Quote:
Originally Posted by friscobob
Certainly good points about center of gravity. Take into consideration how much you weigh and how much weight you you expect to carry up and down.
In my case I'd never be at the top, but if I had built it at 6 feet I'd have the top like a foot back from the end.
We all have different building skills too, me, I can built from a detailed print or in this case just a rough sketch. I built the two triangles first, selected straight 2X4s and use one piece of 1/2 AC exterior ply for the gussets. There is no direct connections between the 2X4s, only the gussets screwed to them hold the whole thing together, as you can see in the pic the gussets are doubled up. Screws are deck screws #8 x 1 1/4. There is over a pound of them used.
The wheel base is 5 1/2 feet and track 30 inches, overall height just shy of 11 feet. I used 2X6 to mount the wheels on, the wheels need to be far enough apart to provide stability but not wide enough to create a tripping hazard.
The ladder just sits on the frame, note there is a cleat to prevent ladder form sliding off the bottom crosspiece. If you are going to use this in a circus act I'd suggest you securely attach the ladder to the frame. The pieces of ply on the bottom and vertical are important as they add considerable rigidity, plus they are places to store heavy objects which lower the center of gravity.
But good wheels, these cost $60 for the four, about half the cost of building less the cost of the ladder. If you don't have the ladder already and don't need one outside, you can use 2X4s steps between the upright triangles, if you go that route put brackets under the steps. Hope this helps.
Bob
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Bob, Thanks for the info. I'm getting the lumber together as soon as I can make it up the hill without chaining up the 1 ton.