Yes, to fold the ladder up and stow it away you must remove the Slide-In Handles from the ladder vertical tubes and stow the Handles away. When you are ready to use your ladder again and have your ladder deployed in place just side the Handles into the vertical ladder tubes for use. We love to hear feedback from our customers. Thank You
There are quite a few ways boat dealers install these. These range from different variations of thru bolts with washers, nuts, backing plates. Please email punterbrink@orscheln.com for more info and I'll be happy to assist!!