Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

What are the pros and cons off fitting a ladder to the rear door to get to the top of the roof rack?

Currently I open the left rear door step on the spear wheel and then onto the roof rack. Sometimes I forget and step on the roof and then onto the roof rack and this is not a good idea.

Asked on of the accessories manufacturers and they are of the opinion this is not a good idea as the door might not carry the weight and bend (apparently happened to a LC76).

They suggest a ladder that bolts to the roof rack that reaches to the ground and can be used on any side of the vehicle?

Opinions please?

Hello Johan

I have a Frontrunner ladder fitted to my Patrol. It is fitted to the door with 4 bolts and is very strong. I am not a lightweight and have been using it for a year now with no problems. Before the Patrol I had a Prado also fitted with a Frontrunner ladder and never experienced any problems.

Me thinks that the ladder is better option than getting on the spare wheel as that door is already carrying more weight in size and with the spare and as far as I can make out the hinges are the same.

And it looks cool.

IJM

Hello Johan

Most of us climb unto our spare wheels, then onto the rack. My spare wheel weighs 33kg, and it sits on that door all the time. The hinges on the left and right doors on my car are the same, although the right-hand door has the catches top and bottom to support it. However a ladder on the left hand door would be much closer to the hinges than the spare wheel is on the right hand door.

My feeling is that it would be fine, however I cannot guarantee that. What I can do though is the following: Firstly, a couple of times now I have seen a gadget that straps onto the spare wheel and acts as steps to allow you to climb up more easily.
The second option is to build a bracket that allows the ladder to slide up and down slightly, and then put tips onto the tops of the ladder that sort of hook onto the roof rack when the door is closed. In this way, most of the load would be carried on the roof rack instead of on the rear door, with the only limitation being that it should not be used with the door open.

Regards
Peter

Why you need a ladder to get on Patrol roof? what you wanna do up their, You kids up to mischief again? - Just stand next to the car and put up what you want and take down what you need ...[of i sjulle von die kort oukies?]

I'm looking for the picts, will post it asap - Friend Japie vd Westhuizen has a "home made" on his 'Trol and beats anything else I've ever seen, hands-down
OuuuuKyyyyy - found 'em:

Looking at this thread, I think that if the back doors are properly closed, the spare wheel door is supported on both sides (see the big plastic fitting at the bottom). My Land Discovery is the same and I have hopped on and off it many times over the years (92kg odd) and so far no sign at all of any ill effects. But its getting harder the older I get.... :-)