Topside Creeper .... ??

[Over50]

Seriously considering getting one of these for better/farther reach access for putting in scenery, etc., plus track cleaning in the reverse loop extended reach areas of my layout. At 76 I'm not as nimble as I was 30 years ago among other reasons, too.

This said, before I drop a couple hundred bucks to buy one of these I would appreciate pros and cons from anyone who is using or has used one of these.  

[mlehman]

The cons that kept me from considering one were limited aisle space to deploy it in and no place to store it when not in use. Other than that, sounds like a great idea, just wish I had space to use it.

[mbinsewi]

Same here, I have the space in front, but no room underneath the benchwork, as my bench work is actually a storage area for the many tupperware storage containers we have of "stuff".

Mike.

[BroadwayLion]

LION design layout with reach in mind. Cannot use creapy unless have good undert table space for the weight bearing parts to bear wait.

Wait! Someone here had borrowed one, leaned to far to the side and the whole thing tipped over taking halve of the railroad with it.

 

If LION has place him cannot reach him uses a spider monkey to reach it for him

 

ROAR

[RR_Mel]

I have a Topside Creeper that I bought from Micro Mark when it was on sale with free shipping about 6 or 7 years ago for about $190.  They work great and it gets me into the center of my 10’x14’ layout.

 

It does have a learning curve working from above and I even had to buy some tools that work easier at arms length.  Adjustable mirrors help to see into hard to get to areas, talk about a learning curve working with mirrors is a bugger bear.

 

The adjustable height on the Topside Creeper is super for working over my mountains.  The only complaint I have with it is the steps are only a little over an inch wide and hurt my instep.  I secured some 1”x4” wood with U bolts to the metal steps to make it more comfortable.  Foam pipe insulation on the front edge of the 1”x4”s help protect my shins.

 

I built my layout on 3½” casters with under the layout storage and I have to remove the casters on the Topside Creeper for the legs to slide under.  That makes it a bit harder to move around but having the ability to get to the center of my layout is worth the extra effort.

 

With a bit of disassembly you can store it in a 12”D X 32”W space.

 

Long time use gets uncomfortable but using it in 20 to 30 minutes intervals works OK for this 79 year old.

 

Another get around gadget that works out pretty slick is the Harbor Freight Creeper for working under my layout.

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[farrellaa]

I built my own topside creeper a few years ago, but I realize that it does take up a lot of space. However, I couldn't do without it, as I have too many areas on my layout that require access beyond what I can reach standing on the floor or on a small stool. I plan to cut the vertical members and hinge them so it can be stored under the layout. I used oak dimension lumber and padded the top areas. The top platform is adjustable with two positions. These are the only photos I could find of it on Photobucket, but I know I have more somewhere on the pc.

  -Bob

[Over50]

RR_Mel

I have a Topside Creeper that I bought from Micro Mark when it was on sale with free shipping about 6 or 7 years ago for about $190.  They work great and it gets me into the center of my 10’x14’ layout.

 

It does have a learning curve working from above and I even had to buy some tools that work easier at arms length.  Adjustable mirrors help to see into hard to get to areas, talk about a learning curve working with mirrors is a bugger bear.

 

The adjustable height on the Topside Creeper is super for working over my mountains.  The only complaint I have with it is the steps are only a little over an inch wide and hurt my instep.  I secured some 1”x4” wood with U bolts to the metal steps to make it more comfortable.  Foam pipe insulation on the front edge of the 1”x4”s help protect my shins.

 

I built my layout on 3½” casters with under the layout storage and I have to remove the casters on the Topside Creeper for the legs to slide under.  That makes it a bit harder to move around but having the ability to get to the center of my layout is worth the extra effort.

 

With a bit of disassembly you can store it in a 12”D X 32”W space.

 

Long time use gets uncomfortable but using it in 20 to 30 minutes intervals works OK for this 79 year old.

 

Another get around gadget that works out pretty slick is the Harbor Freight Creeper for working under my layout.

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

Thank you! I appreciate all the responses but this is the info I was hoping to see, mainly to compare apples with apples because this is the model I'm interested in. Getting old is far better than the alternative but it does have limitations ... and hopefully the topside creeper will make things easier. And just to mention, I also have a mechanics creeper I used under the layout when wiring everything.

Really appreciate the suggestions with the step width and the pipe insulation cushioning, too!

[RR_Mel]

Over50

Getting old is far better than the alternative but it does have limitations ... and hopefully the topside creeper will make things easier. And just to mention, I also have a mechanics creeper I used under the layout when wiring everything.

Really appreciate the suggestions with the step width and the pipe insulation cushioning, too!

 

I’m very happy with it, if you can use it with it’s casters on it makes it much easier to move around.  I used 2’ carpet squares to cover the concrete in my garage and that doesn’t help in moving the topside creeper without it’s wheels.  If I have to move it often in one area I pickup the carpet tiles then it slides easier on the concrete.

 

When you assemble it there is a little bag that screws to the front edge for tools and it got in the way dragging treetops and power poles.  I try to keep the working distance as close to the area I’m working on, helps the wear and tear on the 79 year old muscles.  I went to a small basket to hold my tools and put a hook on each side of the top assembly back near the ladder to keep it from knocking down scenery.

 

I try to just barely clear the scenery to get better access and better control of my tools.  The Topside Creeper height adjustment holes are 6” apart and I put a hole between each one for “fine tuning” the height adjustment.

 

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[dknelson]

A friend of mine got a Topside Creeper and I had a number of opportunities to use it on his layout.  I found it accutely uncomfortable to lay on it while working with my hands down below for any length of time.  I felt my chest was being compressed and it would be uncomfortble to breathe.  I am rather slender (although not as slender as my doctor would like me to be) and I do not have much, um, "padding" in the chest and belly area.  Frankly I could not imagine doing long term wiring or track laying while laying prone on one of those things.

Dave Nelson

[jecorbett]

I appreciate the replies as well. I really stretched the recommended depth for shelf layouts because I wanted deep scenes. Three foot MINIMUM depth. Most of the track is in the foreground but I'm sure the day will come when I need to do some serious maintenance on the background scenes and the Topside Creeper might turn out to be the best option.

[RR_Mel]

dknelson

I found it accutely uncomfortable to lay on it while working with my hands down below for any length of time.  I felt my chest was being compressed and it would be uncomfortble to breathe.

Dave Nelson

 

Dave I agree with it being uncomfortable for long use.  It took me several hours over a two day period to replace a turnout in a tight spot.  It was the most difficult thing I’ve attempted to do on my Topside Creeper.

 

Working at arms length from that ridicules position isn’t an easy task but it was the only way I could access that turnout.  Reballasting the turnout was just as hard to do as swapping out the turnout.

 

The turnout was a 25 year old Atlas that finally gave it up.  I made the task even harder by replacing it with a Pico.  I couldn’t have completed it without the help of my Topside Creeper without tearing up a very large chunk of scenery.  Because of the difficult position of the turnout I still have to replace a tunnel portal that I had to remove to install the Pico.  The good news is everything works great so it was worth the uncomfortable work from above.

 

I’ve been putting off replacing the tunnel portal for two months.

 

 

Edit:

 

I wouldn’t recommend laying track form a Topside Creeper or a major wiring project, it’s too uncomfortable and working at arms length leaves too much room or error.  It works great for doing scenery and repairs.

 

A great secondary use for a Topside Creeper is my great grandkids love to get a birds eye view of my trains.  From 4 to 12 all I hear is “me first”.

 

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[hon30critter]

Dave Nelson:

Interesting comment about the level of discomfort you experienced using the topside creeper. I was replacing the fiberglass roof panels on my deck last year and I had to lean heavily on the top of the ladder to reach some of the screws. (Yes, for the benefit of any safety police out there the ladder was firmly anchored so it couldn't kick out). I experienced the same sort of discomfort and it happened almost immediately when I leaned over.

Before that I had viewed the topside creeper as a key tool in allowing me to build my layout the way I had planned. After the ladder experience I went back and revised my layout plan so everything was within reach from the floor or a small foot stool. Now there is no topside creeper in the plans. I like to breathe as much as the next guy.

Dave