Rhino Safe Clamp Disassembly

[con95a]

My rhino ladder clamps needed replacing so I took the opportunity to take apart the old ones to see if it's even possible and if it affords any opportunity for maintenance. So for anyone that's interested, here is the process with pics.

Need a thin small flat head, a straight pick, a hammer.



Unscrew the yellow cap and remove bar



On the lock side, push the flat head into the holes along the outer edge of the hole, then when you hit the retaining tab, push that inwards towards the middle of the clamp.



Whilst pushing the retaining clip to the centre, gently tap the screw driver with hammer to push out faceplate on opposite side. Do this for all four holes.





to be continued...

 

[con95a]

This is what the tabs look like


(They aren't the sturdiest, and can easily be snapped so be as careful as possible.)

This is what the internals look like


Remove and keep safe this spring, when refitting, the spring can be rotated so the worn side is now against the face plate.

 

[con95a]

Move lever to this position



Lift up the metal plate so the lever can be spun past where it locks out, aligning the points on the lever spindle with the cutouts in black body.



Now push out lever



The red push button is loose, don't lose the spring underneath it.

 

[con95a]

To remove the lock barrel, insert pick or something thin into the hole on lever



And push in the retaining clip on barrel

 

[con95a]

At this point everything can be cleaned up and lubricated, especially the yellow spindle of the lever where it rotates inside the black body. If you know how to source the right springs (I don't) you could even replace them.

Refit everything bearing in mind:
• lock barrel goes back in with retaining clip facing the access hole
• The spring for red push button is in place
• Whilst lever spindle pushes back into body, push in the red button.
• Metal plate lifted again so that it can be rotated back into it's operating position.
• Don't forget to replace the lower spring (rotating if you wish)
• Align face plate, and push back on.

 

[con95a]

 

[con95a]

After all this my old one still was sloppy and loose, not holding the ladder tightly. I think it may be to do with where the bend on the metal plate sits on the spindle of the handle. Over time it wears a groove, so less pressure is applied to the spring that tightens against the shaft of the hook. If the handle isn't fully closed so the metal plate doesn't seat in the groove, it feels much tighter.

I may try sanding that area and building it back up with some 2 part epoxy, simply to test out the theory and possibly make it a useable back up clamp.



Hope that's of interest to someone, if not, I still enjoyed taking it apart as I've wondered for a while how it works.