I had been using the ladder that came with my Intex pool, but putting the ladder into the pool every time I used it and then removing the ladder every time I was done got old pretty quickly, so I wanted to upgrade to a safety ladder that could be closed so it could remain in the pool at all times.
The Confer 7200 got pretty good reviews, but that ladder (and other similar ones) are designed to be attached to the top rail of the pool to stabilize the ladder, but that’s not really possible on an Intex pool.
There were mixed reviews of people who had tried using the ladder with Intex pools. Some said it was very unstable and some said it was perfectly fine not being attached at the top. I also saw some interesting methods where people tried to stabilize the ladder with things like hose clamps and bungee cords. I decided to go ahead and order the ladder and see how it worked for myself.
I got the ladder built and over the pool and I buried the bottom of outside part about 5 or 6 inches because I put it on the side of my pool where I had dug out under the pool a bit to keep the pool level. This allowed the ladder to be level as well and also helped to stabilize it a bit.
At this point the ladder didn’t feel dangerously unstable to me and was probably usable, but it definitely did have a tendency to sway side to side a bit when it was in use, so I figured it might be good to find some way to stabilize it more.
I also have the Intex pool canopy to provide some shade over the pool and I happened to see the big plastic clamps that are used to hold the canopy to the pool and realized that they would be perfect to help stabilize the ladder. I ordered two spare clamps from Intex (about $5 each plus $5 in shipping) and put them on the top rail of the pool under the ladder pressed against the mounting bracket of the ladder (the part that is supposed to be screwed into the pool frame).
This made a pretty considerable difference in the stability of the ladder. It still moves a little bit when the ladder is in use, but much less than before. I’m considering screwing through the sides of the ladder mounting bracket into the clamps to try to stabilize it a bit more, but I’m not sure if that will really be necessary.
The Confer 7200 got pretty good reviews, but that ladder (and other similar ones) are designed to be attached to the top rail of the pool to stabilize the ladder, but that’s not really possible on an Intex pool.
There were mixed reviews of people who had tried using the ladder with Intex pools. Some said it was very unstable and some said it was perfectly fine not being attached at the top. I also saw some interesting methods where people tried to stabilize the ladder with things like hose clamps and bungee cords. I decided to go ahead and order the ladder and see how it worked for myself.
I got the ladder built and over the pool and I buried the bottom of outside part about 5 or 6 inches because I put it on the side of my pool where I had dug out under the pool a bit to keep the pool level. This allowed the ladder to be level as well and also helped to stabilize it a bit.
At this point the ladder didn’t feel dangerously unstable to me and was probably usable, but it definitely did have a tendency to sway side to side a bit when it was in use, so I figured it might be good to find some way to stabilize it more.
I also have the Intex pool canopy to provide some shade over the pool and I happened to see the big plastic clamps that are used to hold the canopy to the pool and realized that they would be perfect to help stabilize the ladder. I ordered two spare clamps from Intex (about $5 each plus $5 in shipping) and put them on the top rail of the pool under the ladder pressed against the mounting bracket of the ladder (the part that is supposed to be screwed into the pool frame).
This made a pretty considerable difference in the stability of the ladder. It still moves a little bit when the ladder is in use, but much less than before. I’m considering screwing through the sides of the ladder mounting bracket into the clamps to try to stabilize it a bit more, but I’m not sure if that will really be necessary.
