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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 1:21 pm 
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Joined: January 27, 2010, 1:11 pm
Posts: 540
Location: Jefferson City, MO
You guys are full of good ideas so hopefully you can help me come up with a solution for my trailer ramps. A number of years ago I bought a used trailer for cheap. It came with very heavy wooden ramps. I finally got tired of lugging them around and got a good deal on a set of used aluminum ramps. I want to come up with a way to secure these new ramps to the trailer, but am running out of ideas. The ramps are 8' long with a hook end and are about 2" thick. I tried welding D rings just above the wooden deck, but I still cant get enough downward pressure onto the ramps that I would feel comfortable towing it like that. The ramps are too wide for any kind of storage under the trailer and I don't want to always have to through them in the pickup bed. I was hoping to come up with some way to strap them to the back of the trailer so I can just slide them up onto the trailer under the car rather than carry them around as at 8' they are a little awkward. If I ever leave the trailer for any length of time I will use a chain and lock them to the trailer, but for simple day trips, I need an easier solution.

Here is my tailer:
Attachment:
Trailer.jpg


This is the kind of surface my ramps have:
Attachment:
article-small-ez-traction-surface-car-ramps.jpg


Any ideas?

Some of the other ideas I have thought about are:
1) bolt handles to the sides of the ramp to run the strap through (might make it easier to carry if I put two handles on each)
2) stack 2x8 on top of the ramp and run the strap over that to give more downward pressure
3) Run the straps through the deck of the trailer (pain to crawl under trailer to connect straps)
4) Use chain instead of strap and run the chain through the openings on the ramp (probably should look at this anyway so I dont rip a strap)
5) stack the ramps before strapping (might not fit under car)


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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 2:13 pm 
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Joined: December 17, 2010, 1:24 pm
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Location: Gainesville, Mo.
My son has a pretty slick little trailer that was awarded to him by his employer. It's a flatbed with a lift out tailgate. The loading ramps ARE the tailgate, which slots into steel channel iron mounted vertically on each side of the loading end. Another nice feature is the position of the tail light assemblies. Instead of the traditional mounting point on the outside of the rear corners of the trailer (which makes the lights somewhat vulnerable), they are mounted on the bottom one of the ramps. You drop the ramps into their slots (making sure the lights are to the rear), and plug the lights in. This arrangement also gets the lights up a little higher for better visibility. Pretty cool! The only downside that I can see to this arrangement is that you are limited to ramps that are no longer than the trailer is wide.

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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 3:18 pm 
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Joined: January 27, 2010, 1:11 pm
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Location: Jefferson City, MO
yeah that wont work for me, my ramps are wider than my trailer. I thought of it as I have seen some store there ramps on the front to act as a rock guard for rocks coming up from the tow truck's tires.

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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 3:20 pm 
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Joined: March 19, 2011, 10:22 am
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Location: Holden, Alberta, Canada
Hey Chris

Using what you have could you make some 1/2" nut welded nut plates, drill a hole through the floor, line the hole with the nut plate and screw it to the underside of the deck with short deck screws. Then build yourself some tie down bolts depending on the length you require to go through your ramp/deck board..

You can secure each ramp front and rear, or just rear, whatever you decide.

Sorry for the poor pic drawing, was having lunch and scratching while reading your post.


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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 3:38 pm 
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Joined: October 19, 2012, 9:25 pm
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Location: Summerville, SC
I stand my ramps on edge on one side of the trailer next to the car. Hook a strap around the short vertical piece of angle iron where your sides slope down to the deck. Run it along the length of the ramp and hook the other end to the other short vertical angle iron piece at the back where the side slopes down to the deck.

I've hauled mine that way for 3 years and several thousand miles.

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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 3:41 pm 
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Attachment:
loaded.jpg


You can see the wood ramp standing on edge.


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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 6:44 pm 
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Chris, You might get some ideas from my ramp holder. If you need better info or pics (or video?) I can get you that next week. My ramps require only access from the rear. Everything is retained very securely and there is no rattling when driving. The method could easily be adapted to a flat deck trailer.

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4145&start=743

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PostPosted: April 18, 2017, 11:04 pm 
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Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada
When I was still dealing with trailer ramps, I used heavy planks and just slid them under the locost. When I strapped the car down, it pretty much kept the ramps in place. I built myself a nice little tilt deck trailer though, so now I don't have to deal with ramps at all, which is much nicer.
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PostPosted: April 19, 2017, 9:39 am 
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Location: Jefferson City, MO
Finally remembered to download the pictures from my phone. You can see the top and bottom of the ramps and the d rings I tried to use. I was leaning towards bolting handles to the sides, but not sure I want to drill 4 holes into the side of the ramp for each handle. I loaded the trailer last night to move the mower and I just threw some 2 x 6s on top of the ramps before strapping. When not hauling anything I can hook the front of the ramps on the front of the trailer before strapping, but with a car or mower on the trailer this isnt an option.

I like the idea of standing them up along the fenders, but that will only work for the mower or narrow cars. With normal cars, I would be worried about the serrated top hitting the paint on the cars. I like the T bolt idea through the wood into a nut underneath. I will have to look at that idea tonight to see how it would work.

Attachment:
Trailer Ramps 01.jpg


Attachment:
Trailer Ramps 02.jpg


Attachment:
Trailer Ramps 03.jpg


Attachment:
Trailer Ramps 05.jpg


Attachment:
Trailer Ramps 06.jpg


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PostPosted: April 22, 2017, 7:06 pm 
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At the track there's always someone with his ramps hinged so they fold straight up. Solves the ramp-handling problem, but I've wondered how much "air brake" effect they had. Maybe not all that much with a loaded trailer; the air is pretty turbulent by the time it gets back there.


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PostPosted: April 23, 2017, 4:21 am 
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TRX wrote:
At the track there's always someone with his ramps hinged so they fold straight up. Solves the ramp-handling problem, but I've wondered how much "air brake" effect they had. Maybe not all that much with a loaded trailer; the air is pretty turbulent by the time it gets back there.

Do not underestimate the effect of bad aerodynamics. When Scrap Metal is on the trailer facing forwards. The rear spoiler is working correctly and I get 14mpg. When I turn the car to face rearwards, the spoiler sits in the draft of the minivan and I get 17mpg. 3mpg difference is about 20% more fuel consumed depending on car orientation.
I was shocked at the difference. I realised on the way to Nationals and used a full tank more to get there than on the way back, with the car facing the other way.

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PostPosted: April 23, 2017, 10:14 am 
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wrightcomputing wrote:
TRX wrote:
At the track there's always someone with his ramps hinged so they fold straight up. Solves the ramp-handling problem, but I've wondered how much "air brake" effect they had. Maybe not all that much with a loaded trailer; the air is pretty turbulent by the time it gets back there.

Do not underestimate the effect of bad aerodynamics. When Scrap Metal is on the trailer facing forwards. The rear spoiler is working correctly and I get 14mpg. When I turn the car to face rearwards, the spoiler sits in the draft of the minivan and I get 17mpg. 3mpg difference is about 20% more fuel consumed depending on car orientation.
I was shocked at the difference. I realised on the way to Nationals and used a full tank more to get there than on the way back, with the car facing the other way.


You can always make some flip toe ramps, I made these for the truck for the same reason. It reduced drag quite considerably, takes a bit of working out but the results are worth it, they straighten out before they get to the floor.

Bob

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PostPosted: April 23, 2017, 8:35 pm 
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I would bet ramps sticking up would make a pretty big difference. I have one of those little 8' utility trailers with an expanded metal ramp/tailgate that sticks up vertically, and with the ramp up instead of laying flat made a big difference with our car at highway speeds, even though I was hauling a large freezer, which also blocks a lot of air.
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PostPosted: April 24, 2017, 10:15 am 
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wrightcomputing wrote:
TRX wrote:
At the track there's always someone with his ramps hinged so they fold straight up. Solves the ramp-handling problem, but I've wondered how much "air brake" effect they had. Maybe not all that much with a loaded trailer; the air is pretty turbulent by the time it gets back there.

Do not underestimate the effect of bad aerodynamics. When Scrap Metal is on the trailer facing forwards. The rear spoiler is working correctly and I get 14mpg. When I turn the car to face rearwards, the spoiler sits in the draft of the minivan and I get 17mpg. 3mpg difference is about 20% more fuel consumed depending on car orientation.
I was shocked at the difference. I realised on the way to Nationals and used a full tank more to get there than on the way back, with the car facing the other way.


My old trailer had the straight up rear gate / ramp. I saw 3-4 mpg improvement when I took the gate off and put the ramps on the trailer deck.
I also was aero limited to the point I couldn't get above 65 without the van downshifting.

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PostPosted: April 25, 2017, 8:59 am 
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Location: Jefferson City, MO
I agree a hinged gate is very advantageous for quick loading and unloading as well as ease of use, but as others have said, I am not a fan of the additional drag. If I was using the trailer for lawn care and constantly loading and unloading and only driving around town it would make sense. Also, I do not want to go through the effort of redesigning the trailer, I just want to make the ramps I have work.

Here is my current thought. I bought a pair of square U bolts. I am going to Drill holes in the trailer, insert the u bolts and weld nuts/washers to the back of the u bolts so they are loose but captive to the ramps. When its time to strap the ramps, I will run my chain through the u bolts and hook them to the d rings I just installed. The chains will provide some downward force to hold the ramps in place, and the u bolts will provide positive retention of the ramps to keep them from bouncing off the trailer. I will use chain because I am worried the serrated tread of the ramp would eventually cut a strap. I have an old chain binder I will use to tighten the chain. Should be a quick and easy way to secure the ramps.

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