We have several dozen standard sized trees that are ten years old and just starting to bear.
I've been making do with a household ladder for a while and am thinking of getting an orchard ladder. What sizes are the most practical? I would need a 12' ladder to reach the tops of the trees, and am wondering whether that would be too large to be manageable.
IF you have full size trees, 12' is the min. size you will need. Even then, you will have to top prune the trees regularly to keep them to to size you can pick. Full size can reach 30 ft. if left unpruned. Commerical orchards top prune every year and still use 12 and 14 ft. ladders.
I’ve a ‘home orchard’ with some old standard trees I prune every year. My 8 foot orchard ladder works well, as I’ll simply ‘step into’ the larger trees (climbing some) to reach their top branches, for picking or pruning … or thinning if I’m ambitious… It’s so easy to maneuver under and between the branches, which is where I spend the bulk of my time.
…an 8 and a 12 would be ideal… I just talked a friend into getting a 12 footer, so when I haul over my 8 to help (in some massive trees) working between the two is great – as well as stepping into the trees themselves.
If only getting one, I’d consider where you’re going to be spending the most time… I likely spend 75% of the time on my 8 …I’ve also got a wooden 16 footer that’s rarely used. For overall ease of maneuverability you might consider an 8; if your trees are maxed at 12 foot, and your near 6 feet tall, you’d be there! …or just grab the one you’ve been using for the hardest to reach areas. Or, prune your trees shorter 
" title="Wink" />
“Do you see a problem with cutting it down to an 8 footer? I have never heard of anyone doing that†-- My (super-heavy) wooden orchard ladder has some ‘custom’ metal brackets attached to the bottom rung – as well (just looked) as a continuous ‘strip’ of galvanized metal running the length of the first, or bottom - or ‘longest step.’
There’s also a frame work in-between, going up, with ‘the same’ kind (no wonder it’s so heavy!) of continuous metal rung support… Looks complicated, and well designed … I wouldn’t mess with it... Just keep your eye on Craig’s List for a 6 or 8 footer… or help out the struggling economy and buy a new one (made in Hood River) " title="Wink" />
It's sure possible to cut down wooden orchard ladders to shorter sizes, I've got several around our new place that has been done to! Though not always the best way - some of them lost more of their wide tripod base than is good for them!! But if the ladder is in good enough shape that the hardware can be adjusted or removed, then you could probably take off the outermost tripod legs (most of the pile of 16 ladders that came with our place were this way) and move them farther up the ladder after cutting off a few steps - so you'd still have the wider base.
I've been dismantling ladders the last week to salvage pieces to fix other ladders, since many of the tension bolts hadn't been tightened in decades while stored - at least indoors! So many of the bolts were frozen, and some of the wooden parts had rotted.....been combining pieces to make several decent "tight" ladders of different lengths - nice to be able to grab one the size I want for whatever I'm doing:)
There's a post on the Salem OR Craigslist selling 14' & 16' wooden ladders for $25 each, I've been tempted to call since the tallest we have is 14' - but figure with how many ladders we have; I don't need to spend money on yet another one!
Dave
Hi schroberts -
At least you actually have a brand readable on it! None of the 3 types of ladders I've got have anything on them, other than old license plate numbers to identify them:) I kind of doubt that you'll find a company that still made wood orchard ladders, they've been long since replaced with aluminum ones - and finding new hardware for them might be just about impossible nowadays! I was going to check with my one local hardware store that's been in the same place for 100 years or so, and see if they might be able to get them; but didn't need to - turned out that more of the cross rods on my stack of ladders were usable than I thought. So don't need any more hardware to repair the ladders that still have good wood in them. If you can let me know what you're looking for, I might be able to send you used parts; we seem to have about 3 different designs of ladders here - and most are getting taken apart to save reusable parts; lots of the wood has rotted or the metal cross tie rods have rusted solid threads.
Dave
lotus026@yahoo.com
I have all (8) semi dwarf apple trees, 2 peach trees, 3 cherry trees, a plum and 3 pear. With out the 10 ft orchard (tripod) ladder I'd be not reaching the top of most of the trees. And then I am still needing a longer at times. But then I just need to prune so I can reach! I really prefer the tripod (Tallman Brand) aluminum it is the easiest and lightest to set up.
I also have a Little Giant 22M and it is a very stable ladder that is adjustable from 5ft to ~ 9ft. as a 4 leg step ladder, and as a long ladder 22ft. It is the favorite for some people for pruning, but is heavier and yet very stable. You can climb on either side and I've never felt like it was about to fall over. I have had that feeling with the 10 ft tripod, on a slight incline. be careful!
I also use a 6 ft wooden step ladder again because it is light and easy, but not big enough most of the time. But to get under the tree and pick up through, it works great, So does the Little giant cause it can expand up under to reach even higher.
Idyllwild
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
John S
1 Guest(s)