Getting to running lights on Class C cabover

Grandpa Joe wrote:
Thanks Guys for the advice. Tim's approach looks interesting but if the ladder slips, no place to get a car in to hold the ladder, my wife will have my head!! I guess I can drive 2x3s in the ground to hold it in place.

Wife could hold it... :)

Otherwise, two A-ladders and a 2x6 scaffold.

Tie a piece of rope from bumper/frame to ladder rung.

Thanks Guys for the advice. Tim's approach looks interesting but if the ladder slips, no place to get a car in to hold the ladder, my wife will have my head!! I guess I can drive 2x3s in the ground to hold it in place.

I just go up the OEM ladder, walk up to the front and then get down on all fours and lean over.

Same method to wash and get the bugs off the high side of the cabover.

I climb the rear ladder, crawl on all fours to the front (I never walk upright on the roof - too much weight concentrated in the small spots where you step), and hang over the front edge with by head and arms.

I have had to do the above in a campground and once on the open road .... hence I'd never buy/own a Class C without a built-in ladder for roof access anytime anywhere on short notice!

It depends somewhat on the layout of your unit.

One decent possibility might be to climb on the roof and reach down from the top. This would be annoying if (when?) you drop a screw and have to descend to pick it up.

I can generally get by on mine with a stepladder in front of the bumper, possibly with a foot carefully put on the panel between the hood and the windshield for balance. My cabover bunk does cantilever out quite a fair distance.

Grandpa Joe wrote:
What is the best way to get to the running lights

Not sure of the "best" way, but I safety pinned a towel around a 2 section 10 foot extension ladder and laid it on the front of the cabover.

Then I drove a car over the lower end and just touched the ladder so that the ladder wouldn't slide.

When the ladder was secure, I easily climbed up, cleaned the lenses, and replaced the bulbs.

Tim

If just to check/change the bulb, I've been known to open the hood and stand on the front crossmember - but then I've been known to do other stupid stuff on occasion as well... :)

I have a multi-position ladder that makes into a 4' high, 8' long scaffold of sorts. At 4' high, I have to put legs on a 4" set of blocks to keep from resting on the cab hood. 2 ladders with 2X10 should be fine if you can get the 2X10 at least 4-1/2' or 5' high.

That is exactly what I used,worked out very well.

Just remember don't step back and admire your work :B