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Cantilever Ladders are an interesting new family of products that may merit some attention from industrial users. A typical warehouse ladder is used to access shelving or pallet racks from the front or back. A cantilever unit has a platform that reaches beyond the rack or shelving. This allows a user to either pick below the platform or use the platform as a viewing position.

There are several manufacturers that merit consideration. Ballymore is on the list for quality rolling ladders of many types including cantilever ladders. Ballymore manufactures their products in Pennsylvania and ships nationwide from various distribution points. Other manufacturers include Triarc, Cotterman, and SPG. All of these suppliers produce quality products for the industrial marketplace.

There is some interesting mechanics in play with these ladders that should be understood. The person using the ladder will be positioned beyond the front casters on the horizontal axis. This means that there will be torque or a moment (as defined by Newtonian mechanics) on the position of the front casters. With a capacity of 300 pounds and an overhang of 42 inches at maximum, the moment at the caster is 300 pounds x 42 inches = 12,600 inch-pounds or equally 1,050 foot-pounds. With a moment of over 1000 foot pounds, will the ladder tip over? This is a great question. Ballymore has taken this into consideration, and includes the necessary balast to balance the maximum possible moment. Of course the balast required is a lot less than 300 pounds, as the base of the cantilever ladder is quite long, and less weight is needed to balance a moment with more distance from the fulcrum.

With the cantilever ladder physics lesson now complete, the next step is to think about the type of product required by the application. The standard unit typically has a 300 pound capacity, but can be quoted at a higher capacity from at least one of the previously mentioned manufacturers. Consider the overhand required. Cantilever ladders are produced with projections of 14, 28, 35, and 42 inches. The projection is chosen by how far over the shelving the user needs to be. Cantilever ladders are available from 6 to 15 steps high.

In considering a ladder or any industrial equipment, it usually makes sense to get some advice and direction from your sales person. Folks that sell rolling ladders understand cantilever, and are willing to provide the information required. Dealers that provide cantilever typically distribute traditional warehouse ladders as well. Make sure to take maximum advantage of sales help.

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