Ladder choice 28' VS 32'? Fiberglass VS Aluminum

Hey guys, I am about to buy a new ladder for the company. Currently I have a 6’ step and a 20’ extension ladder but my dad has offered to buy me a new ladder for the success of my first year in business.
My question to you guys is what would you guys reccomend for me to buy as the “big one”. 28 foot or 32 foot.
I think I’m set on the fibreglass style. I would love your guys thoughts on this as it’s a big purchase for my dad.

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28’ Aluminium.

Plus an account at the rental house for a lift when needed.

Then develop the ability to say no when prudent.

We do have a 32’ aluminium. It never came off the truck last year.

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28’ aluminum is the way I roll. Take Tim’s advice on the lift also.

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Yeah I only used a 32 rental once or twice all last year. On a few gutter jobs I could have used the extra lengths Thank for the I put guys.

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Stay away from fiberglass. 28 on the box trucks. The gutter cleaning Truck has two each of 40, 32, 28 ,24 and 16. Have never found a need for a step ladder. Carry quick release bull horns for all you ladders.

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What is it that you don’t like about the fiber glass? I was thinking of getting matching Orange 20’ and 28 foot ladders and matching my decals on my e250 van

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Brian will 28’ reach these ny style doubles? I was going to get a 32’ but would rather go lighter if it’ll get me up there.

Josh Rouse
Carolina Clean
716-680-1326
josh2726@gmail.com

In my experience fiberglass ladders of that size are really heavy and a bear to get set up. Also, the sun and weather wear on a fiberglass ladder quickly. Before you know it, you’ll be itching like crazy every time you have to use it. Once it wears down a little, the fiberglass tends to flake off and you will think you have been rolling around in insulation.

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Josh, there has only been a few I haven’t been able to reach. I have a friend that roll’s with a 32’. If I can’t reach I give him the job.

I’ve used fiberglass for 20+ years and love them. Never had a flaking problem and that’s with sliding them on and off a rack 100’s of times a year (more for window cleaning than PW). The finish wears eventually, of course, but not to where you can’t use them. I have a 28’ Type 1A, rated for 300 lb. I recommend 1A even if you’re not a heavyweight, because they are so sturdy and give you that extra feeling of stability when you are climbing and descending. If you possess average strength like me and are anywhere from 5’9" or taller, getting a 28’ up and down is no problem. I’m about 5’10" and can manage my 32’ without footing it. It’s real close, but I can do it.
I can’t say anything about regular usage of a 28’ Type 1A aluminum, but whenever I have used a good one it seemed to be heavier than my fiberglass.

That’s my 2 cents.

And for what it’s worth, I prefer Werner over Louisville. Never had a Lynn.

If you do a lot of commercial work you may want to consider a fiberglass ladder. We have done work for some big general contractors and they will not allow aluminum ladders on their jobsites due to safety issues with electricity. They also require hard hats, safety glasses, and earplugs to pressure wash. Its a PITA but they pay good.

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I have a 32’ & 28’ fiberglass ladders along with a 20’ aluminum ladder. The 32’ we used maybe once last year. The 28’ a few times. If I had to do it over again I would’ve bought a 28’ aluminum ladder because that is pretty much a great size to use and it’s going to be much lighter then a 28’ fiberglass ladder.

We also have a couple of Step ladders with the biggest being 12’ fiberglass. This ladder is great for cleaning cedar sided houses as is the 6’ step ladders I have.

All these people saying aluminum is lighter than fiberglass. I just checked out the Werner website. A 28’ aluminum type 1A is indeed lighter than the same in fiberglass. But only about 3.5 lbs lighter. I am surprised, but essentially they are about equal in weight. So, personal preference and needs would probably be more of a factor.

Hey Dan I just checked there website as well and it’s showing the 28’ grade 1A fiberglass ladder is 64lbs and the aluminum 28’ grade 1A is 56lbs = 8lbs difference. I thought it would be even more then that. Also considering guys tend to move ladders a few feet completely open or at least I use to, those few lbs add up if you use the ladder enough. Heck I remember years ago moving the 32’ fiberglass ladder fully open a few feet alot but I was in much better shape then.

My biggest fear back then was hitting an electrical line by mistake which is why I bought those Fiberglass ladders. Also because I use to clean with minimal chemicals when I started until I found these boards and learned a ton. Today we hardly ever use the ladders unless a specific type job calls for them.

If your a strong dude with a great back and electrical is a concern in here then Fiberglass is the better way to. Besides that I would invest in aluminum Werner ladders today.

Weird, John. The page I went onto said 59 for the fiberglass. In any event, I like the feel and relative sound damping of fiberglass over aluminum. But I agree that extra weight will take a toll after awhile.

You guys could be looking at different type ladders. The 1A is lighter than the heavy duty 1AA also if it has levellers built in or not.

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Possibly. I looked up the 1A ladders for both but I didn’t look at it enough to see what type of footing they had.
Another reason why I had Fiberglass ladders was because I had Scaffolding that went across the two ladders( since sold the scaffolding to Rick Petry). We use to stain houses solid colors by hand and this setup worked great.

Well thanx everyone for the input. I purchased a Feather light Fiber glass 28’. All your input helped a bunch. Much appreciated! I love this forum!

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Has anyone use the aluminum convertible ladders? The ones that can be an A-Frame and also an extension? Good experience or bad? I currently have a 6ft and 8ft fiberglass A-Frame along with a 16ft and 28ft fiberglass extension. The 28ft is a bear to move around all day so I was looking into investing in an aluminum ladder.