet strap.  Loop around one of the I-beam legs near the top, wrap around the trunk, and rachet to the opposite side I-beam.  Doing it with rope is ok too if you can cinch to make a tight strap...and still be able to untie it!

For shorter palms like that I use a 10' A-frame ladder instead.  I'm more comfortable on the upper steps of an A-frame than on a leaning extension ladder with questionable foot stability.  If you have someone to stand on the bottom of the extension ladder to keep the feet from sliding, that would be a big help!

Posted

I had this problem with my Rhopalostylis palms.  Working at the highest level of a 28 foot extension ladder was dangerous and unsettling.  I used rock climbing equipment to secure the ladder to the palms crownshaft, including a climbers' harness to secure myself to the top rung of the ladder.  I used elastic cord to prevent the fronds from falling prematurely, removing the detached frond and then placing the cord on the next older frond.

Eventually the palms become too tall even for this approach and I had to engage a tree service to remove them.

  • Upvote 1

San Francisco, California

Posted

I have tried rachet straps but the issue is, to tie a rachet strap around the trunk, you need to put the ladder against the trunk, climb up on it, and swing the rachet strap around it to catch on the other side...than rachet it tight right?  The act of doing all that involves a wider range of motion and longer time compared to just climbing up and making the cut.  In addition, sometimes when I rachet it tight, the racheting tightened the ladder up top to the trunk, causing the bottom feet to move, while I was standing high up, it's a bit unnerving.

For this reason I stopped using the straps.  I wonder if there is a way to rachet it while standing on the ground?

Posted
11 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I'm with @Fishinsteeg234, I'd use a rachet strap.  Loop around one of the I-beam legs near the top, wrap around the trunk, and rachet to the opposite side I-beam.  Doing it with rope is ok too if you can cinch to make a tight strap...and still be able to untie it!

For shorter palms like that I use a 10' A-frame ladder instead.  I'm more comfortable on the upper steps of an A-frame than on a leaning extension ladder with questionable foot stability.  If you have someone to stand on the bottom of the extension ladder to keep the feet from sliding, that would be a big help!

That works if the ground is level like my picture.  However that is only on one side, the other three sides I have uneven ground, or other palms/trees in the way, so a step ladder won't work.  But yes in the picture I posted, where the ground is a flat deck, and the palm happens to be leaning forward, a step ladder would work.  However I think 90% of my palms are not in that situation.

Posted

My ladder has adjustable legs for uneven ground and I tie it top and bottom. I really should get a harness!

  • Like 1
Posted

Try this...don't know if it will work but if you can equalise the forces at the top and bottom of the ladder, it should pull hard against the ground and tree.

Tie the strap on the at the top before you put the ladder up, then adjust the lower position till it feels stable. You could then tie another strap around the crown.

 

IMG20241211073419.jpg

  • Like 5
  • Upvote 1

South Arm, Tasmania, Australia - 42° South

Mild oceanic climate, with coastal exposure.

 

Summer: 12°C (53°F) average min, to 21°C (70°F) average daily max. Up to 40°C (104°F max) rarely.

 

Winter: 6°C (43°F) average min, to 13°C (55°F) average daily max. Down to 0°C (32°F) occasionally, some light frost.

Posted

@miamicuse, I  just tested this out as per sketch above, on a ladder against a column on my shed...it worked far better than I'd hoped. Proof of concept - give it a go but be careful please!

  • Like 4

South Arm, Tasmania, Australia - 42° South

Mild oceanic climate, with coastal exposure.

 

Summer: 12°C (53°F) average min, to 21°C (70°F) average daily max. Up to 40°C (104°F max) rarely.

 

Winter: 6°C (43°F) average min, to 13°C (55°F) average daily max. Down to 0°C (32°F) occasionally, some light frost.

Posted
26 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

@miamicuse, I  just tested this out as per sketch above, on a ladder against a column on my shed...it worked far better than I'd hoped. Proof of concept - give it a go but be careful please!

That’s a simple solution but it’s pretty genius.

Posted

Seems to work well with the strap about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the ladder and a similar distance up from the bottom. Good luck!

  • Like 1

South Arm, Tasmania, Australia - 42° South

Mild oceanic climate, with coastal exposure.

 

Summer: 12°C (53°F) average min, to 21°C (70°F) average daily max. Up to 40°C (104°F max) rarely.

 

Winter: 6°C (43°F) average min, to 13°C (55°F) average daily max. Down to 0°C (32°F) occasionally, some light frost.

Posted
4 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Seems to work well with the strap about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the ladder and a similar distance up from the bottom. Good luck!

Going to give it a try, thanks for the suggestion Jonathan!

Posted

Invest in a tripod ladder

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