ladder stand maintanence

vadeerkiller · 09-05-2007, 04:25 PM

Just wondering what everyone does to maintain their ladderstands and do you pull them out after the season. Mine have been left in the woods for 2 years now and are rusty. Just pulled them out and plan on hitting them with a wire brush and repainting.

[/align]

wis_bow_huntr · 09-06-2007, 05:39 AM

Thats pretty much all you can do unless you know someone with a sand blaster. I have a ladder stand that has been out in the woods since i bought it 4 years ago and theres no rust on it. And we have even an older one, I think its like 10-15 years old in there somewhere, I finally had to take that one down, clean it up a bit and wire brush it a bit and repait some spots. other than that I think ladder stands last for ever as long as they are taken care of.

baldntatted · 09-06-2007, 08:34 AM

i took mine to work had them strip it and they it got powder coated i think it's good for a few years

txjourneyman · 09-06-2007, 10:16 AM

Fresh paint every couple of years and make sure to check those straps!

timbercruiser · 09-06-2007, 01:04 PM

Mine are aluminum and other than checking the welds occasionally and spraying a little paint there is nothing else to do. Some have been in the woods 6 or 8 years.

Super G Force · 09-06-2007, 02:45 PM

I have some ladder stands that are home built5+ years old. They are rusty and the color seems to be fitting with its surroundings. I just check the welds and tighten the straps every year.

GR8RALLY · 09-07-2007, 06:14 AM

As mentioned earlier, check them straps. The squirrels around here love chewing on them, including my seats.

Check all bolts for tightness of course, basic things.

Good hunting!

bhensley · 09-08-2007, 10:51 PM

I take mine down. I would replace the straps once every year or 2 just to be safe if you leave it out all year. Not worth the chance and they are cheap.

sjsfire · 09-11-2007, 10:39 AM

I took mine down Labor Day weekend after 4 years and replaced it with a new one I bought on sale at the end of last year. I had a problem, somehow water got down into a section of the inch by inch tubing and froze up. Swelled and split the tubing. I cut out the bad sections and welded in new ones. Replaced all the bolts, washers, and nuts and repainted. She's good as new. My old straps were pretty rotten. I had new ones for the new stand and will get new ones for this refurb before I take it back down and put up in a different spot. To keep from having the water problems again, on the new one I sprayed some of that expanding foam in a can anywhere there was a butt joint weld. Will do the same on the one I just fixed too.