stairs or safety ladder

[Silvermallard1969]

I have a question for the diy guys out there that work on you own stands. I have a good home built box stand that is 14 ft to the platform sitting on my land. Its basically a condo on stilts. the wood is good and the stand is super stable. Getting up to it however is a disaster waiting to happen. Im looking for ideas on either building stairs to the entrance or finding and buying possibly a set of safety stairs to mount to the stand. I used a 20' extension ladder to get in to for the past couple of years but this past year being on chemo has grounded me due to dizzyness concerns. Any ideas on what I could use or do?
Thanks,

 

[bany]

Sounds like you would benefit from installing a staircase with a landing in the middle and at the entrance. And adding atleast a simple hand rail.

 

[Gator89]

Stairs, get some PT 2"x6"x16' and build steps, or at least an angled ladder.

We replaced the vertical ladders on all of our box stands with angled ladder/stairs, makes a huge difference getting my fat butt in and out.

 

[JustUs4All]

^^^ This and add a low hand rail to at least one side of the ladder.

 

[Silver Britches]

If you're experiencing dizziness, why not simply place a ground blind in that area, maybe even under the current tower stand, if possible? At least until you get yourself straightened out. If this isn't an option, best of luck getting a safe way up into your tower stand. And best of luck with whatever health issue(s) you're dealing with.

 

[Bucaramus]

Custom Outdoors used to offer stair kits for their blinds. I got one for my 10' tower and it makes all the difference in the world entering and exiting the blinds.

 

[shawnrice]

Build you some stairs ..I had a nice box 14 ft built and left it behind on old lease ...almost straight up ladder was an accident waiting to happen ,made me hate it .

 

[Elkbane]

We built 2x6 stairs to ours. If I had it to do over again, I would have built a plaform at the top to let us step out of the box first before starting down, rather than stepping down to the first ladder step.

with 16' 2x6 and 14' of rise, that would put the base 7.745' out from the stand and your stem angle would be 61 degrees. That's right in the middle of a "ships ladder" angle range shown below. Not too steep.

https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/angles-for-different-types-of-stairs/

Elkbane

 

[elfiii]

Sounds like you would benefit from installing a staircase with a landing in the middle and at the entrance. And adding atleast a simple hand rail.

I vote for this. ^

 

[bfriendly]

I vote for this. ^

X3 if it is feasible. Silvermallard you did say it was like a condo on stilts. May as well build a condo set of stairs. While this idea would be the mo$t work, you will probably love getting up in this blind more than any other!

 

[frankwright]

Yes, Stairs are so much better than ladders and a top landing is great. It allows you to take off your pack or put your big jacket on in comfort and security.
Be care ful and know your limitations but go as hard as you can for as long as you can!

 

[Rackbuster]

I have some and built stairs on them with side rails. Whole lot easier and safer to climb. Here is picture of one of them.

 

[Westdawg14]

Built this new stand this year wood is expensive but super easy to get in and out

 

[madsam]

Hand rail on any design for your safety .........

 

[Clarkk]

I cut 8 inches out of the bottom to work best with my Jayflight 2018 indoor camper. This RV ladder by Stromberg Carlson needs a little length adjustment using a pipe cutter to stay at the right angle in our rig, but once adjusted, it's great. It is very light and sturdy enough for a child.

 

[specialk]

this stand is probably 12 y.o. and was hunted last year and will be hunted this year...my dad who has polio in his right arm/hand and is 80 y.o. can use it.....only 10ft but it sits on a gasline ROW and has a view of 300 yds either way.....doubles as turkey blind underneath....

 

[Milkman]

FYI.
OP hasn’t logged in since posting this on March 11.

 

[buckmanmike]

I stay just high enough to drive my golf cart in the blind. Most times park and flip the blind over the cart.
Why do you want to get up high and hurt yourself?