Climbing over a ledge

[UH60guy]

I'm having trouble with one aspect of my lander. I need to get the Kerbal up a ladder to the upper (ascent) stage of a lander designed for Tylo. I have a larger diameter tank at the base, and a smaller stack up top. When the Kerbal gets to the top of the ladder, he just falls down instead of being able to grab onto the ladder segment on the corner.

[informercial voice] There has to be a better way! [/infomercial voice]

Here's my ship:

He's having his trouble near the middle of the image, between the midpoint of the air intake housings, just below that decoupler. That's where you can see the ledge from the big tank and where I tried to mitigate it with horizontal ladders.

Edited October 5, 2013 by UH60guy

[Leberschnitzel]

I have the same problem and would love to see a solution for this

[madbadger2742]

I have this problem from time to time as well. I don't have an OSFA answer for the issue in general, but in your case, perhaps an adapter between the large tank and the ascent decoupler?

[LeadMagnet]

your ladders need to overlap alot more than they are in the image. I'd move the top ladder down so at least 2 or 3 rungs overlap the middle ladder, then use the Pegasus I Mobility Enhancers (the 3 rung thingys) to cover the gap at the top These do not need to overlap, just make them equally spaced.

[Gus]

You can also mount the upper ladder to angle outwards (using the shift+rotate keys) so that it intersects the lower ladder.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Gus

[Captain Sierra]

off topic some, may I ask why the intake housings? You have no jet engines. There are 1.25m tanks that weigh less and would actually give you more fuel, and thus the all-important dV which is needed once you establish apoaps.

[Dkmdlb]

your ladders need to overlap alot more than they are in the image. I'd move the top ladder down so at least 2 or 3 rungs overlap the middle ladder, then use the Pegasus I Mobility Enhancers (the 3 rung thingys) to cover the gap at the top These do not need to overlap, just make them equally spaced.

No, the ladders won't touch no matter how they are moved because one is on a 1.25 tank, and the other is on a 2.5.

To the OP: if you use shift + wasd in the VAB you can rotate the ladder on the 1.25 section a few degrees at an angle that will intersect the 2.5m ladder. I heard someone once suggest that a Oscar-B tank can be put on edge to make a kind of round place for the ladder to go up, but I've never been able to successfully do that.

[UH60guy]

off topic some, may I ask why the intake housings? You have no jet engines. There are 1.25m tanks that weigh less and would actually give you more fuel, and thus the all-important dV which is needed once you establish apoaps.

I went with them to meet some Mk. 1 Eyeball requirements- I just think they look cool (also why they have the dead mass of the nose cones). I wanted to have radially mounted engines over a large tank so I could put a Clampotron Sr. docking port at the very bottom. That way it'll be more stable when docked to the mothership for the flight to Tylo. I have a history of bad luck with 1.5 meter docking ports flopping like a fish and causing Sudden Massive Existance Failure during interplanetary burns.

Edited October 4, 2013 by UH60guy

[capi3101]

I'd suggest a BZ-52 set at an angle, with one of the little Pegasus ladders mounted on that (you'll have to counterbalance with another BZ-52 on the other side of course but that's no biggie, an a Pegasus has got such low mass that it won't affect your rocket all that much). The BZ-52s pretty much attach at any angle you set them, which is why I suggest it. Otherwise I'd suggest a Rockomax Brand Adapter - and that's probably your best option.

[UH60guy]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I was able to mound a ladder at an angle from the upper stage (didn't know about the shift-rotate function, thanks!) and now they can climb freely.

Here's a picture of the solution: