Don't Do What I Did!!

[Tom N]

My rear ladder came with an extension ladder that clips to the bottom of the permanently attached section. It's stored in one of my basement compartments on special clips.

If you did not buy your RV new, the previous owner may have kept this detachable section.

-Tom

[PatStab]

I've had some seriously close calls and hurts the last few years but so far at 68 never broken a bone.

We were in Florida in our other motorhome a few years ago and I was going down the step. I mistepped and couldn't hang on to the handhold on the motorhome. I had a rug on the concrete but I fell on my tailbone. I was sitting there for awhile before I could get up. We still had a lot of places we wanted to go but I was in such pain had to rent electric wheelchairs to go. And I was the driver. When I got back to Houston got an xray and had bruised and hurt my tailbone, it took a couple months for it to get better.

Then we were moving last year and I stepped up on the trailer hitch on the back of my truck, slipped and fell off and hit the back of my head on asphalt. It hurt my back more then my head. If my leg had slipped and gotten stuck in the triangle I would have broken something badly. A nice guy stopped, had seen me fall and asked if I was ok. I ended up driving to the ER and got an MRI of my head. I was ok but had a headache and was dizzy for awhile.

Not long after that, we have 3 steps from the house down to the garage, a new different house I wasn't used to. I didn't turn on the garage light and misstepped again and my knee went backwards. I have real bad feet anyway so not as sturdy as I should be walking. It was getting better and wouldn't you know I did it again and this time fell on my hip. It took months for it to get better.

Thank God, I have good strong bones but I have to really be careful with my bad ankles in walking around anymore.

Well wouldn't you know yesterday I'm cutting tile with the table saw and had a small piece I cut off, had adjusted the cutting blade to high so it caught a piece and hit my arm. I never thought anything about it. I'ts called Modutile and it has loops that click it together, it hit my arm and so now I have 4 holes in my arm. I didn't realize it had hurt me till I looked and saw the blood dripping, jeez. They aren't deep or anything so will be fine, but still. So now I'm sawing from the side behind the fence so if it catches anymore won't hit me.

I think I'm an accident waiting to happen, hubby says well be careful. I try!

[BoJango]

It can happen before you know it. I had an eight foot step ladder jack-knife with me.
We had loosened the rain gutter as far as it would support it's weight. I snatched a nail from the 1X2 on the fascia not knowing the 1X2 was only about 16" long. The ladder jack-knifed and I rode the back side of the rain gutter down with my left wrist. I jumped up from the ground and didn't know I was cut until my brother told me I was bleeding. Luckily we were close to the hospital. He rushed me to the ER and they stopped the bleeding. Latter I had the tendon tied back together and the wound stitched up.
I use the attached ladder to get on the top of the motor home. I always try to be careful. Accidents slip up when we aren't expecting them.

[Ray,IN]

Guess I should toss-in my experience yesterday. I was trimming trees on the edges of my fields. I cut this one 6" dia. limb off with my 15' pole saw and it hung, so I cut from another angle. When the limb came loose it missed my head by about a foot, dropping from 20' high. Dodged that OK, but the next one hit my left forearm; it isn't broken, just black from hand to elbow. I discovered then that Plavix + asprin can cause you to bleed through the skin.
So you see Jim, you are not alone, you have 3 pages of company.
OH, my ears are sore too, DW did that.

[rvjimmy]

Glad to hear you are alright. If no one is around does that mean that the language used is not heard or doesn't count. Jim

[CJ7ole]

One more ladder safety lesson: When I was 16 I was on a survey crew working behind our local mall. A painter was working on a ladder, at least 30 feet up, right next to where the main 4800 volt electrical service entered the transformer room on the second level. Just as I mentioned to my crew chief that the painter must have a death wish, I saw him reach over and brush his arm up against the incoming primary. He did a backflip off the aluminum ladder and ended up with his chin on top of the concrete curb. Only time I actually saw someone get killed. That has stuck with me for 50 years.

[bdpreece]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Guess I should toss-in my experience yesterday. I was trimming trees on the edges of my fields. I cut this one 6" dia. limb off with my 15' pole saw and it hung, so I cut from another angle. When the limb came loose it missed my head by about a foot, dropping from 20' high. Dodged that OK, but the next one hit my left forearm; it isn't broken, just black from hand to elbow. I discovered then that Plavix + asprin can cause you to bleed through the skin.
So you see Jim, you are not alone, you have 3 pages of company.
OH, my ears are sore too, DW did that.

Consider yourself very lucky. It has been several years now but one of our sons teachers son was killed when trimming a tree and the branch swung down and hit him in the temple.

[Enokie]

Sorry to hear of all these mishaps, it certainly is dangerous to be on a ladder but you don't realize how much untill you take a tumble. I am glad you are all all right .



I am wondering if the rubber hose / foam or some similar tubing, or wrapping sandpaper around the rungs of the ladder (s) would help with 'slippage!!'

I am going to put rubber hose like used on winter wiring if I can find some big enough.

Hopefully it will help.

[OrngTrillium]

It's even more embarrassing if your young and trip on the stairs landing on your collarbone and sliding down a flight. Not that I've done that. Not like you go horse and short winded or anything. Why would builders adjust the depth of the thread after the landing?