Family Traditions Ladder Problem

[rip18]

As some may remember, I am a big fan of Family Traditions stands.

We have a crew checking all our deer stands right now. We have checked 8 Family Traditions Double Ladders & found 3 SERIOUS problems. We are going back & rechecking the other 10 just to make sure we don't have more problems.

We leave our stands up all year (which isn't optimal). Three of the ladders have the tree brace (6" x 3" piece on the back) either partially or completely broken off. Two of these same ladders have MAJOR cracks right at the bottom of the "basket" (seat/rail part). The two ladder legs AND the two braces show serious cracking. It is VERY LIKELY that one of the stands would have broken off right at the top of the ladder if a big person had leaned the wrong way in it.

We had another brace broken off similarly last year.

It looks like this damage comes from the tree rocking back & forth in the wind (even with loosened straps).

If you have this type stand there are two places to look for hairline cracks:

1. Right where the tree brace is attached to the back of the seat - cracks seem to appear on the bottom first.

2. Right where the bottom of the seat brace first hits the back of the ladder. The cracks appear in the lowest curve of the seat brace & in the ladder right under where the brace attaches. One of the ladders had cracks in both places on BOTH sides. These cracks are most visible from the back & bottom.

Y'all be careful out there & hunt safe!

 

[Meriwether Mike]

A few questions?

Are the weld joints ground off to be smooth? If the weld joints are ground smooth and cracking then the joint was not beveled properly before it was welded. All the weld was ground away when it was ground smooth. Weld penetration could also be an issue if the metal is thin. Proper welding technique and metal preperation is critical to quality welds.

 

[Nugefan]

Don't have 1 but great info for those that do ...

Thanks for the heads up ...

 

[rip18]

Southern Steel -

The stands are generally NOT breaking at the welds, but just behind or above the welds, which speaks well for the crew who built the stands.

To answer your question, though: The welds all look good. They are are not ground off, but are pretty smooth.

 

[whitworth]

Search the Internet for your treestand recalls

I've seen a lot of recalls for various treestands over the years. Don't count on hearing about it from another source. Look it up yourself. It's your treestand and your body.

Check out the stand every year regardless. Test it on a tree before you go hunting with it. Use a safety harness/belt.

And if you find yourself a good safe treestand, I'd keep it.
There's an old saying about one gun hunters. I think that applies to one treestand hunters. Familiarity is a great boon to safety.

 

[short stop]

?? if you leave stands up all yr do you lossen the fastening device a little bit to allow for treegrowth or damage due to say high winds / tree movement ?? That has caused some damage to metal and wood ladder stands for me in the past ---thats why I do this every yr . I was looking at trying to buy 2 of these''Family traditions '' stands but have had no response on my emails and have yet to find the first dealer ---

 

[SouthPaw Draw]

?? if you leave stands up all yr do you lossen the fastening device a little bit to allow for treegrowth or damage due to say high winds / tree movement ?? That has caused some damage to metal and wood ladder stands for me in the past ---thats why I do this every yr . I was looking at trying to buy 2 of these''Family traditions '' stands but have had no response on my emails and have yet to find the first dealer ---

I would say yes to loosening them. Like was mentioned before wind moving the tree could bind the stand which we all know is a bad thing. I usually try to take all my ladder stands down in the off season.

 

[rip18]

As noted in parenthesis near the bottom of the first post, the straps were loosened. Of course the straps are tight from September through January of every year, so the damage may not have occurred in the "off" season.

We've talked about bringing our stands in during the off season, but don't have any place to put them out of the weather.

Short Stop - Arnco (spelling) is making a Family Traditions style ladder that is available down this way. PM me and I can give you a phone number for a supplier.

 

[TJay]

Thanks for the heads up. I will check mine this weekend.

 

[rip18]

Well, we've checked all 18 Family Traditions Double Ladders now & only found the 3 problems. YEAH!

But that is still a 16.6% error rate.

 

[Meriwether Mike]

A proper weld actually has a higher tensile strength than the metal it is connecting so it sounds like the tube may be too thin for the bending stress being encountered. The fact that it is breaking the metal directly adjacent to the weld would indicate it is welded properly. Could you slide a solid steel rod inside the tube to strengthen the area where it is breaking?

 

[rip18]

Southern Steel -

10-4. We could cut it & slide a rod in & re-weld it. We've got them in the shop now & will decide whether to try to repair them or keep them for parts.

Habersham Hammer -

Yes, they are all the 2 person stands.

 

[doc]

I had this problem last year with one of mine after the remnants of a hurricane came through. took it to a welder and it is good as new.