Instruction manual for fitting a side mount ladder

Fitting instructions for fitting a side-mount ladder on a panel van

Thank you for purchasing one of our New Zealand-designed and manufactured products, and for supporting local business, rather than imported products. 

This pack should contain the following items:

• 1x upper frame that is fitted to the roof
• 2x Left side rail with pre-cut square holes for the treads, pre-cut holes for the pop-rivets to the tubes and angled joiner plates that give us the curved shape of the van.
• 2x Right side rail with pre-cut square holes for the treads, pre-cut holes for the pop-rivets to the tubes and angled joiner plates that give us the curved shape of the van.
• 4x rail joiner plates with precut holes. These plates will only fit one way by lining up all the precut holes
• 2x plastic upper spacer brackets, these have a code printed in them identifying the vehicle type 
• 2x lower spacer brackets, these have a code printed in them identifying the vehicle type 
• 6x tread tubes
• Screws and bolts xxxxx

In case you have not realised, these ladders can also be used as a side-mount surfboard rack. To do that, you will need to purchase another ladder and fit it next to this one. The ladders have little slots cut into the tube; the slots are designed to accept the surfboard brackets shown in the image below

Prep the roof of your van; make sure it is clean and free of any wax so the adhesives and sealants will adhere to the roof surface. Use some masking tape to protect the paintwork around the intended fitting area

Assemble the bottom half of the ladder, inserting the rungs into the square holes of the side rails; all holes should line up; if they don't, you are doing something wrong

Assemble the top half of the ladder in the same way

Join the two halves of the ladder using the 4 supplied rail joiners, see image below. These plates are pre-drilled, and all holes should match up to the ladders

Attach the upper frame bracket to the newly made ladder

Finally, pop-rivet the ladder together when you are sure that it has been assembled correctly

Choose your installation location and temporarily set up the ladder hanging from the roof, supported only by the top bracket (without adhesives)

If it’s a Master or Fiat panel van, choose the spacers provided; they will be marked D1 printed in the plastic. The Fiat has extra holes cut in the side rails for the upper spacer brackets

If it’s a Mercedes panel van, choose the provided spacers; they will be marked with "MO" on the plastic. If it's an old Mercedes, use the bracket as is; if it's a new bracket, snap off the wedge along the pre-cut line.  

Once you are happy with the location of the ladder and that it reached the area on the roof that you need to access, and if you are going to use it as a side rack, place both ladders strategically, bearing in mind window openings, etc. With a sharp pencil, mark where to drill holes in the roof to mount the upper frame bracket.

Remove the ladder and drill holes through the roof with a 4.5mm drill bit. Be careful not to drill through the van's inner ceiling liner. Remove all drill swarf with a vacuum cleaner or compressed air to prevent rust on the roof. Apply PU sealant to the upper frame and bond it down, then make a final fix with pop rivets. The pop rivets should be covered with a dab of sealant to prevent water ingress

The ladder should now hang vertically on the side of the van; the correct spacers provided for your van should fit snugly to the shape of your vehicle, and now you can attach the middle and lower parts of the ladder using the PU sealant and screws provided

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 Warranty

The roof rack has a one-year return-to-base warranty from the purchase date. Please check the product carefully before installation and contact us immediately if you find anything wrong. All products are thoroughly inspected before being packaged and dispatched.

 If you need any assistance, email tech@vantagerv.nz

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