Looking for a Ladder

On Natasha's first full day of psychological unemployment, we headed off to Camping World to make a vital purchase we need for our big "to-do" for tomorrow. Tomorrow, Bullwinkle gets his first bath. And, if you're gonna' bathe a 13-feet tall moose, you need a ladder. So we went to get one.

We'd done our research in the world of ladders for RVers. We own a fairly compact folding stepladder. But, the thing weighs a ton (or close to it), so we looked for something alot lighter and a little more compact.

We landed on a 7-foot double-sided job that folds up to the size of a fishing pole. (That's pretty amazing.) A review of the 6-foot version of the same model claimed "this is the one" and encouraged us "not to hesitate to buy." So, we thought we'd make the drive to CW and check it out.

There were this morning, in the ladder aisle at CW, with our hands on the ladder we'd driven a long way to buy, when we were greeted by a friendly CW shopper.

"Have you tried one of those?" He asked.

We replied that we had not, and he launched into a story about his bad experience having one. He said he climbed up and it crumpled into nothing. And, he blamed it on the ladder. He claimed it could only be used on level surfaces and was only rated for 200 pounds.

We asked what he had and he told us. It was a model akin to the heavy compact one we house in our garage. We made nice conversation and said we'd think about it. We headed off to another department and they went on their way.

Somewhere between patio mats and shower accessories, we conferred and agreed that we'd just wait for them to leave. Then we'd take a chance and buy the ladder we'd come for. We wandered around the store looking at all the things we can't live without. Boris kept an eye on our friendly ladder advisers. Finally, he came around a corner and reported they were at the checkout. We grabbed the goods and made our way to make the purchase.

One of the things we love about RVers is how friendly and helpful they are. And, this was no exception. But, today, there were a couple of other things to consider. The ladder, you see, is actually rated at 225 pounds. Neither of us is within 35 pounds of that limit. And, our helpful camping advisers? Not that we're experts at making such estimates, but he looked like he was closing in on 300 pounds.

We stopped by Bullwinkle on the way home to drop off the newly purchased ladder. Boris unwrapped and unfolded the thing and gave it a test climb. It was steady as a rock.

And, just for the record, we don't intend to use it on any uneven surfaces.