Atlantic British is advertising a Rover Parts right rear side roof rack for a somewhat reasonable (in 2023 inflated dollars) price that I'm thinking about buying as my Christmas present to myself (I'm pretty sure I've generally been a good boy this year). https://www.roverparts.com/exterior-...cks/AGP780020/ I make good use of an Arksen 60" X 50" roof rack\basket for our camping trips, filling it up to maximum capacity and ultimately looking like the Clampetts heading to the Hills of Beverly. Problem with that much crap is being able to move things around in the basket as needed. I'm an average height American male so even standing on the floor of the truck with the doors open or on the rear ledge isn't enough to get my hands around something in the middle of the basket. My workaround is to include a small step ladder in my camping gear, but it would be nice to be able to access the center as needed (like after buying firewood and tossing it on top). A rear ladder might help in a pinch.

My concern is whether the AB ladder would bang into the rack when the rear hatch is raised. I can't find any photos of an LR3 with this sort of rack shot from the side to give me a sense of whether the top part of this rack would get bumped with a raised hatch. As the photo below suggests, about 5-1/2 inches now exists between the closest two points of the rack and the hatch. If you have an Arksen rank, you know that it's not possible to adjust the rack forward or backward without an insane lot of hassle, so a ladder has to work as is.


Open LR3 rear hatch vs. my roof basket

Two questions: (1) Is a rear ladder actually functional or is it something silly like a snorkel on a Land Rover that's never off the Interstate Highway System? (2) Any guesses as to whether the AB ladder will clear the rack?

Thanks!

Nick in Palm Springs

 

Just looking at the AB pics, you can tell it wont be an issue. The ladder goes no higher than the top of the rear glass. I have a ladder that is even taller as it reaches the top of the tailgate and even that would not hit your basket.

 

Excellent intel... Thanks!

 

Based on what I learned here, I went ahead and bought the Atlantic British right side ladder (product code AGP780020 or VPLAR0164). I liked the extended left side models from a few vendors out there but they (a) would interfere with just dropping the lower tailgate, (b) narrowed at the top and I assumed they'd be uncomfortable, and (c) were about $150 more cash. I'm happy with what I bought and installed. No interference at all with the rack. Restriction on rear vision is minimal and anyway most times I'm using the LR3 for something fun I can't see out of the back anyway due to too much crap inside. Sturdy feel, works great with the lower tailgate down, gets me up high enough to reach to the center of the rack (anything forward of that point can be accessed by standing on the front seats), and seems like it would have a boatload of uses that have nothing to do with climbing up (lantern holder, shower bag holder, fishing pole rest, tiedown for shelters and tents on windy days, etc.

Just in case you decide to buy this model ladder, please note that the instructions and the hardware have a few shortcomings. If you do exactly what the instructions say, the ladder would look awful, with bright shiny bolts that are waaaaay too long sticking out from the black ladder frame like you were a three-year-old with your first Erector Set. The mating of the top bracket and the ladder body would also look really amateur. The instructions also describe a way that would be really hard to install by yourself (it's possible, but awkward).

The fix is both easy and cheap: Go to your local hardware store and buy three M8-1.25 20mm bolts (stainless steel preferable) & three nylon locknuts (you can also do this with 25mm bolts and the kit has one of those, so you'll still need to get two more). Follow the included directions EXCEPT for the following:
1) Spray paint the bolt heads, nuts, and big washers black.
2) DON'T attach top bracket to ladder until I tell you.
3) ***Loosely*** attach bottom receiver to ladder frame with bolts pointing UP (I think that's what the instructions say, but either way, UP is the way to go). You don't need to use any of the included lock washers as the locknuts will take care of that need.
4) Open the top and bottom tailgates.
5) Have the upper tailgate hanging at an angle to allow you to move it as needed for clearance. Slide the slot part of the top bracket along the top edge of upper tailgate until the center is about 7-3/4" from the right edge of the gate. The instructions tell you to do this with the ladder frame attached but that results in a lot of metal whipping around your paint job.
6) Place the ladder tab ABOVE the bracket tab (the instructions imply the bracket tab should be on top, which looks silly and puts all of your weight on a single bolt and nut) and insert bolt &washer through both tabs DOWNWARD (the instructions imply upward but you don't want that). ***Loosely*** attach washer & nut to the hanger bolt.
7) Seat the bottom receiver's slots around the upper tailgate's bottom edge.
8) Tighten the 3 bolts (one in the top bracket and two in the bottom receiver) incrementally (i.e., in rotation and a little at a time like you were tightening lug nuts).
9) Confirm that the slot in the top bracket and the slots in the bottom receiver are snug and even around the upper tailgate edges.
10) Use a little brush to dab a bit of black paint on any exposed bolt threads & hardware as needed.

Cheers,

Nick in Palm Springs

 

Anyone know if this ladder is compatible with the Frontrunner Slimline rack? I'm thinking about picking up that roof rack and my OEM ladder won't clear the rack.

 

Unless the Frontrunner rack extends rearward beyond the roof edge, there shouldn't be a problem. Here's a couple of post-install pix that should help in your decisionmaking:

With tailgate in normal position...



With upper tailgate raised...

 

That does look it'll clear! Thanks. I am now realizing that one downside to this ladder is that it gets in the way of rear bumper mounted spare tire carriers. I don't have one right now, but may need to get one in the future if I size up.