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The only time I was knocked out as an adult was falling off of a ladder. It was a wooden two step ladder that I was working off of. It launched out from under me because I was over reaching center of gravity and I stuck my head on the floor. You can't bee too safe when you are elevated. I think the harness is excellent insurance. Good on you!!

I don't know if anyone cares for the narrative, but I thought I'd share my experience falling from a ladder. Maybe it will prove useful to help someone else not get hurt. I'm in my sixties now and have always treated ladders with a lot of respect and have had good results whenever I've done so. For example, I don't lean away from them to any meaningful degree, and if I have to use one on uneven ground I use wood to even it up. If I had to go up into a tree, I would always secure the ladder to the tree, since that is usually not very stable.
It's the violation of this latter rule that forms the basis for my fall.
We have a mature plum tree that had in its youth formed three distinct sections from the main trunk starting less than two feet from the ground. One of these split off and came down and after doing the work of cutting it up and clearing the debris, I wanted to take a little weight off of the two remaining sections. We have an electric polesaw, which is really just an extensible wired pole that came with a 10" chainsaw. (The chainsaw itself can be removed and has been pretty handy and quite reliable.) Anyway, I was using this rig to trim off some branches (Pro Tip: When clearing branches from overhead, always wear eye protection and a hard hat!) and there were a couple that I just couldn't reach with the polesaw fully extended, so I got the extension ladder and leaned it up into the tree. I knew I was only going up a couple of rungs, so I did that initially (empty handed) and jerked around a little bit. The ladder felt stable, so I figured I'd go up, make my two cuts, and be done with it. No reason to go clear back to the garage and get out a ratchet strap just for this little job! So I grabbed the polesaw, climbed up three rungs as it turned out, and made my first cut. I came down one rung and made my second and last cut, and as the saw broke free of the branch (Note: it's ten feet long) the movement and lever action of the pole transferred just a bit too much force to the ladder, which started to slide against the tree and it felt like the legs were about to pivot. (Had it been secured to the tree...but it wasn't.) My next mistake was to grab for the tree (rather than the ladder, since I knew the tree wasn't going anywhere!) and when I missed it, I came off the ladder as it pivoted. Somehow I ended up almost on the opposite side of the tree, and my back pretty much hit first, flat on the ground. At least I missed landing on the brick walkway, so that was good. The back of the hardhat hit, absorbing some energy and sending the hardhat flying. The polesaw had stopped running, of course, and luckily it landed clear of me (ironically it landed on an ancient wood bench that is (was!) purely decorative, which collapsed. And speaking of irony...the ladder had indeed pivoted...and landed against another branch, still in the tree. Had I simply held onto it, I'd have been fine.
Anyway, this was about five months post shoulder surgery, so my first concern was obviously that I might have torn that up, but other than a little soreness it seemed okay. My left shoulder was very sore with some sharp pains, and after picking everything up and putting it away it was still pretty sore, so I called the doc and went in. They did an x-ray and exam and found that I had a very small break at the top of my shoulderblade, and they were all very surprised because that was all. The gist of it was they saw lots of broken shoulderblades, but only in combination with lots of other damage; apparently it's pretty rare to just break your shoulderblade. There was really no treatment, just ice and ibuprofen and it healed up on its own. (Honestly, I'd gladly break a shoulderblade any day than have to undergo shoulder surgery ever again!)

Anyway, fast forward to a few days ago, when I had to go WAY up the same ladder with the same polesaw, albeit in a different tree, to lop off a limb the squirrels like to use to get on our roof and cause trouble. I asked my brother in law to come over and spot me, and with him holding the ladder I climbed up it and ratchet-strapped it securely to the trunk. The base of it was against a retaining wall, so it wasn't going anywhere! The limb came off quickly after that, and after playing with the dog a bit (he actually spent more time playing with the dog than helping me...wise man!) my BIL went home.
The moral of the story? Don't ever get too comfortable with ladders. They can't be trusted. They are not your friends and will sell you out to gravity if they get the chance! :D
Stay safe out there, everyone!
 
In a past life I did service work on commercial a/c equipment. I was servicing a 460 volt machine at a building in the middle of the hot summer. I was soaking wet with sweat and was working on a 6 foot fiberglass ladder on a smooth tile floor.

I remember reaching over the contactor to check something and when I awoke I was laying on the other side of the room on the floor, my tool-bag was upside down on the floor with my tools scattered across the room and the ladder was on it's side in the middle of the room.

Seems my wet arm accidentally bumped one leg of the 460 volt contactor and it blew me off the ladder ....

Not the ladders fault, operator error for that one !
 
Working construction for so many years, I saw many ladder and height related accidents. Most all of them were avoidable if safety was a priority vs time/money. A number of the accident victims never full recovered from their fall. You can't be too safe on a ladder or the elevated height you achieved by using one.
 
In a past life I did service work on commercial a/c equipment. I was servicing a 460 volt machine at a building in the middle of the hot summer. I was soaking wet with sweat and was working on a 6 foot fiberglass ladder on a smooth tile floor.

I remember reaching over the contactor to check something and when I awoke I was laying on the other side of the room on the floor, my tool-bag was upside down on the floor with my tools scattered across the room and the ladder was on it's side in the middle of the room.

Seems my wet arm accidentally bumped one leg of the 460 volt contactor and it blew me off the ladder ....

Not the ladders fault, operator error for that one !

Good thing it wasn’t an aluminum ladder, with the potential for grounding…
 
I ordered a couple of items from Amazon to plumb my new LP heater to a gas bottle. I need a 3/8 MIP X 3/8 Flare 90° and a LP hose with a 3/8 flare receiver and a low pressure regulator and bottle connection on the other end.
Everything showed up today so I put the heater together and fired it up. I let it burn some of the oils off of the burner. It puts out a great deal of heat and I had it on it's lowest setting. It ran for maybe five minutes before the thermostat shut it down, leaving the pilot light lit. I'm super happy to have this unit as a backup plan.
Mr Heater.jpg
 
Speaking of ladders, my mother is in her seventies, I always spot her when she does climb it up, whenever she is on the roof or even inside jb though, she has never fell off of it once, even when painting my my room recently, I am also in that vein though, I had my safe really esay from such an excellent spells over, I never hada jb with a ldder either though, sometimes at my side occupation though, but that is once a spell or two, but other then that, over all it was pretty great over all.
 
Damn, test drive aside, now that I have the truck and drove it 30-40 miles I will never have a 1/2 ton, or anything less than a 3/4 ton again. That 7.3 liter engine just screams "let me tow something!!!" I love my Ram 1500, but that is like a Chevy Cobalt to a Cadillac comparison here. And I really only got a base model F250 (XLT), not even the Lariat that I dreamed of.

I have running boards on the way, since even at 6'1" it is a haul getting my butt in the truck (no, not lifted, stock). This is the first real truck I've had and I get why folks that have 3/4 or 1 ton trucks say that. It's a whole different world from the 1/2 ton trucks.
 
Same year I bought my Ram 1500 my business partner bought a Chevy 3/4 ton. When we were working out of state we took turns driving. It's a different ride. I sure wish I had his truck when I pulled the trailer I bought across state to the cabin.
It's just a lot more truck.
 
Same year I bought my Ram 1500 my business partner bought a Chevy 3/4 ton. When we were working out of state we took turns driving. It's a different ride. I sure wish I had his truck when I pulled the trailer I bought across state to the cabin.
It's just a lot more truck.
I always knew "bigger engine, heavier axles, heavier rear end, etc., etc., etc. but until driving one for a bit of time it is crazy the difference. I want to hook my camper to the new truck and just take it for a spin to feel the difference.
 
I always knew "bigger engine, heavier axles, heavier rear end, etc., etc., etc. but until driving one for a bit of time it is crazy the difference. I want to hook my camper to the new truck and just take it for a spin to feel the difference.
I bet you do. I pull a mow trailer with mowers all of the time with my half ton. I put that big trailer on my truck and it push, pulled and swayed around the entire trip. I felt way short of tow vehicle and was super happy when I parked it. I vowed I'd sell it or have a bigger truck if I ever moved it.
 
I have a 3/4 ton Silverado that is broke right now. A friend loaned me his almost brand new, (48,000 miles on it) Dodge van. it is fully decked out and has all the bells and whistles, but the main thing I like about it is the ride. I have driven alot of things and this is the most comfortable ride I have ever been in !
 
I have a 3/4 ton Silverado that is broke right now. A friend loaned me his almost brand new, (48,000 miles on it) Dodge van. it is fully decked out and has all the bells and whistles, but the main thing I like about it is the ride. I have driven alot of things and this is the most comfortable ride I have ever been in !
They may be big, ugly rattle traps (I've only experienced work vans) but they do have a smooth ride.
 
Your liner and cover are sweet! Now that I don't haul table saws and the like in my truck, I'd love to trade my topper for a cover. I hate the topper look and it limits visibility. What was for years a necessity is now a white elephant.
 
I messed up a shoulder last summer and it has really been hurting me this winter. I've been seeing a chiropractor weekly for ultrasound treatments. The Dr suggested I might invest in an ultrasound wand to give myself some treatments between treatments. He suggested this unit so I have one ordered.

US Pro 2000
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