Micromark Top Creeper?

They are challenging to use - uncomfortable, and the long legs make it difficult to maneuver.  In hindsight, I should have gone with a better layout design that didn't require using one.  But they do the job they're designed for.  I modified mine to cover some sharp corners - pipe insulation and duct tape.

As far as I can tell, identical items are sold by several sources at various prices, so shop around.  It comes in a large heavy box, so beware of shipping surcharges.

Edit:  I did not buy mine from MicroMark - I think I got it from Amazon, but can't remember for sure.

Issues...

Storage when not in use.  Ceiling height vs. layout height (over tall buildings, trees, accessories, etc. and et al.)...IOW, clearance for creeper shelf and your own girth.  Mount and dismount to retrieve tools, layout items needed but forgotten.  Gravitational grab of eyeglasses...nuisance to the max.!

Worked well.  Wished I were younger when using it, though.

...through the years from LHS customers who had one.

TEHO, really.

Over the hood creeper from Northern Equipment. Does what I intended for it to do, changed a few things from original design and now stored under layout, could not do without it.

Ray

You can also try Summit Racing as far as pricing. I know they offer a few different types. They do have a handful of retail stores if your close by that may save on the cost of shipping.

CHECK OUT OTHER BRANDS.  I have seen the same type contraction SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER elsewhere.  I have one.  As with anything else, there are pros and cons.  I was on the fence about buying one.  Fate stepped in and a good friend purchased one for us--Glacier Line Crew--to use.  :-)  It has been a god-send.

Good thread! My own primary concern is storing it.  Do any of them fold up into a more compact form for storage?

Search Amazon for Topside Creeper. They have a few of them listed.

I basically agree with the previous comments.   There are a few areas where there isn't a better way to reach especially when doing scenery work.  They do fold down, but still take space and are awkward to store.  I didn't have one for 90% of my layout work, but that last 10% was a real pain.

Art

I have one and don’t use it for the layout. Too big to move around in middle it is now in my garage for use on my truck. I found at Home Depot 2 foot high and four foot long work platforms easy to move, fold up almost flat and easy to store and got two of them on sale for $50.00 even at the regular price cheaper and easier to use than the over the top creeper and much more versatile.

I have had one from Micro Mark for years now. They certainly extend you to get at hard to work on areas. The primary drawback is the size of it and the maneuvering down a narrow isle. You can collapse the legs to move it but it normally takes two people to do that. The Micro Mark unit is very well constructed. It;s a good tool but has limitations.

I decided to test Rick's work platform idea by laying a 2x10 across the seats of two chairs. It definitely extends my reach to the rear of the layout, but unless I develop some incredible abs, I need to put a hand on the layout to support the weight of my upper body.

It also raised another question: what's the furthest back you can reach with your top creeper?

Well, Christmas in July. My wife bought me a Traxion 3-100 top creeper! It just got delivered.

Thanks for all the comments and advice.

The Traxion creeper looks to be the same as the Micromark. As some others have mentioned, and as we have discussed in other threads, its massive size and relatively difficult maneuvering may not be the most cost vs effective way to gain a few inches more reaching across the table. (Just storing it is another issue.)  I sold mine on Marketplace to an automotive business who grabbed it up minutes after posting. Using a step ladder or using the work platform idea mentioned above may be sufficient for most needs.

I tried it out after assembly. I can easily reach all the way to the deepest part of the layout and put my fingers between the backdrop and the edge of the layout. With a board between two chairs, I could not reach that far, and needed one hand on the layout to boot.

It does mean I can't store all the stuff under the layout where the wheels need to go. And I didn't try to store it, but I did fold it up, and between the pad you rest on and the non-leg portion of the base, it will definitely require a bit of room even folded. I think I have a place under the layout that will work once I move some lumber.

There are parts of my layout that are narrower where I will probably just stand on a chair as I have been doing for years, but where I broke all the access rules and put a 7-track yard in front of a town three tracks wide, this makes a huge difference.

I built my layout fairly high, and have valences that hang down, leaving a narrow vertical window to work in. I plan to make a shelf so the tool bag lays horizontally instead of hanging vertically, as it scrapes the top of the car roofs in the foreground even when the creeper is at its highest level.

I certainly won't be selling it since my wife bought this for me even though she really would prefer we sell the house and downsize, thus destroying my layout. I mean, even if it were useless, right?