I salute your lofty and noble objectives. Truly I do, but I'm not about to spend a penny on that sort of thing.
Lesson learned, LR ladder can't be trusted to be used as designed. They don't sell parts to repair. They are well aware of this and multiple similar failures. They clearly seem not to care.
Should they?
I think they should care but clearly I have a bias.

 

i would not bother. if you really wanted to get it replaced id opt for a stainless steel machined replacement. these were designed for people who wished they actually needed them anyways, so if you want the real thing you have to make it yourself or get one made. sorry it broke and the castings are mae in batches of 1000's so obviously there woudl be some good and some bad, try baking 1500 cakes that all weight the exact same and have no flaws, impossible.

 

Neither would I

If TV has taught me anything, it's that hinge castings are all too prone to a soggy bottom.

 

Glad I bought a knockoff. I can buy three of them for the price of one factory part.

That does look like it has been cracked for awhile based on the discoloration across where it broke.

 

Just LOL re: Lawyer and letter. I’m sure the current super high quality design and manufacturing of all things LR and RR is due to lawyers and letters. Oh, right. JLR not known for either…in a world of lawyers and letters how can that be? …..(sarcasm)

 

We are kind of obsessed with lawyers in the USA. Frankly, they are mostly useless. You can waste a lot of time and money and win and still not have satisfaction. Last time I resorted to lawyers I spent $650,000 to collect $750,000. I netted $100,000 for 3 years of time. The lawyers, mine, as the sharp ones here in the forum have already guessed, got $650,000. It was a complete waste of my time. Really, we all only get to mess around on the planet for so long. Do you really want to spend it with lawyers? I'd rather shoot skeet and pretend that the targets are lawyers.

It's a ladder, for lord of the universe's sake. I have rarely had any ladder last for more than a few years. I worked my way through UCLA mostly as a painter/costume warrior (ROTC). Ladders are disposable. Besides they are all covered in stickers, each of which represents a lawsuit of some kind they lost. I got a graduate degree in Aviation Safety at the Naval Post Graduate School. One of the things we learned is: Ladders kill more people than airplanes. Of course when I was waxing my airplane a couple years back and stepped wrong and fell off the ladder to a hard smack on the hanger floor. My old Navy buddy said, so you have a degree in safety. Learn anything? Try to buy any part for a Weiner Ladder, they make more than anybody in the world. Quite probably tens of thousand times what Land Rover makes.

 

I’ve never had a ladder break. Mine last.

this LR one was $800 when I got it. 2 years and change of use is a **** poor ROI no matter how you slice it. By far and away the spendiest ladder my size 12s have ever enjoyed.

I expected better. Reality bites.

 

I think you mean Werner ladders and it is super easy to buy parts for them. They literally sell every single small part. LR should make parts available for some of this stuff. I am missing the little caps for back of the expedition rack. Can't find a way to buy them. You have to go to Thule to get the rubber strips. The hinge is so damn easy to replace, you think they would have the manufacturer (Thule?? Not sure.) ship a bunch of spares. I think the supply chain stuff and other parts availability is the most annoying thing so far about my LR experience.

 

You can bash lawyers all day long, but the reality is that they are a necessity in the world we live in. Yes there are a lot of useless lawyers out there as well as a lot of honest ethical ones. @dogpilot, would you have gotten anything if you just let your case go? You ended up netting $100k which is better than nothing. Lawsuits are costly, complex and very time consuming. I definitely understand your frustration spending $650k to get $750k back. I would be frustrated as well. And yes it is just a ladder that costs $800.00 but this ladder is supposed to work as intended. I have one of those ladders as well and I do not recall seeing a warning label on it stating to replace the ladder every two years or after 500 uses as they might or will break. The user of this ladder could have suffered serious injuries as a result. If this ladder was designed purely as a cosmetic appliance for looks, then we should be warned about it. I love Land Rovers and have owned them since 1982 but this ladder breaking like that is just not right. It SHOULD not have...

 

LR did reply to me via FB messenger.

Essentially. We can't/ won't help you, Contact your dealer.

I was essentially asking them for info on parts source and any info.

Useless. It appears they really don't give a toss about this sort of thing.