Owl Vans - Explorer Sprinter Side Ladder | 07+ Sprinter
HIGHLIGHTS
- High clearance design
- RVIA certified rated to 300lbs (tested to 1000lbs)
- Lightweight aluminum construction (18lbs)
- Powder-coated black
- All Stainless steel or Aluminum hardware
- Owl rocker-saver breakaway aluminum bolts
- Modular mountable treads/steps
- Can be mounted in front or behind rear wheel on 170"
FITS: 2007-Present vans (NCV3, VS30, Revel, Storyteller, etc) *High-roof only
NOTE: This system does not change the sound of the exhaust, and is not intended as a HP gain as any performance enhancements would be very minor.
LEAD TIME: ~1 Week
INGENIOUS ENGINEERING
Shape - When designing this new side ladder, Owl started by laser scanning the side of the Sprinter to create a contour that perfectly follows the side of the van. The result is a ladder that keeps your van as narrow as possible and drastically lowers the risk of catching the ladder on an obstacle.
Large Tread Plate - Owl enlarged the top tread of the step to stick out the front of the ladder allowing a solid foot placement even with the ladder tight to the van.
Breakaway Hardware - Of course, people want a ladder to be rock solid, and with a weight limit of 400lbs the Owl Side Ladder is incredibly rugged. That said, our engineering teams had a unique and brilliant solution when it came to attaching the ladder to the bottom of the van.
The top of the ladder is bolted to the roof rack rails using a steel plate with stainless steel bolts (700lbs shear strength per bolt). Conversely, the bolts we chose to hold the bottom of the ladder are purposely low in their shear strength rating. Why would we purposely add weak hardware to the bottom of the ladder? To protect your more expensive van of course!
What the team did is purposely engineer a weak point in the ladder when a force is applied laterally. When you climb the ladder the force is vertical in the downward direction. Should a heavy lateral load be applied to the ladder, such as getting hung up on a rock, the bottom aluminum bolts will sheer off. This allows the bottom of the ladder to break free from the van and limit any additional damage to the van.