Winnebago Aspect - no roof ladder

We have a 2013 Aspect and it did not come with a ladder. Haven't missed it and as far as doing regular checks...we take it to our local RV repair place and Roger always checks it out for us...do it several times a year. Haven't missed it, and cleaning is easy from a regular ladder.
The older we get (60's) the more we don't like climbing on the roof. We are planning a long trip and just had the roof checked and upon returning, will do the same.
If for some reason you feel the need to have one, you can order one or make it part of the deal when purchasing.
We love our Aspect!! Perfect for us....we travel with 3 Labs too and should really be looking at 42' DP's! But we like our size and the pups all have found their spots.
Safe travels.
Andi

pnichols wrote:

Mich F wrote:
My Itasca 31K has a ladder with a 225# weight limit, with a sticker telling you not to exceed that or you can get injured and what not. If you use that ladder and get to the roof, you are greeted by another sticker which says "STAY OFF THE ROOF it may be slippery and if you fall off it could result in death or serious injury". They are definitely trying to discourage people from going on the roof.

Hmmm .... my Itasca 324V has a ladder with no warnings anywhere and I've been up and down it many times since we bought it new in 2006 .... and I weigh between 210 and 235 lbs. depending on how long it's been since the last Thanksgiving meal. The ladder feels as solidly screwed on as the day we bought it. I've tried to tighten the stainless steel ladder mounting screws several times, just in case, and they won't budge at all. They're screwed into something really solid within the wall.



I wonder if Winnebago is trying to legally cover themselves more now than they were back when we bought ours .... of if they're really cheaping out on construction over what they used to.

If manufacturers are trying to discourage people from going up on the roofs of their RVs .... then the manufacturers jolly well better construct them so that they never leak over the life of RV as delivered from the factory and jolly well better construct them so that the plastic components up there never break down and crack from the sun's ultraviolet rays as delivered from the factory. :h

The ladder on my 31K (with sticker) seems/feels very solid. The ladder on my 2001 31C (which I don't believe has any stickers) seems just as solid and thicker than the newer one. I know it doesn't have any sticker on the roof. It could have had one before I bought it. I was washing the TPO roof on my 31K a couple of weeks ago and noticed about a 3/8" slice in the roof -really ticked me off. All these years of rubber roofs and I had never had a problem until this one. Bought a little patch kit that I haven't installed yet. Have a piece of duct tape on it until I get it fixed. :(

Double Post

Mich F wrote:
My Itasca 31K has a ladder with a 225# weight limit, with a sticker telling you not to exceed that or you can get injured and what not. If you use that ladder and get to the roof, you are greeted by another sticker which says "STAY OFF THE ROOF it may be slippery and if you fall off it could result in death or serious injury". They are definitely trying to discourage people from going on the roof.

Hmmm .... my Itasca 324V has a ladder with no warnings anywhere and I've been up and down it many times since we bought it new in 2006 .... and I weigh between 210 and 235 lbs. depending on how long it's been since the last Thanksgiving meal. The ladder feels as solidly screwed on as the day we bought it. I've tried to tighten the stainless steel ladder mounting screws several times, just in case, and they won't budge at all. They're screwed into something really solid within the wall.

I wonder if Winnebago is trying to legally cover themselves more now than they were back when we bought ours .... of if they're really cheaping out on construction over what they used to.

If manufacturers are trying to discourage people from going up on the roofs of their RVs .... then the manufacturers jolly well better construct them so that they never leak over the life of the RV as delivered from the factory, and jolly well better construct them so that the plastic components up there never break down and crack from the sun's ultraviolet rays over the life of the RV as delivered from the factory. :h

Rick Jay wrote:

johnnyrv wrote:
dealer told me if there is no ladder it means the roof is not designed to walk on

Did you ask them how one is supposed to perform the periodic roof inspections, as I'm sure this is a requirement of the warranty?

Or how anyone can perform any type of maintenance on the roof, for that matter? And hopefully these "weak-roofed" RVs aren't being sold to those of us up north where significant snow loads can be a factor.

Or, more likely, it's just another dealer/salesperson lie. :)

~Rick

To be fair, "not designed to be walked upon" does not necessarily mean "is too weak to support the weight of a person." It could also mean that the material used is not particularly abrasion resistant or can be quite slippery or something like that. Many very sturdy things exist that are not designed for perambulation.

I do agree, though, that this case sounds more like a salesman being unwilling to admit that they don't know why there's no ladder, or (more likely) having an idea why but not really wanting to say it's because the manufacturer is being cheap or whatever.

I'm glad my motorhome has a ladder built in; it's very handy for repairs and maintenance.

I believe there are a number of RVs, not necessarily Class Cs, that have roofs that shouldn't be walked on. The fact that an RV doesn't have a ladder doesn't necessarily mean the roof can't be walked on. If the RV wasn't built with support/structure for a ladder, you can't just arbitrarily add a ladder.
My Itasca 31K has a ladder with a 225# weight limit, with a sticker telling you not to exceed that or you can get injured and what not. If you use that ladder and get to the roof, you are greeted by another sticker which says "STAY OFF THE ROOF it may be slippery and if you fall off it could result in death or serious injury". They are definitely trying to discourage people from going on the roof. :B

johnnyrv wrote:
dealer told me if there is no ladder it means the roof is not designed to walk on

Did you ask them how one is supposed to perform the periodic roof inspections, as I'm sure this is a requirement of the warranty?

Or how anyone can perform any type of maintenance on the roof, for that matter? And hopefully these "weak-roofed" RVs aren't being sold to those of us up north where significant snow loads can be a factor.

Or, more likely, it's just another dealer/salesperson lie. :)

~Rick

Our 24 Class C did not come with a ladder and I have never missed it. At home I have a 12' (collapsible/folder), type of ladder. I do periodic roof inspections easily and safely by leaning it against the rear of the coach.

I frequently see a large Class A's or fivers with a ladder secured to the coach. I have no doubt that should the need ever arise one of our campground neighbors would be gracious enough to permit me to borrow it for a quick trip up to the roof.

:C

Check the Aspect option list. Have a ladder put on.

I would not buy any motorhome - or TT or 5th wheel - without a sturdy built-in roof access ladder.

Why - for several reasons - one them as illustrated by this example that happened to us: We were traveling in Oregon once way out in the sticks on a remote two-lane road when we began to hear some rattling right above our head up on the roof, so we stopped and I climbed the ladder right up onto the roof to see what the problem was. It was the front roof vent that had developed a crack and was starting to come loose. The ladder was worth it's weight in gold that time.

I get up on the roof all the time when our rig is in storage in our back yard to repair things and wax it.

For what it's worth ... I certainly would never buy any motorhome that had a roof that wouldn't hold my weight moving around up there!